Tantrics Of Old Read Online Free Page B

hunting for me. This is planned, and this has been done before.’
    ‘Someone is setting you up.’
    ‘I think so, yes.’
    ‘So who did you piss off last?’
    ‘I can’t say I remember. I have many enemies.’ Adri regretted saying the words the moment they left his mouth.
    Aurcoe did not let it pass. ‘I have many enemies,’ he mimicked in mock seriousness. ‘Look at me, I’m so dramatic and serious and mysterious and dark and cool.’
    ‘I generally piss off people and all other kinds of entities, all right?’ Adri sighed, raising his hands in the air.
    ‘Not much to go on though,’ Aurcoe remarked, mostly to himself.
    Adri looked at him. If he knew the creature well, Aurcoe would soon make his demand, and if he did, Adri could rest assured that the pest was capable of finding out what he needed to know. The Fallen were very confident, but fickle. However, Adri could still not be sure if Aurcoe was really interested, or if everything said so far had been worth Aurcoe’s time.
    ‘Very well, Sen,’ Aurcoe declared after a pause. ‘I can get you the information you want and I can point you out in the right direction as well. But—’
    ‘What do you want?’ Adri was desperate to hear this bit. He did not want Aurcoe to recite the favourite fantasy of the Fallen. There was, however, no escape.
    ‘What else, Sen? What else can a Fallen possibly want?’ Aurcoe smiled broadly.
    ‘C’mon Aurcoe. Not that. Why
that
?’ Adri voiced a feeble protest.
    The Fallen were a cursed race. Having fallen from the grace of all things holy and pure, and finding no refuge among the ranks of the unholy breeds either, they were a condemned species that lurked midway between the two, fuelling conflict and solving problems for a price, trying to either win their way back into the higher order, or commit deeds low enough for them to be accepted into the nether orders. They had once been Angels, proud and powerful, but their wings had been ripped off, their skin not retaining the sheen, their blood losing its magical value and rendering them powerless as warriors. The Fallen were damned, but their salvation was always at hand—an essence that they could not procure themselves, yet was the simple path to the restoration of their power and honour. A simple solution for instant redemption.
    ‘The blood of an Angel,’ Aurcoe whispered, and Adri thought he saw the want in his eyes, the desperation, the thirst.
    ‘Why now? You haven’t asked for it before,’ Adri said.
    ‘You haven’t asked for
this
before,’ Aurcoe snapped. ‘What I’m getting into isn’t normal, Sen. Even with your limited human senses you should be able to see that. This is big, possibly bigger than you. And if little old me is endangering his existence with this whole poking around business, I might as well get the ultimate reward.’
    ‘Why not ask someone else? This is not the only deal you’re making, I’m sure.’
    ‘I’m cancelling my other appointments the moment I get into this, Sen. Make no mistake, this will eat up all my time. And I’m asking
you
to get it because I know you’ll manage it. Not praise, mind you. You’re pathetic, but you’ll manage nicely, I think.’
    ‘The fact that you’re
still
a Fallen proves that people don’t succeed often, Aurcoe.’
    ‘What, you want praise now? Look, Sen. People have failed, yes. It’s not an easy thing to get. But I know what kind of birds you Necromancers are, the whole lot of you. And I’ve seen you go to any lengths to protect your measly little lives.’
    Adri drew back grimly. The blood of Angels. It was twisted—a dirty job, not to mention tough as hell. A lot of lying was involved. Lies and life risks. But that’s what came out of associating with the Fallen. Adri took another sip of his coffee, now cold. ‘I take it that you have an Angel in mind?’ he asked.
    ‘Yes. But you know how tricky they are,’ Aurcoe said.
    ‘After dealing with your kind? Hardly.’
    ‘I will