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“Simon—” Zach ducked as another burst of flame splashed the wall behind him. “I thought you said it was under control.”
“She.” Simon was eerily calm, dodging the spurts of fire aimed at him. “And don’t ask me how I discovered it.”
Zach was more than happy not to know. He ducked another tongue of fire, glad he’d spent so much time learning to block the waves of emotion people—and demons—threw around. It would make what he was about to do easier. He took a deep breath and braced for pain.
“I need to find her weakness.”
The clawing pain nearly dropped him, but he saw it—and gathered himself enough to shout at Simon.
“Lower spine—punch—”
“Got it.”
Simon dove to the floor and slid toward the demon like he was headed for home base, moving so fast the demon didn’t realize what he meant to do until it was too late. His fist shot up and smacked against the bottom of her spine. She let out a screech that threatened to break Zach’s eardrums and flamed out. Simon jumped to his feet, catching her as she toppled.
“I’ve got you, sweetheart.” Right—only Simon would call a demon who just tried to fry him sweetheart. He slipped a bracelet over her wrist, iron wrapped in silver. It wouldn’t burn her, but it would neutralize her flame throwing ability. “We’re not trying to hurt you, we want to help.”
“Tell that to the damned angel riding your soul.”
Simon raised an eyebrow. “He’s not the one in control.”
The demon coughed, rubbing her lower back. “I don’t think anyone’s told him, yet.” Her voice, which sounded like rock pounding over gravel, didn’t improve with the added pain. She looked over at Zach, red eyes narrowed. “How did you fi—”
“A talent,” Zach said, cutting the demon off before she said the F word. He was already exhausted from throwing himself at his own gift. Or curse, depending on the day. Today he was going with both. “We have a place you can go, until you can get your new powers under control.”
She stared at him, her red eyes narrowed. “How did you—”
“It’s what we do. New demons have a certain—aura.” And it was one of Zach’s newly acquired talents. Probably a side effect of tangling with Elias. Whoopee. “There’s a haven, specifically for your kind.”
“Do I have to wear this—thing?” She waved the bracelet, flinching as it shifted on her wrist.
With the flames gone, she was oddly beautiful—like a blackened statue of the perfect woman. Except for her face. That was—alien.
Zach remembered seeing images of demons in his long nights spent researching. She looked like the model for them, with her triangular shaped face, flat cheekbones, nonexistent lips, and red eyes that were so intense he swore they could see past all the layers and into his soul.
Simon’s voice jerked him back. “Not once you prove you can follow the rules of the haven.”
“I—yes. Wearing my façade among these humans is more confining than I expected.” She held her hand out to Zach. “Thank you.”
He took it, surprised by how cool the dark, cracked skin felt—and let out a shocked cry when she yanked him forward. Her other hand closed over the tattoo on the inside of his right wrist. The contact was explosive.
White-hot fire roared through him. He barely felt himself hit the ground, wrapped in familiar pain—pain that had only been an echo of the real thing in his dreams.
“Zach—open your eyes for me, son. Damn it, what did you do?”
“An experiment. I tasted it, when he touched me. Every demon knows that power.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“My power,” Zach whispered, forcing his eyes open. God, he hurt, every inch as raw as his soul. “She touched my grace.”