Garden of the Gods (The Immortals Series Book 3) by S.M. Schmitz Read Free Book Online Page B

O’Conners.”
    Andrew nodded in agreement. “I was sent here to help them learn a new gift, and Colin can already do something I wouldn’t even know how to begin attempting. That’s probably why these demons are targeting them first. They want all the Immortals dead, but they’re selecting them in order of who they consider most dangerous. They figure if they can get rid of the O’Conners first, they’ll go after Luca next, and then the rest of us.”
    The look on Amanda’s face told Colin and Anna she was trying not to panic. She’d slid her hands underneath the table so the hunters couldn’t see them shaking, but Colin had noticed her trembling fingers as he was talking. Anna wished she’d at least keep the money she continued offering her. After the night they were putting her through, it was the least they could do.
    “And how many of you are there?” she asked. Her voice quivered, too.
    Anna wanted to offer to get her that six-pack of Demon Ale.
    Luca drummed his fingers against his leg, probably trying to calculate how many had died in the past hundred years, how many had been added. It could be hard to keep up with sometimes. “Worldwide? A few dozen.”
    “That’s it ?” Amanda asked incredulously. “I was expecting an army of Immortals. This hardly seems worth Hell’s time.”
    Andrew snickered, but Colin couldn’t blame her for not understanding how powerful Immortals were in this fight between Heaven and Hell.
    “We’re not the same as regular hunters. Mortal hunters, I mean,” Colin answered. “Between the gifts we’re given and the experience we accumulate after living so long, and being chosen by Heaven because we have something unique about our personalities that make us a good fit for this job in the first place, we’re far more dangerous to Hell than an entire army of mortal hunters. Most of the demons that are killed on Earth are killed by Immortals, even though there are far fewer of us.”
    Amanda set her shaking hands on top of the table. She’d apparently decided she didn’t care if the hunters knew she was scared by the stories they were telling her. Who wouldn’t be? “What do you need my help for then? I’m mortal. I’ve never been visited by an angel, and I’m almost positive I can’t sense demons. Ghosts, yeah, but they’re all benevolent. And I can’t actually see them. I just hear their voices in my mind.”
    “We’re not entirely sure either, honestly,” Anna answered. “Our Angel suggested we find a real medium because you may be able to help us figure out how to… well, exorcize a demon.”
    Amanda laughed then stared at Anna as she realized she wasn’t joking. “Um, I’ve never owned a Ouija Board. I’ve never even seen The Exorcist ! And, whoa, I don’t want to get possessed. I’d like to help you, really, but this is…”
    “I’ve fought demons for over six centuries, and The Exorcist is a hell of a lot scarier,” Luca interjected.
    Andrew agreed. “That’s true. But that’s probably because we never actually see people possessed by demons. Well, until now.”
    “And I still don’t think it’s something they can do easily. We’re not exactly sure how Jeremy became possessed. We’ve only encountered it once in Nanjing, and Luca’s only ever seen it once before, too,” Colin added.
    Dylan finally looked away from the crack in the pavement. “Maybe twice, Colin. If that woman in Cane Ridge actually was possessed and not just crazy.”
    “Oh, right. Ok, so three times in over six centuries. And we’ve killed tens of thousands of demons. So the odds aren’t that bad, really.”
    Amanda shook her head again. “If I had any information to help you, I would. But this is out of my league. I wouldn’t even know where to begin.”
    Anna felt sorry for the only person out here that didn’t seem to be a total fraud. I mean, she knew tarot cards and palm readings were all a bunch of bullshit, but she probably used whatever gifts she