Page 30 of A Touch of Crimson
She nodded slowly. The wings—and the way they appeared and disappeared—were more than enough proof of how different they were. “And what do the lycans do? How do you use them?”
“They scent vampires in hiding, raid nests, and herd vamps into sparsely populated areas where they’ll cause the least amount of damage to mortals.”
“You said there are a hundred sixty-two Sentinels now. The rest…died?”
His chest lifted and fell with a deep breath. “They were casualties, yes.”
“How many lycans are there?”
“Several thousand from an original twenty-five, because they can breed.”
“And how many vampire casualties have there been?”
“Hundreds of thousands. But they’re still ahead, because they can spread vampirism to mortals much faster than the lycans can reproduce.”
“While you’ve been stuck with a static number, minus the ones you lose along the way?” Lindsay exhaled in a rush, overwhelmed by the enormity of the task Adrian faced. “Why can the fallen angel-vampires spread their sickness? I don’t understand why that’s okay.”
“I don’t have an answer for that. If I were to hazard a guess, I would say it has something to do with freedom of choice. The choice of the Fallen to refrain from sharing their punishment, just as they should have refrained from sharing their knowledge. And the choice of the mortals who are Changed into vampires.”
“You’re assuming the mortals have a choice.”
“There are those who seek the Change. Most especially those who are ill or crippled in some way. Those who want to live, no matter the cost.”
She shuddered. “Who wants to live like that? I’d rather be dead.”
Adrian took a step closer. Then another. “The better question is, who wants to die like that? Most mortals don’t survive the Change. Of those who do, many become feral and have to be put down. The Fallen don’t have souls. When they spread their affliction to mortals, who do have souls, the Change causes irreversible damage. Some minions can survive without a soul, but most lose their empathy and then their minds.”
“You call them minions?” Her nose wrinkled. “Even the term is disgusting.”
A breeze ruffled his hair, luring a thick black lock to hang over his brow. The slight blurring of his sharp perfection made him look younger than the early-thirties range she’d originally pegged him for.
Lindsay now knew what an illusion that was. His eyes, so brilliantly hued, were ancient. The length of time he was discussing so casually was unfathomable to her. Ages. Eons. Trying to imagine the history he’d seen was almost frightening.
“You’re here,” she said carefully, hooking her thumbs in the waistband of her pants, “to punish angels who taught mortals things they shouldn’t know yet…but you’re going to teach me things I wouldn’t know otherwise. Do the rules that applied to the Watchers not apply to you?”
“I’m going to teach you how to better defend yourself, but within the limitations of your mortal body. Basically, nothing you couldn’t learn elsewhere from mortal masters of self-defense.”
“Good.” She released the breath she hadn’t known she was holding. “Now that I know the basics, I want to go with you when you leave.”
He shook his head. “I don’t know what I’m dealing with. Until I do, it’s too hazardous.”
“There’s someplace safer than by your side?” she challenged.
“By my side is the most dangerous place for you to be.”
The temptation he presented proved that, but… “I’ll take my chances. Besides, I’m already packed.”
When his face took on an arrogant look of command, Lindsay held up a hand. “Think carefully,” she warned, “before you answer.”
Adrian paused. The stillness that settled over him was absolute.
She’d known within moments of meeting him that he was used to giving orders and having them obeyed without question. He was going to have to get over that with her.
“Your way or the highway?” he asked with dangerous softness.
Lindsay lowered her hand.“I do what I do—I kill heinous things—to avenge someone. I do it for the victims because they couldn’t do it for themselves. If I can help someone who has a name and a face, friends, a life I’ve seen… Do you understand? You said you would give me a focus, and that’s the kind of focus I want. I want to help you find whoever killed your friend.”
“I’m not hunting today.”
