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Lenore's monotone chanting was putting Azazel to sleep. He sighed and looked around aimlessly. The room was full of candles. Their flames flickered and danced creating distorted shadows on the wall.
A shape-shifter lay bound and gagged on the altar. Good thing he had the mind to sedate the poor bastard. Who knows what it would have turned into otherwise.
He stifled a yawn and Lenore cut him a sharp look. She spoke a few more words in Latin and then nodded to him. He raised the anathema and slammed it down into the shifter's heart. Pulling the weapon out slowly, he leaned over and suckled the wound.
Heat seared through his host's body, bubbling the flesh. Muscles spasms jerked him around until he fell to all fours. Convulsions rippled across him and his flesh suit melted off in chunks onto the floor.
He looked down at his hands. They looked like human hands. A little wet from his former host's unpleasant demise, but they were solid. He stood and looked at Lenore.
“Well?”
“You look the same.”
“That's because I chose to keep his form. At least for now.”
“How do you feel?” she asked.
He sauntered over to stand beside her, “Quite good actually. But I'm hungry.
She gave him an odd look. “Hungry?”
“Yes,” he smiled. “For more power.” He punched his hand into her chest and pulled out her heart. Lenore's body dropped to the ground. He bit into the still twitching organ, blood dripping down his chin. Electrical currents thrummed through his body. Lenore's power was alive inside him now.
“Had your fill yet?” A scratchy voice came from the doorway.
Azazel turned slowly to look at the old Crone. “Not really, but I'm sure you'll sate my hunger.” He stretched out his arm like he was reaching for her. Nothing happened. He tried again with the same result.
The Crone cackled. “If you notice, I'm behind the threshold where I'm protected.”
He looked down at a line of salt sprinkled across the doorway. Sucking air through his teeth, he looked around the room. Blasted witches. “What do you want, Crone?”
“I go where the power is. And you're the new power. I'm here to serve you.”
He raised his eyebrow. He did just kill his best witch and he would need some guidance as to how to use her powers. “Serve me how?” he asked.
“I can help you with the problem you have.”
“And what problem might that be?”
“You may be able to access your demonic powers now that you can shape-shift, Azazel, but you are nothing compared to that being downstairs.” The Crone took a deep breath. “There's no name for what she is. Her kind, they are more powerful than any demon, or angel, for that matter.”
“So I'll go kill her now, while she's powerless”
“That won't stop the rest of them. The ones that are already out there.”
He grimaced and then leaned down, ripping a piece of Lenore's robe from her body. Wiping his hands and face with it, he looked back to the old witch at the door. “And you can solve this issue for me?”
She nodded. “You must get the Angels to help you kill them.”
He laughed. “You're crazier than I thought. How about I just take Keres' power and kill every single last one of those damned Unnamed abominations.”
“Don't be a fool. You're a demon. She has celestial blood in her veins, it will eat you alive,” the crone chastised. “The only way a demon can take an Angel's power is if they have human blood running inside them.”
“That shouldn't be a problem,” he stated. “If you haven't noticed, I have quite a few humans roaming about.”
The Crone shook her head. “Not just any human blood. It's extremely rare. It has to have just the right proportions of demon and angel attributes.”
“So, where do I find one of these 'special' humans?”
“Most of them die at birth. But if you stay alive long enough, you'll find one.”
Azazel sighed. If Lucifer found out that he'd created a monster more powerful than demons and Angels alike, then he could kiss his newly created ass good-bye. “Let's just say I got the Angels on board with your wacky little plan. If we kill all these Unnamed things, what good will it do me? I'd rather have their power.”
“There will be more, eventually.” The Crone snickered. “The blood will cross enough times that another will be born. Like I said, you have to stay alive long enough for it to happen.”
“Hmmm, and I suspect you have a plan as to how I can accomplish all of this?”
She smiled wide showing a mouth full of decaying teeth. “Of course.”
Azazel stepped out of the circle. He wasn't one to turn down an opportunity, and this old crone definitely presented one. “I'm listening.”
The Unnamed - Prequel to the Haedyn Chronicles Page 5