Inferno by Sherrilyn Kenyon Read Free Book Online Page B

arm and pulled him to a stop. “Is that it? Are those the only two things it could have been?”
    “No. It could be Noir trying to summon you to the Nether Realm. Or a Fringe Guard or other bounty hunter entering this plane, or walking past Bubba’s store. It could have been a god popping into Sanctuary for a bite to eat … or a million other such things. Whatever it is, it’s your powers attempting to charge so that you can face whatever threat might be heading your way.”
    Oh, goody. Just what he wanted. Someone else out to get him.
    “Do your powers do that, too?”
    Caleb nodded.
    That gave him hope. “Then did you feel it a few minutes ago?”
    “Nope, but all that means is whatever’s after you isn’t after me. Or it could be that it’s not strong enough that I need to charge my powers to fight it. The warning system only goes off when you need to prepare yourself for battle.”
    Yah, me.
    The moment Caleb finished, another foreign wave went through Nick and with it came clarity about his friend. Something he’d never known.
    It was the reason Caleb’s powers hadn’t charged just now.…
    “You’re a demigod.”
    His features paling, Caleb stepped back. He narrowed his gaze in warning. “What did you say?”
    Nick paused as he sought the source of that revelation. But there was nothing more tangible than a feeling of certainty deep in the pit of his stomach. He knew for a fact that Caleb was part ancient god, and a major one at that. “You are, aren’t you? That’s why you’re stronger than other mid-level demons. It’s why you were a general in the First War. You can siphon off your father’s powers.”
    A shield came down around Caleb, preventing Nick from sensing anything else about him, even his mood. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
    “Yeah, right. You know better than to lie to me.” Lie detection was about the only power Nick had that never failed him.
    Caleb’s eyes flashed bright orange in warning. “Drop the subject, Nick. Now.”
    Why? Why would that bother him? If Nick had the blood of a god in him, he’d dance around the block and tell everyone and their chickens. Loudly. Heck, he’d probably tattoo it to his forehead.
    “Why didn’t you tell me?”
    “Don’t ask questions you don’t want to know the answer to,” Caleb growled.
    And in that instant, Nick saw the trigger of Caleb’s rage in his mind as clearly as he saw the anger on Caleb’s face.
    Deep in the past, Caleb stood before his father, who looked so much like him that it was hard to tell them apart. But Nick knew Caleb’s black battle armor that appeared to bleed on its own as camouflage so that no one would ever know if Caleb had been wounded in a fight. Caleb’s black hair was longer then and fell in waves to his shoulders. A short, well-groomed beard dusted his cheeks as he confronted the god who had fathered him.
    “What have you done?”
    His father ground his teeth in an anger that rivaled Caleb’s. “It’s not what you think.”
    “Isn’t it? You’ve sold out all of us … including me.”
    “I had no choice.”
    Caleb laughed bitterly. “We all have choices, old man.” He raked his father with a sneer. “At least I finally know for sure where I fall in your affections. Not that I didn’t before … Thanks for the rectal confirmation.” With those words, his human skin transformed to that of a demon—as if Caleb no longer wanted to claim that part of himself at all. He jammed his helm down over his head and started away, but his father caught his arm.
    “I do love you, murahn .”
    Caleb snatched his arm free. “I am no son of yours,” he snarled between clenched teeth, “so don’t pretend otherwise. I was nothing more than an unwanted byproduct of your lust for a demon who had no maternal instinct at all. You should have let her devour me the instant I was spawned. But don’t worry. I won’t shame you again by claiming you. As far as I’m concerned, I was