Read Online In the Demon's Company (Demon's Assistant Book 2) by Tori Centanni - Free Book Online Page B

apologetically.
    “Oh,” I say. I hadn’t really thought of his visions as a condition but then, getting mental pictures of people dying all of the time would cause all kinds of problems. “That’s too bad.”
    “Yeah, it is.”
    There’s an awkward silence. Myron stares at the bookshelf as if he can see Gabriel through it.
    “So, there could be others like Azmos. They’re just not.. Compatible?” Cam asks.
    Myron shrugs. “Azmos is the only one I have a record of in the past three hundred years. Before that, there was another one, but he vanished into the ether. Not that my records are complete, mind you, and information I get from the Vacuus Realm is usually second or third hand, but as far as I know there aren’t any there either.”
    “What about female Vitas?” I ask, the word unfamiliar on my tongue. Azmos has always been just a demon. The idea that there were different kinds of demons never occurred to me until I met Xanan, and even now I have no idea just how many kinds of demons there are.
    Myron furrows his brow at my question. He types something into his computer and then shakes his head. “No females, but they must have existed. Few demons reproduce asexually.”
    “Some do?” Cam asks, surprised.
    “Sure. But it’s not common. It’s more common for them to interbreed with humans.”
    “That can happen?” Cam asks. “That shouldn’t be possible.”
    Myron shrugs. “The Vacuus Realm and the Human Realm are two dimensions laid on top of one another. There are cracks between the worlds. No one knows how or when the cracks appeared. Some people theorize they’ve always been there. Over time, travelers from each realm have wandered into the other. The Vacuus Realm has constant cloud cover, so humans who went there and made their way back thought it was the Underworld. Hence all of the stories about Hell. Travelers from the demon realm used to call your world the Overworld. It goes both ways, you see, the misconceptions. The inhabitants of the other realm are called demons as a form of shorthand, one we’ve all adopted, but it’s inadequate.
    “Like Earth, the Vacuus Realm has many different species. As humans are the most prolific species here, the payvan demons are the flourishing species of that realm. We look similar to humans, and again, no one is sure if it’s merely a case of convergent evolution or if there’s some connection. But humans and demons have managed to breed, so there must be something in common.”
    Cam and I exchange a look, realizing at the same time that this guy in front of us is a demon. Cam’s discomfort doesn’t last, mostly because he gets to talk science. “So it’s possible they—we—share a common ancestor.” It sounds more like anthropology than demonology so it’s no wonder Cam’s enjoying this.
    Myron points to him. “Very possible.”
    “So Azmos is a rare form of demon,” Cam continues. Myron nods. “What about other demons with similar powers?”
    Myron shakes his head. “It’s kind of a speciality. I mean, it’s weird magic. Some call it dark or cursed. Those people are a bit melodramatic, but you get the idea.”
    “So, you aren’t familiar with magic that could emulate what Azmos does? Even temporarily?”
    Myron scratches his forehead. “No.” His jaw tightens. “Maybe. But I’d sooner believe there was another Vitas in this world than a necromancer that powerful. Necromancy takes a strong toll on anyone who tries to wield it. Bringing anyone back to life at all is enough power to drive a person mad, let alone bringing them back with their mind intact. So it’s highly unlikely.”
    The hair on the back of my neck stands at attention. Necromancy is twisted death magic from movies, not something that can exist in reality, or so I’d believed. What Az does is close to necromancy but he doesn’t bring people back. He keeps them alive. He can’t bring people who are totally dead back.
    “What kind of magic do other demons