Fading Light: Shadow Born, Book 2 Read Online Free Page A

being irritated, but they hadn’t done it on purpose.
    “Is it a virus or a spell?” Gray hoped it was a spell. That would make it easier to counter.
    Seraph replied, “The consensus is it’s some kind of disease, but we can’t identify it. Whatever it is it unravels the human’s body composition down to its basic carbon make-up. The ash-like material that remains only contains trace elements. There’s no sign of a toxin, and there are never any contaminates at the scene.”
    “Have you been able to tie it to Adare?” Unseeing, Gray stared beyond the tinted windows to the scorched pavement.
    Seraph beat a steady rhythm on the steering wheel with his fingers. “No. But he could still be responsible.”
    “There’s no shortage of other psychopaths.” Brenna paused. “Adare pulled some of the strongest low-level demons I’ve ever seen through the Veil. They could have brought something with them.”
    Seraph jerked the vehicle onto a narrow dirt road. It bounced erratically, and Gray was forced to hold on to the door to keep his seat. The headquarters for the Interspecies Relations Taskforce, or IRT, was west of Denver, underneath the remains of the Justice Center that had once been affectionately called the Taj Mahal by locals. During the Rise, as the survivors of the Fall began to rebuild, they pieced together a government system to maintain a semblance of peace. Each state had been broken into districts, responsible for policing their own. The IRT was in charge of the Rocky Mountain District.
    The SUV slid through the darkness. Its tires stirred the parched earth, dust dancing in their wake. When they arrived at the tunnels, dawn had begun to creep across the horizon. Gray stepped from the truck. The air was heavy with sediment. It slipped into his lungs with each breath, leaving his throat scratchy. After demons had invaded headquarters, the IRT had amped up security. Instead of a visible entrance to the tunnels, a seamless wall of reddish dirt stood before them.
    “Give me a second and I’ll open it.” Brenna pulled a small metal square from her back pocket. Each hunter had been given a unique disc in place of a key. The discs were enchanted to recognize the blood of the hunter to whom they had been given. It was primitive and messy, but it worked. She pulled her athame free, using it to prick her fingertip and let her blood drip across the security pass. It activated with a buzz, and she placed it on top of the panel. With a growling sound, the dirt wall shifted to reveal a series of tunnels.
    One by one they stepped inside, with Brenna leading the pack. A layer of debris enveloped them as they moved into the darkness. Gray’s eyes burned, making it difficult to see. Once they were all inside, the doors behind them sealed, Brenna lifted her hands and clapped in a steady cadence. The Christmas lights strung along the tunnel began to flicker. Someone had replaced the standard bulbs with blinking purple lights and the result was startling.
    Gray pinched the bridge of his nose to steady his vision. “Someone is going to have a stroke.”
    “Probably me,” Seraph complained.
    “I like it.” Brenna smiled. “It gives the space character.”
    “I thought you limited Lucy to the reception area and the front hall.” Gray squinted in an attempt to see.
    “I tried,” Seraph replied in a pained voice.
    Lucy, the IRT receptionist, coroner, and altogether pain in the ass, had recently had a brush with death. Taking advantage of Seraph’s guilt, she had convinced him to let her redecorate. Gone were the stark white walls and cream tiles. The floor was now a bright lime green, the walls a textured crimson. The metallic paint hadn’t set well, and the finished result looked like a tie-dyed mess. But Lucy loved it. And they loved Lucy.
    It took about fifteen minutes to travel the expanse of the tunnels to the front door. Once Seraph de-activated the security protocols, the doors slid open and they stepped