Demonicus (Overworld Underground Book 2) by John Corwin Read Free Book Online Page A

gun with both hands to steady my grip. "I'll shoot your balls into oblivion if you come a step closer."
    He laughed. "I'll live."
    It suddenly occurred to me this man might not be normal. He could be a vampire. I opened my senses and almost immediately tasted foul burning air and a nauseating aura. It reminded me of the blood bank.
    "You're a demon."
    He jolted to a stop, eyebrows rising. "How could you possibly know that?" He flashed his teeth. "You're just as smart as a whip, aren't you?" Without further warning, he blurred toward me. I fired the gun. The man howled in pain and flopped to the floor, holding his knee.
    I was about to fire more shots into him when the front door flew open and Tyler flashed through. He looked from me to the man on the floor. "Are you okay, babe?"
    Relief flooded into me. I ran to him and hugged him tight. "He's possessed, Tyler."
    Alarm flickered through his eyes. He kissed my forehead and walked to the screaming man. Without a word, he gripped the front of his shirt and jerked him off the floor. "Who the hell are you?"
    Gritting his teeth and smiling, the man said, "It's good to see you again, Grimsvokull ."
    Tyler dropped the man with a thud, eliciting a grunt of pain. Eyes fierce, Tyler looked down at him. "Xasha?"
    A laugh burst from the man. "Barboar. You must have lost your demonic senses, Grim."
    Tyler shook his head and backed away. "Why are you here? How did you find me?"
    "Oh, you were easy enough to find. Vatna just happened to be locked in a nearby cage before the Exorcists tried to send you back to Haedaemos." Grimacing, he sat up. "He saw the little trick with the soulstone and knew you weren't done."
    "How did Vatna know it was me?"
    "Who else has such a green glow as you, Grim?" He spat on the floor. "You and your lovely appearance and petite odor? Vatna found us the moment he was sent back to Haedaemos and told us what he'd seen."
    Tyler knelt over the downed man. "He didn't know my mortal name."
    "Oh, but you're a famous mortal, aren't you, precious?" He pulled a scrap of newspaper from his pocket and held up a picture. "Tyler Rock, boy millionaire."
    "Fine, you found me, Barboar. I want to know why."
    As they spoke, I walked behind the possessed man, ready to use the gun if he tried anything else. Unlike the pleasant heat in Tyler's aura, this demon smelled like burnt eggs. His mere presence nearly made me gag. As I closed to within a couple of feet, something flashed before my inner eye.
    "Why not?" Barboar said. "You used to be a lot of fun until you turned against us."
    "I didn't turn against you; I decided I was done destroying the lives of mortals."
    "Bah! Mortals are nothing but cattle." His lips curled into a snarl. "Little Grimmy. The demon who cared."
    I concentrated on the demon, trying to focus on the hazy image in my mind, but couldn't quite see it. Against my better judgment, I reached out a tentative finger while the possessed man was looking at Tyler and touched him.
    The vision sharpened into a pattern. A word echoed through my head. Barboarklistlsvang . The pronunciation was bizarre, with an accent on the first and last syllables and a slight pause in the middle, almost like a chant.
    "So you do want to play," Barboar said, looking at me.
    I jerked my finger back and wiped it on the floor with disgust. "I'd rather eat a roach."
    Already, the pattern was fading from my mind's eye. The name, however, was burned into memory. I looked at Tyler and wondered why I'd never sensed a pattern or a name from him.
    "Maybe I'll drop you off at the Exorcists' church," Tyler said.
    "I'm sure you'd like that," Barboar said. "But you know you wouldn't dare go near one yourself."
    I abruptly thought of something and sent a quick text.
    Tyler stood and paced. "I'd kill your body, but that would be murdering an innocent human."
    "This man is hardly innocent." Barboar laughed with glee. "He's already raped two women and was thinking of killing the next one." He rubbed his hands