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.She waited a few more seconds and finally decided the knife wasn t going to finish the job forher this time, so she prepared to wiggle out from under her captor.She braced her back, and pushedup against the body pinning her to the ground.It shifted with ease, and then suddenly burst into brightblue flame as the knife s magic kicked in and ashes rained down on her. Great, she swore.Hacking and coughing, she sat up and brushed demon ash from her clothes. Just fucking great.She tried to stand and got as far as sitting on her ass before the world began to spin from thecrack her head had taken when she d hit the pavement.Slumping against the wall she closed her eyesand worked on catching her breath& and tried desperately not to think about the ramifications of whathad just happened.Through no fault of her own, she d been born with demonic powers.And the demons of hellwere not happy about it.They thought it sacrilegious that a human have such powers, and had made ittheir goal to capture her and retrieve those powers& by killing her.Focalor was a new name, andMaracas was certainly a new thing, unlike any other demon she d ever faced.What with the horns and green fire-retardant skin, she had to acknowledge the knot growing inher gut.Maracas hadn t been a demon spirit in a human body but a full-on from-hell demon.Every other demon she d met up with had looked just like a human, aside from the occasionalflash from their goat s eyes, but basically they could ve passed for human.How the hell did a full-blooded demon get on her plane of existence? It was unheard of.The biggreen thing was a whole new deal, one she wasn t sure she could deal with.Sometimes she wondered why she bothered fighting the supernatural bounty hunters that weresent after her.It wasn t like anyone would miss her if she died.Her father had died before she wasborn.Her mother was gone.She had no friends, no family.No magic jeans to help her form lifelongfriendships with people who would accept her for who she was.There were times she hated that her mother had raised her to believe.If she didn t believe inGod, then giving up the fight wouldn t be seen as suicide, which was a sin that would send herstraight to hell.Sometimes it seemed like no matter what she did, she was going to end up in theNetherworld.Finally the world stopped spinning and she stood up, not bothering to bite back the moan of painas she retrieved her three knives.Unzipping her hoodie, she shook off the demon ash then tied thesweatshirt around her waist so she looked reasonably clean in her jeans and tank top.She brushed theash from her hair gently, careful of the goose egg growing rapidly on the back of her head, and thentrudged out of the alley to find the nearest bar.She needed a drink.Or five.Ten minutes later she stomped into some dingy pub on the corner of Bernard and Wilson.Withbig screen televisions over the bar, team jerseys of all sorts hanging from the walls, and two pooltables in the middle of the room instead of a dance floor, she got the hint.It was a sports pub.A waitress wandered over to the booth Anna had slid into and stood at the edge of the table.Shewore a tight white V-neck T-shirt that showed off impressive cleavage and too much makeup.Thebright red name tag just above her right breast said SALLY.Sally cocked her hip out and smiled wanly. What can I getcha?All she needed to do was snap her gum and she d be a total cliché. Pint of draft and three shotsof tequila.Gold if you have it.Sally s eyes widened and she looked at the empty bench space on either side of Anna. Expecting company?Anna smiled, baring her teeth. Nope, it s all for me.Sally walked away, shaking her head and Anna bit back a sigh.It didn t matter that she showedher teeth, shit, she could curse and growl and threaten, and people just looked at her and shook theirheads, or worse& laughed.It was her mom s fault.The silky blond hair and fair skin came from her.Mom said the fullmouth and foul language came from her dad, but since he d died before Anna was born, she didn t seehow.Whatever.She was what she was, and she d long since given up on caring what people thoughtabout her.Sally came back with her drinks and Anna paid cash, making sure to tip the girl.She d waitedtables before, and knew it wasn t an easy job.She slammed back the two shots of tequilaimmediately, one right after the other.The burn down her throat and into her stomach was not sowelcome, but the warmth that spread through her veins and mellowed the throbbing pain in her headwas [ Pobierz caÅ‚ość w formacie PDF ]