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breasted wide-collared coat with bright gold buttons. It was a lot warmer than it looked, almost as
warm as her parka.
Dante took her arm and led her to the Eclipse.  Have you ever been to an Italian birthday party?
She nodded.  One of my best friends is Italian.
 Have you ever been there as the date of one of the family? He held her door open for her, helping
her into her seat with a steadying hand on her elbow.
She shook her head.  No. Why?
He shut the door and moved around to the driver s seat.  Let s just say you re in for a bit of a
shock.
 Are they Neph like you?
 My mother is Neph. She s what we call a Legionnaire. Her main powers are inhuman strength and
endurance.
Whoa. She needed to remember not to piss off Mama.  So she s Superwoman.
 She likes to think so. But only Neph like Seth can fly. My mom s a warrior, a total bad-ass. He
grinned.  You always did your homework in my house.
 How many different types of Neph are there? I know there are the winged ones like Seth, and the
fire types like you. Now Legionnaires?
He shot her a quick, thoughtful glance.  I m a Seris. Fire does my bidding. Seth is an Angelus, with
wings of light.
 Are all Neph winged?
He shook his head.  Only the Angelus.
 Oh. So he wouldn t grow fiery wings. She was oddly disappointed about that.
 Legionnaires are among the most common angel-born, along with Knights, who have the ability to
summon weapons from thin air.
 That sounds pretty cool.
 It is. Malachi have the ability to speak any language they read or hear, can read the auras of those
around them, and teleport short distances.
 Which makes for a nice commute in the mornings.
He laughed.  Yeah. Well. Most Malachi use cars like everyone else. Remember, our powers use
energy, just like walking or riding a bike does. So the energy it takes to teleport to the office and back
again would be the same amount of energy needed to walk there, but used in one quick burst. It s
tiring.
 So it s not a power that s used often, I gather.
He shook his head.  When I use my flame, I pull the heat from the air around me and from inside
me. I ll feel both hot and cold to the touch, because my flame is heating my skin but my inner fire is
dimming the more I use my abilities.
 How are Shem different from Neph? Other than feeding, I mean. Beth had been meaning to ask
that question for some time, but the right time had never come up before.
 Their evil marks them. You remember what Diana looked like right before you shot her?
Beth shuddered.
 Exactly. They can hide their evil behind a human facade, but that s all it is. A facade. Once you
peel that away, the true abomination is revealed. They feed off of humans, flesh, emotions, heat 
 So they could feed off of your heat?
 Not...exactly. A Shem Seris feeds off the life energy of their victims, their inner fire, until the
person dies. The victim will often complain about being cold and can never get warm enough. Once
their inner fire is consumed, they die.
She shivered.  So you could become a Shem.
He shook his head.  No. It doesn t quite work that way. I was born Nephilim, and when my powers
emerged I chose to use them for good, like my mother before me. Shem angel-born are psychotic little
narcissists even before their powers emerge.
They drove in silence for a bit before Beth asked the other question that had been plaguing her.
 What kind of Shem are we after?
 A Shem Azar.
 What do they do? What are their powers? Beth needed to understand what they were facing if she
was going to keep Dante safe.
 Azar have the ability to heal both physical and spiritual wounds. They also have the ability to
inflict wounds, but the only Azar I know of hates doing it. He said it makes him feel unclean.
 And our Shem?
He sighed.  Shem Azar feed on the flesh of their victims.
 They re cannibals? She thought back to the wounds they d found on Jennifer Blake.  Oh my God.
It ate her.
He nodded.  Yeah. They tend to find the insides the most desirable parts. The heart, the liver...
She shuddered.  The offal.
 Yup. His grim tone lightened as they pulled up in front of a restaurant.  We re here.
 Yay. She swallowed thickly. She wasn t sure she was up to eating. And not just because of
cannibal Shem.
He chuckled.  You ve faced some pretty bad guys. You can handle one itty bitty family dinner.
When she glared at him he just laughed. Nice to know I amuse the hell out of him.
Dante took her immediately to an older couple standing near the entrance of the restaurant. He
kissed them both, something that surprised her. She wasn t used to seeing men kiss their fathers on the
cheek like that, but Dante made it seem natural.
 Dante. Ti trovo bene, figlio mio.
 Mama. Come stai?
 Bene, bene. E tu?
 I m good, Mama. He tugged Beth forward.  I d like you to meet Elizabeth Rand. Elizabeth, this
is my mother, Teresa Zucco.
Teresa was a small, slender woman in her early fifties, with dark hair streaked with silver and the
same warm brown gaze that characterized her son. Her voice was laced with more than a hint of Italy.
It was hard to think of such a tiny woman not only giving birth to Dante but being a mighty warrior.
Beth held out her hand.  It s nice to meet you, ma am.
Teresa took hold of her hand, staring at her with the same intensity she d seen so often on Dante s
face. She smiled at her son, her expression pleased.  Mi piace questo una ancora meglio di quello
scorso.
Dante turned bright red, leaving Beth to wonder what his mother had said to him. He cleared his
throat and turned to his father, who was trying not to laugh.  Dad, this is Elizabeth. Elizabeth, this is
my father, Rosario Zucco.
 Call me Russ. Dante s father had no accent, but a huge smile, laughing blue eyes and a small hint
of silver threaded through his golden hair. It was easy to see where Dante had gotten most of his
looks, and his size. Russ towered over her in the same way his massive son did.
 Nice to meet you, Russ.
Dante s father had a firm handshake.
Teresa patted Beth s arm.  You ll eat with us, naturalmente. She turned her attention once more [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]