Seduced by Crimson Read Free

have figured out right away. "The demons. They knew we could fight them. We had the knowledge and the…"
    "The amulet," murmured Hank.
    Slick nodded. "They knew. And they took you out."
    "But how?" Hank said as he leaned against the dark metal cabinet.
    "We knew because we were researching it!" Patrick snapped. "Because Mom…" He swallowed his words and set the file to print. His mother was a disastrous housekeeper, but her computer files were meticulous. He'd found all the electronic notes on Miss Xiao Fei Finney, one-time Phoenix Tear, and he knew what he had to do.
    "Not how did you know about the demons," Hank growled. "I get the whole feeling-the-energy thing."
    "Hank's been practicing too," Slick piped up with clear pride.
    Hank acknowledged her with a warm glance, but his words were for Patrick. "I don't understand how the demons knew about us. How did they know where to hit us and how?"
    "They feel the amulet…" Patrick began, but then his words faded away. "But they didn't attack me. They didn't even notice me."
    "Yeah," Slick chimed in. "They went for the druid circle. Not ours in L.A., but yours out here. How did they know?"
    The printer was still spitting out pages, so Patrick spent a moment to clear his thoughts. He had to focus. This was a chance to get information here without police interference. The last chance.
    He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, fighting the waves of grief that threatened to drown him. He was the Draig-Uisge. He had a mission: Close the demon gate before all of Earth was overrun. Everything else would have to wait.
    And yet, the scent of sandalwood, the whisper of silk, the intelligence that was his mother and the knowledge held by his father… He couldn't think. He couldn't breathe. They were dead.
    "Patrick. Buddy. Dude, don't fade on us now."
    "Leave him alone. He's just lost—"
    "Jesus, Slick, I know what he's just lost, but the whole freaking planet is at stake. We got demons on Earth!"
    "I'm here," Patrick interrupted, startled by how steady his voice sounded. As if his heart hadn't just died with his parents. As if everything he'd ever known hadn't just been ripped out from under him. "I'm the Draig-Uisge," he finally said. "I will end this."
    "Yeah," said his friend with obvious doubt. "But how? I mean, I'm here to help and all—"
    "
We're
here," Slick corrected.
    Hank nodded. "But what's the plan?"
    Patrick shrugged as he bent to retrieve the print-out. He grabbed Xiao Fei's adoption papers with his other hand. He already had the druid book of spells; his father had passed it on to him when he'd become their enforcer. Their Draig-Uisge. His father had…
    "Pat—"
    "You go tell everything to Pete. Let him figure out the whys and wherefores. He's good at that." And Pete was. A born researcher intent on multiplying his little academic kingdom, Mr. Pompous Prick would be great at understanding what happened—afterwards. But in the present…
    "You're going to find this Finney girl, aren't you?" Slick's voice was nervous. "Do you think she's in danger from the demons?"
    Patrick didn't answer. The more important question was whether she was in any danger from him, the Draig-Uisge. He moved toward the office door. He had to get to L.A., but Slick grabbed his arm, holding him back with surprising strength. When he turned to glare at her, she glared right back.
    "Why do you need this girl?" she pressed.
    How to explain? "I shape energy. I can use it to seal the demon gate."
    She brightened. "Awesome. But why do you need—"
    "But I need power. I can shape the power, but I can't create it."
    Hank stepped up and gently tugged his girlfriend's hand away. "The girl Xiao Fei has the power," he explained.
    Slick glanced at the adoption photo. Patrick didn't need to look down to know what she saw: a hollow-eyed Cambodian waif. Even on this printed copy of a copy, Xiao Fei looked lost and dirty and empty of everything except a painful confusion.
    "She's just a kid!" Slick