Free Refracted (The Celadon Circle Book 2) by Nicole Storey Page B

Louisiana.”
    Quinn thought for a moment. Two years ago, wasn’t it? A memory of slogging through a swamp with a scrawny teen – one with a buzz cut and a birthmark that surrounded his left eye drifted by.
    “A Rougarou , right?”    
    Nathan nodded.
    It had been a particularly difficult hunt. Rougarous were one of the worst types of demons. They could posses both humans and animals. Any person attacked by the demon, regardless of form, took on violent tendencies, ensuring their soul went to Hell when they died. Not only did they have to hunt down the Rougarou , which swapped bodies at will and attacked with swift ferocity, they also had to perform a ritual on each victim (the ones who lived) before they could scar their soul by shedding the blood of others. It was one of the most complicated cases they’d ever worked and it had lasted for over a month.
    “That’s the one,” Lucas replied. “I didn’t think it would take much to jog your memory. Those Rougarous are hard to forget.”
    “Please don’t tell me y’all have another one down that way.”
    Lucas laughed – a guttural sound, like chunks of stone and glass in an industrial grinder.
    “Hell no! I told the cloud crouchers upstairs if they ever sent me and my boys after another one of those bastards, I’d set their robes on fire.”
    It was Quinn’s turn to laugh. He didn’t know Lucas and his sons well – that long hunt was the one and only time he’d ever interacted with them – but he remembered now that Lucas’ wife died in a home robbery while he and his eldest son were on an assignment. Two men, high on every substance they could smoke, drink, snort, or inject, stabbed her with a rusty kitchen knife. Thankfully, the youngest boy slept through the entire incident and was spared. When all was said and done, the thieves stole thirty-seven dollars, Mrs. Fane’s wedding ring, and her life.
    Lucas’ son, the one who paired off with Quinn in the swamp, confessed that his father had lost all respect for the angels after that. He said his father felt that since they risked their lives and gave up so much for the Circle, the angels owed it to them to keep an eye on their loved ones while they were away. They decided to stay members of the Circle but worked for the angels on their own terms.
    “I’ve got the phone on speaker, Lucas. Nathan and Casen are here with me. What can we do for you?” Quinn poured the coffee. Nathan gestured for the donuts.
    “Well, it’s more like what I can do for you .”
    Casen frowned. “What do you mean?”
    Lucas cleared his throat, twice. Quinn thought he sounded nervous.
    “Ah…” He sighed. “Look, it’s not a secret in the Circle about what happened to Jordan. I hate it; I surely do. It’s just another example of negligence on the angels’ part. We take all the risks and they don’t do a damn thing for us.”
    Nathan put his half-eaten donut down, his expression slack. Quinn wished with everything he had that they could avoid this subject.
    Over the imaginary line, Lucas’ voice was thin, pensive. “ Why do we do it? Why ?”
    Quinn wondered if the man had momentarily forgotten them. He faked a cough in hopes of bringing the conversation back on point – whatever the point of this out-of-the-blue phone call was.
    It worked.
    “Anyway, I heard the angels aren’t doing much to improve the situation. Matter of fact, word is they’re actively looking for Jordan. Have any members of the Circle offered to help y’all out?”
    “No,” Quinn answered, “and we don’t expect them to. After all, we know who holds the cards in this game and it isn’t the ones with the scars and calluses.”
    “I heard that,” Lucas said. “You know, folks would be a lot better off if they learned one simple fact: There’s a bit of darkness in everyone – makes no difference who or what you are – and desperation reveals it every time.”
    Quinn had no idea how to respond. For the most part, it was true.