"Banks, L A - Vampire Huntress 2 - 2004 - Awakening" - читать интересную книгу автора (Banks L. A)

Storrings, for his awesome cover design work; and to Liza Peterson, who gave
Damali Richards's voice living energy via her off da chain spoken-word rendition
of Damali's poem. THANK YOU! This deeply appreciated collaboration of allied
artistic support created the complete package and could not have been
accomplished without a team effort by serious, visionary individuals.



PART I
In order to cause the enemy to come of their own volition, extend some
[apparent] profit. In order to prevent the enemy from coming forth, show
them [the potential] harm.

ЧSun Tzu, The Art of War

Se wo were fi na wo sankofa yenki.
(It is not a taboo to go back and retrieve what you forgot.)

ЧSankofa proverb



PROLOGUE



Standing in the Middle of HellЕ

Carlos assessed his situation fast. Payback for all that he'd done in life was a
true bitch. There was no way out. He was dead. Or, more like half deadЧundeadЧa
vampire. Topside, he had a woman who he'd give his life for. Perhaps, to some
extent, he already hadЕ only to find out that the sister he was protecting was a
vampire huntress. Not to mention the fact that the woman he wanted more than his
next breath was surrounded by a gang of weapons-toting brothers and an
off-the-hook momma who could fight. Crazy.
The old vampires had called Damali a Neteru, and then thinking him ignorant and
stupid, and being themselves arrogant, had attempted to simplify the concept for
him by describing her as a slayer. Carlos smiled. The tension in their faces was
a dead giveaway that, for all their power, they couldn't hide. Yeah, they had
reason to worry.
But didn't they realize what he'd known all his life? Now dead, there was no
loss of that knowledge about what she wasЧspecial. Always had been, to him.
There was no simplifying Damali. Neteru fit her. To call her anything else would
be a clumsy summation of what she was.
His awareness from just a quick hit of Nuit's throne had given him a glimpse of
all who had hunted vampires in the past. For centuries humans had cast spells,
or those with mild forms of extrasensory awareness had come for what was now,
unfortunately, his kind. Shamans had performed rituals and secret societies had
made their own legends. But this one, this huntressЕ a Neteru was divinely
created and specially anointed. Damali was something that he could not put into