Scroll of Secrets by Laura Hall EPUB & PDF – eBook Details Online
- Status: Available for Free Download
- Author: Laura Hall
- Language: English
- Genre: Alternative History
- Format: PDF / EPUB
- Size: 2 MB
- Price: Free
RICARDO and I crouched against a crumbling wall, watching a small stone
cottage that stood alone on three acres of land. There was a light in one of
the two windows, and the sound of a baby crying echoed in the small
valley. The sky above was cloudless. There was no moon yet, but the
millions of stars above generated enough light for us to see.
We’d been hunting, fighting, and killing Empyreals across Paraguay,
Brazil, and Peru for months, traveling by private plane and car, tracking
them not with power but with plain human intel. It was slow and grueling
work. Many of the people we questioned were more than happy to provide
gossip about this man or that woman who brought disaster wherever they
went: crops failing, sewage lines erupting, a fatal fight between lifelong
friends.
The hardest part was deciphering natural events from unnatural. Often
the trails went cold, only to flare up again elsewhere. But always, when an
Empyreal was responsible, a pattern eventually emerged. Different demons
had different tastes—and they always sought their favorite food.
Those Empyreals who lingered in the larger cities were the Paladin Julio
Santos’s domain and expertise. The agreeable Paladin was the go-between
for the Order and the thousands of laypersons on its private payroll. Nearly
every major city in every country on the continent was somehow either
beholden to or supportive of the Ordem de Dues, the Order of God. It
operated as a charity institution to the public, with main interests of feeding
the homeless, teaching farming and sustainable skills, and women and
children’s services. The last bit I knew to be the influence of Ricardo’s
mother, Maria.
With Julio’s access to closed-circuit video surveillance, police
personnel, lawmen, and journalists, the newly transitioned Empyreals didn’t
stand a chance. It was lucky for us that when Tertiary Empyreals crossed
over from the Underworld, they had to occupy the same body for a year. We
were almost out of time, though; in another week those demons who had
crossed over in the tumult of Lilith’s grand scheme would be strong enough
to transfer to new hosts.
This was our last hunt, Ricardo’s and mine. We’d destroyed eleven
Empyreals all told. We were a good team, a deadly team, with my saolsword and Ricardo’s binding skills.
A baby in the mix complicated things.
“I only sense the child and one other,” whispered Ricardo.
I nodded. “Same.”
“What’s the plan?”
I glanced from his starlit face to the glowing window of the cottage.
“Knock on the door?”
I’d been joking, but we ended up doing just that. While Ricardo moved
stealthily toward the back entrance, I approached the front door. My katana
concealed by my long, dusty coat, I knocked three times on the aged wood.
The infant within gave a hiccoughing cry, then began wailing in earnest.
Footsteps creaked over the floorboards and I slipped a knife from my sleeve
into my hand.
The door opened a crack and an old woman’s face peered into the
darkness. “Quem é você?” she asked suspiciously.
“Eu sou um viajante,” I said, telling her I was a traveler.
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