Defeat the Darkness Read Free

probably flying through the Seattleranks, because Paladins gossiped like a bunch of old hens. It didn’t mean he wanted them to know what really happened.
    â€œMy real question is are you here to lick your wounds or to work?”
    Son of a bitch, this guy went right for the jugular. If he liked blunt, he’d get blunt. “A little of both.”
    Devlin lapsed into silence, clearly considering his options. Finally, he nodded. “Okay, here’s what I can offer you. I’m not going to trust you or anybody else at the barrier until I know he can face what comes across it. None of us have any reason to love those crazy bastards when they attack, and you definitely have more reason than most to hate them. But here’s the bottom line: if you’re unsure of how you’ll handle it, I won’t risk my men’s lives by asking them to fight next to you.”
    If Bane hadn’t wanted to take on Hunter, why had he let Jarvis send him in the first place? “So you’re saying maybe I should book my return flight to St. Louis?”
    â€œThat’s up to you. There is an alternative.”
    Hunter had already come this far. He might as well hear the man out.
    He settled back in his chair. “I’m listening.”
    â€œI’m sure you’ve heard about our interactions with the Kalith.”
    Hunter sneered. “Yeah, we heard you’d adopted a few strays. Didn’t realize you were actually naming your pets.”
    Bane’s big fist slammed down on the desk hard enough to topple a stack of files onto the floor. He ignored the mess as he leaned forward and snarled, “Thatattitude will get you nowhere, Fitzsimon. Like I said, I know what you’ve been through.”
    â€œLike hell you do!”
    Some of the steam went out of Devlin’s fury. He leaned back in his chair and stared at Hunter for a few seconds. “Maybe you’re right, but you need to understand that things are different for us. I hate those crazy fuckers that attack every time the barrier goes down as much as the next guy. But around here, we consider the Kalith warriors like Barak, Lusahn, and Larem our friends and allies. All of them have risked their own necks to save lives—Paladin lives.”
    â€œSo what? It’s not like that evens the score.”
    Devlin shoved his chair back and stalked around to Hunter’s side of the desk. “Lose the fucking attitude, Hunter, or I will personally stuff your worthless carcass on the next plane back to St. Louis!”
    Hunter clenched his fists, but he held himself back. “Look, I’ll try. Just don’t shove them in my face.”
    â€œShouldn’t be a problem. I’m shipping your ass north of here.”
    Devlin reached across his desk, pulled a folded map out of the top drawer, and spread it out. He pointed to a spot on the enlarged map of the city.
    â€œWe’re here in our headquarters located in the Seattle Underground. The barrier stretches through under the city here and here. The closer you get to the volcanoes, the more unstable it becomes. And just to make things more interesting, we’ve got tectonic plates crashing into each other right offshore.”
    Where was all of this headed? “Thanks for the geology lesson.”
    â€œSmart-ass,” Devlin said with no real heat. “We do our best to guard the area, but you know there are never enough of us to go around. That means some spots are vulnerable.”
    He flipped the map over to show the entire state of Washington. “We’ve found out that there has been movement going in both directions across the barrier. Greedy bastards on both sides are making money at the cost of lives of our people and theirs.”
    Hunter didn’t much care how many crazy Others died—or Kalith warriors, for that matter. He kept that little bit of information to himself, figuring it wouldn’t pay to antagonize Bane any more than he