Absolution by LJ DeLeon Read Free Book Online Page A

Crocker.”
    “Fuck, you’re right. Fritz, mark the spot I would’ve stabbed the Druid and where I’d have been shot during our fight. We’ll use their weapons after the fight. All other injuries are—”
    “Inflicted with joy,” Luc snarled and launched himself at Rice.
    Ten minutes later, Luc pushed off the ground and onto his knees with one palm raised. “Enough. Shit. Ever heard of holding a punch?”
    Rice rolled onto his back. “No. Just heard ‘inflicted with joy’, which you did with great enthusiasm. Then I let loose.” With a groan, he curled upright and stood.
    Luc grasped his proffered hand and rose to his feet. “You need to stab me with the bastard’s knife.” He sighed. “At least I get to shoot you with Crocker’s gun.”
    “Boys, boys, boys, can it. I’ll handle all the additional wounds,” Fritz said.
    “Thanks, Ouriel. Wondered how long you were going to let this farce continue,” Rice said.
    Luc focused on Fritz’s stiffened posture. “You know this daemon?”
    “Maybe. Drop the glamour,” Fritz ordered Rice.
    The six-foot-tall, lean bordering on lanky, male, with blue-black hair and brown eyes looked completely human if you ignored his glossy, eland-like, ebony curled horns. That and the leathery brown wings rising above his head, the tips almost brushing the ground.
    Fritz stared, his eyes narrowed. “Ahmad Shoredeh?” At Rice’s nod, he scowled. “Did Farley wipe out only your family or the entire Baskuli Clan? Last I heard it numbered over a hundred thousand here on Earth.”
    “The clan remains and has once again joined the battle against the Abyss and the Dark Lord. But Farley erased my family. My parents, my wife, my children, and their families. Mustaf and I were gone for the day. Farley drained everyone and burned our homes to the ground.”
    He shook his head. “Near as I can tell he put them in some type of force field, immobilizing them.”
    Luc swallowed hard as the chill of the memory swept down his spine. “That’s what he did to my parents.” At Rice’s look of sympathy, he glanced away unable to remain stoic under their shared tragedy.
    “We’re talking Selma and the kids, gone?” Fritz asked.
    “All of them. That’s driven me. Don’t worry, I’ll fight for the Goddess, but Farley’s downfall—” Rice shook his head. “—I should’ve checked in with the new Cáidh Arm.” He shrugged. “Revenge got in the way. With the Abyss rising again and no mate or kids, Mustaf decided to join the party with me.”
    Luc turned back, not sure how to gauge Fritz’s ease with the enemy. Or enemy turned comrade-in-arms. Either was a little hard to reconcile. And with each word out of the daemon’s mouth, it seemed more likely Rice really had also known his parents.
    Fritz snorted. “Typical. Emotion always has ruled you. Deva could’ve used your help.”
    A small smile tweaked the corners of Rice’s mouth. “Hear you and Sabina put a seedling in my brother three months ago. You didn’t need to, you know. We’ve served the Goddess faithfully since before the Great War. You should remember that, Ouriel. The Goddess listed over two legions of our warriors on the walls of the Cave of the Fallen.”
    Fritz clapped him on the back. “Church, I mean, Mustaf never said a word, not a hint, and never broke cover. You should be proud.”
    Rice grasped his forearm. “I am. I’m also surprised he survived killing that daemon and assuming his identity. Thought for sure you or Sabina would’ve spotted he wasn’t the real Church.”
    “Nope, he held his glamour and never wavered. Take it he’s joined the revenge train.”
    “Yes and no. I’m out for revenge. He’s out to defeat Carlson and the Dark Lord. Clan warriors and spies will make contact with the Cáidh Arm within the week. I’ll get my revenge first.”
    The two clasped one another’s forearm with one hand and shoulder with the other.
    Luc’s worldview lay in ruins. The denotation fractured