Read Seized: An Urban Fantasy Novel (The Thrice Cursed Mage Book 4) for Free Online

demons seemed a bit too scary for my tastes, and I had actually sold my soul to a demon.
    “In a manner of speaking.” Wendy shrugged. “They’re not actually associated with Beleth. They’re more like adoring fans.”
    “So this demon’s got groupies?” I asked, shaking my head. I could get behind the idea of selling out to a demon in exchange for money, power, or whatever, but doing it to the point where you’d cut out your tongue and be burned alive by black flame because you were fangirling? That was a whole different level of crazy.
    “Yeah, and if you see one, just shoot her in the face.” She looked away from me and stared at the wall of the van like it was the most interesting thing in the world. “They can’t be saved. So if you’re the kind of guy who has a pathological need to rescue people, just know you can’t.”
    I watched her for a moment, trying to decide whether or not I wanted to argue with her about whether or not people who had made deals with demons could be saved. After all, I had done the same thing and there was still a small part of me that hoped I might be able to get out of a bath in the proverbial lake of fire. Still, I wasn’t sure what good it would do because in the end I’d be arguing with myself.
    “What if we killed Beleth?” I asked, scratching my chin. After all, I’d killed a demon before. Maybe doing it again would make the sisters wake up and smell the roses? Then again, maybe that wouldn’t shake their faith even the slightest.
    “I doubt we’d be able to kill Beleth. You need a weapon blessed by an archangel to do that,” Wendy said, her gaze drifting back to me. “Besides, that’s not the job. The job is to rescue those kids before Beleth does whatever she does with them.” She dropped her hands into her lap. “I’m just here to do the job.”
    “I can deal with that,” I said, staring up at the roof of the van. There was no point in trying to figure out how to save the demonic nuns because I was probably going to have to kill a shitload of them to save the children. There was no reason to go and make things complicated. Right now my job was simple. Rescue the kids and get back home to my family. If I had the chance to take out the demon, I’d take it, but otherwise, New York was on its own.
    That said, I was glad to at least know where I was for once. Vassago hadn’t mentioned where this job was. Then again, it wasn’t like it mattered. I had no idea where my family actually lived. Even if I caught a bus and tried to run, where was I going to go?
    I must have been wrong about how close the cops had been because when the van stopped a few minutes later, I’d long since stopped hearing sirens. It was probably for the best. The last time I’d encountered police, they’d kicked the shit out of me so they could use me for ransom. I’d hate to have to go through that again. Then again, judging by the way my crew had taken out the nuns, I probably didn’t have much to worry about. Wow, I never expected to think that sentence either.
    The back door opened, flooding the interior of the van with too bright light. Vitaly stood outside a solemn Russian grimace on his face as he adjusted his tattered red tie with one huge hand. Even though shifting into a huge hulking rage monster never seemed to destroy a person’s clothing, and I’d still not figured out why, apparently it couldn’t save his suit from being shredded by a grenade.
    It wasn’t like I was much better. I was still wearing the same clothes I’d been wearing when I’d fought my way through zombies two days ago, and to say I was as fresh as a petunia would be a ginormous understatement. I longed for a shower, shave, and fresh deodorant, but something told me those things were a ways away. Then again, maybe not since I’d been trapped back here with a girl covered head to toe in blood and was now staring at a werebear wearing a tattered suit. Perhaps new clothes would be on the list.
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