Read Online Demon's Fall by Karalynn Lee - Free Book Online Page A

would destroy the mortal plane.
    “Why come to me?” he asked, but even as he spoke, he knew the answer.
    “The Horseman has been ravaging the city already and calling demons to arms. They know war is to be loosed against the bright realm above. They have seen you with the winged one. She will be the first casualty.”
    His first instinct was to return to her, but there was no way he could protect her from a multitude of demons. Now it was all the more imperative that Jahel be freed. “My thanks for the warning,” he said, and began running toward Tiras’s workshop.
    It seemed a longer distance than usual, and along the way he saw either empty streets or gatherings that were too large, with ugly moods. When he burst into the workshop, it was with a sense of deep foreboding.
    Tiras was sitting at his desk, frowning at a disassembled lock and oblivious to all else. There looked to be a hundred parts, but Kenan didn’t worry about breaking his concentration. He had an even more complex problem to offer.
    “I need to unlock the collar,” Kenan said, holding onto Tiras’s desk as he fought for breath.
    Tiras looked up from his work. “Around the angel’s neck?”
    “Yes.”
    “It’s locked?”
    “It has a seal set upon it,” he said. “A holy seal.”
    “An angel can remove that easily,” Tiras said patiently.
    “It’s been set with sticky sin.”
    “That’s an odd combination.”
    “And impossible to touch,” Kenan said. “Do you know a way to get it off?”
    “I’ll try,” Tiras said. “I’m human, once angel, and now a denizen of Hellsgate. I can’t think of anyone better suited.”
    “There’s no key?”
    “Those two were not set together to be removed that simply, Kenan. But my locksmith’s intuition tells me this may work.”
    Perhaps any mortal unaffiliated with Heaven or Hell would be able to manage this. But most humans in Hellsgate, even if they had the ability, wouldn’t do such a thing as free an angel. Tiras would, though. “All right. We have to hurry.” Kenan seized his wrist and hauled him to his feet, then set off.
    “I thought she was wearing it by choice, pretending to be your slave,” Tiras said, panting as he tried to keep up with Kenan’s relentless pace. “Otherwise I would have offered earlier.” His step faltered. “Someone chained an angel?”
    “Tiras,” Kenan said, “what’s more important now is that someone unchain her.”
    In the distance he could hear wails, and a hot wind breathed upon him, carrying with it the smell of ash. The crowds he’d seen before seemed more purposeful now—they were spread in front of several homes, as though conducting a search.
    Kenan almost careened into a succubus, who sniffed at the apology he yelled over his shoulder. Then suddenly she called out, “Isn’t that the one? The one with the angel?”
    Kenan skidded around a corner to get out of sight, cursing. Why had he paraded around half the city with Jahel in tow?
    “Are they hunting her?”
    “Now they are,” Kenan said grimly. There were shouts rising behind them. Just before they rounded the next corner, Kenan looked back to see a mob following them.
    Somehow Tiras found more speed, and they made it to the house having gained some distance from their pursuers. When Kenan fumbled with his key, Tiras shouldered him aside, shoved one of his own keys into the lock and turned it with a click.
    Jahel was still slumbering. Her hair had fallen to one side, revealing the seal.
    Tiras reached toward it. He jerked his hand back at the first touch, and Kenan saw the blister already rising on his skin.
    “It’s no use,” Kenan said.
    “But I touched it. That’s more than you can bear to do.” Tiras took a deep breath, then caught hold of the seal. He dug his nails under it and prised it off, then flung it away into a corner with a hiss. His hand was burnt from the contact with both the holy and infernal, the mark of the seal lay branded upon his palm and wisps of