Read Online Destroyer of Worlds by Jordan L. Hawk - Free Book Online
Authors: Jordan L. Hawk
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hadn’t been a complete nightmare.
He wouldn’t be the same, and neither would
Gray. And neither, unfortunately, would John.
Caleb spent most of the drive detailing
everything he’d seen at RD, including all the demons in the
basement. John’s knuckles had turned white from clenching the
steering wheel, and his expression grown more and more fixed. After
dumping that load on John’s shoulders, Caleb hadn’t been able to
bring himself to mention the moths’ offer to exorcise Gray. He
hadn’t called them, either; he owed it to John to tell him about
SPECTR first.
He still had some time left. John and Sean
would exorcise him, and if something went wrong and it didn’t work,
he’d call the moths and get their help.
And if it did work…the other thing he hadn’t
yet brought up would become an issue. Somehow he had to convince
John to let Gray go, against every law and every SPECTR
dictate.
John hung up. “Sean’s going to meet us at an
abandoned house. Kaniyar stuck us on ghoul patrol last week, and
it’s one of the addresses we didn’t check yet. We’ll perform the
exorcism there.”
“ Thanks. How did he take the news about
my breaking out and…everything?”
John’s eyes darkened. “Not bad.”
“ Really?”
“ He’s still processing. But we’ve been
best friends since high school. He knows I wouldn’t just make up
something like this.”
Caleb winced. “I’m sorry about SPECTR.”
John’s mouth tightened. “Not your fault.”
“ I know, but…well, I’d say I know how
you must feel, but truth is I can’t fucking imagine it right
now.”
John shook his head, blue eyes locked on the
road. “Once we’ve removed Gray, the three of us will go to Kaniyar.
Pittman can verify you’re not lying about what happened.”
Caleb thought about pointing out Kaniyar
might very well know exactly what went on at RD. Somebody sure as
hell did; no way was an operation that big carried out without any
knowledge of the higher ups. And Forsyth didn’t have any
higher-ups, except for the Director of SPECTR himself.
But crushing John’s last bit of optimism
seemed too cruel. He rested his hand on John’s knee, denim warm
against his fingertips. “Thanks for trusting me.”
John took one hand off the steering wheel to
cover Caleb’s. “I won’t pretend I didn’t have some sleepless
nights, but…you’re a good guy.”
John trusted him even more than SPECTR. Maybe
he wouldn’t totally freak when Caleb asked him to set Gray
free?
Christ, I hope so.
“ As do I.”
Chapter 7
Ironically, their destination lay only a few
blocks from where Caleb had originally encountered Gray. The
neighborhood hadn’t improved in the last forty days: cracked
pavement, faded paint even on occupied buildings, shuttered
businesses. A man carrying a paper bag wandered the buckled
sidewalk, pausing to take a swig out of the bottle inside. Seagulls
dotted the pot-holed parking lot in front of a liquor store not yet
open for the day, their beady eyes bright.
John parked in front of a weathered house,
which looked like it would fall down in a strong breeze, let alone
the next hurricane. Like many old Charleston homes, it stretched
long and narrow to catch the sea breezes, and stood side-on to the
street. The front door looked out on a vacant lot, which had no
doubt once been a verdant garden.
Sean’s sedan pulled up a few seconds later.
Unlike John, dressed in a t-shirt and jeans, Sean wore his usual
suit, even though it was a Saturday. Maybe he’d gone into the
office for work?
John climbed out of the car and hurried to
Sean. “Thanks for meeting us.”
Sean reeked of cigarettes even more than
usual, as if he’d been chain smoking for days. “Yeah,” he said,
glancing at Caleb. “No problem.”
“ There’s stuff you need to know,” John
said. “About RD. Things Caleb saw. But it can wait. Are you ready
to do the exorcism I told you about?”
Sean looked at Caleb again. What was his
problem?
He wouldn’t be the same, and neither would
Gray. And neither, unfortunately, would John.
Caleb spent most of the drive detailing
everything he’d seen at RD, including all the demons in the
basement. John’s knuckles had turned white from clenching the
steering wheel, and his expression grown more and more fixed. After
dumping that load on John’s shoulders, Caleb hadn’t been able to
bring himself to mention the moths’ offer to exorcise Gray. He
hadn’t called them, either; he owed it to John to tell him about
SPECTR first.
He still had some time left. John and Sean
would exorcise him, and if something went wrong and it didn’t work,
he’d call the moths and get their help.
And if it did work…the other thing he hadn’t
yet brought up would become an issue. Somehow he had to convince
John to let Gray go, against every law and every SPECTR
dictate.
John hung up. “Sean’s going to meet us at an
abandoned house. Kaniyar stuck us on ghoul patrol last week, and
it’s one of the addresses we didn’t check yet. We’ll perform the
exorcism there.”
“ Thanks. How did he take the news about
my breaking out and…everything?”
John’s eyes darkened. “Not bad.”
“ Really?”
“ He’s still processing. But we’ve been
best friends since high school. He knows I wouldn’t just make up
something like this.”
Caleb winced. “I’m sorry about SPECTR.”
John’s mouth tightened. “Not your fault.”
“ I know, but…well, I’d say I know how
you must feel, but truth is I can’t fucking imagine it right
now.”
John shook his head, blue eyes locked on the
road. “Once we’ve removed Gray, the three of us will go to Kaniyar.
Pittman can verify you’re not lying about what happened.”
Caleb thought about pointing out Kaniyar
might very well know exactly what went on at RD. Somebody sure as
hell did; no way was an operation that big carried out without any
knowledge of the higher ups. And Forsyth didn’t have any
higher-ups, except for the Director of SPECTR himself.
But crushing John’s last bit of optimism
seemed too cruel. He rested his hand on John’s knee, denim warm
against his fingertips. “Thanks for trusting me.”
John took one hand off the steering wheel to
cover Caleb’s. “I won’t pretend I didn’t have some sleepless
nights, but…you’re a good guy.”
John trusted him even more than SPECTR. Maybe
he wouldn’t totally freak when Caleb asked him to set Gray
free?
Christ, I hope so.
“ As do I.”
Chapter 7
Ironically, their destination lay only a few
blocks from where Caleb had originally encountered Gray. The
neighborhood hadn’t improved in the last forty days: cracked
pavement, faded paint even on occupied buildings, shuttered
businesses. A man carrying a paper bag wandered the buckled
sidewalk, pausing to take a swig out of the bottle inside. Seagulls
dotted the pot-holed parking lot in front of a liquor store not yet
open for the day, their beady eyes bright.
John parked in front of a weathered house,
which looked like it would fall down in a strong breeze, let alone
the next hurricane. Like many old Charleston homes, it stretched
long and narrow to catch the sea breezes, and stood side-on to the
street. The front door looked out on a vacant lot, which had no
doubt once been a verdant garden.
Sean’s sedan pulled up a few seconds later.
Unlike John, dressed in a t-shirt and jeans, Sean wore his usual
suit, even though it was a Saturday. Maybe he’d gone into the
office for work?
John climbed out of the car and hurried to
Sean. “Thanks for meeting us.”
Sean reeked of cigarettes even more than
usual, as if he’d been chain smoking for days. “Yeah,” he said,
glancing at Caleb. “No problem.”
“ There’s stuff you need to know,” John
said. “About RD. Things Caleb saw. But it can wait. Are you ready
to do the exorcism I told you about?”
Sean looked at Caleb again. What was his
problem?
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