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

strange new environment, relying partly on his physical awareness, and partly on
his mental sight.
"Look deeply," the entity whispered. "This is the were-realm."
As soon as the messenger had spoken, Carlos heard several mournful howls echo in
the distance. The screams that sounded human were everpresent, and the wolf-like
mourn pierced those cries to create a chilling call and response in the
darkness. Within seconds, golden-yellow eyes opened in the shadows within the
thicket. Carlos glanced down at his feet and saw human skulls and bones instead
of twigs. He was speechless.
"There are many different mutations within a demon species. The were-creatures
are one evolutionary turn from vampiri. Vampires have their wolfen trait from
one of their particular lineages, but are more sophisticated. The were-creatures
can deliver a vicious bite, turn their prey, or eat them, but they cannot hold
their shape permanently. They are beholden to the moon. This is what gives the
vampire realm the advantage. Our bite is permanent, hence our superiority. Our
human turns do not shape-shift based upon the phases of the moon."
Curious, Carlos glanced around. "How do you keep humans alive down here so the
werewolves can feed on live prey?"
The messenger chuckled. "Ah, you refer to the perpetual night sounds here?"
"The human screams," Carlos said impatiently.
"Those are harvested souls, not living humans. The were-creatures, like other
demons, are released through their topside portals by a curse or ritual levied
by a human with a soul. They eat topside, as do we all. But what remains here
are the souls of the damned to also be feasted upon in perpetuity. The damned
fuel the transformations and give each demon species strength. The damned feel
each topside human attack."
Carlos rubbed his jaw and continued to monitor the distance of the sounds, which
were advancing. "The souls take the weight?"
"Correct." The messenger nodded. "Each demon is created by the deepest, darkest,
most twisted human thought and desire. You are aware that thoughts and beliefs
manifest?"
"I am now."
"Good. You learn fast. The thoughts create the density of the demon. Determine
its range of power, or its horror. The lower realms are of the darkest thoughts,
most twisted human conception of evilЕ with a little creative license from our
Dark Lord. And, so it is with the souls. The greater the sin, the deeper the
soul is sent into our realms to contend with the most ravenous of our demons.
Sometimes the soul of an unredeemed sinner is ripped apart to experience
multiple levels of Hell. Their harvest location all depends on what the primary
focus of their human life has been; vengeance, lust, greed, murder, pick one. As
we visit the upper levels, you will notice that the density is less, as is the
darkness. It is all relative."
A series of howls turned into snarls, and Carlos could detect misshapen, low
stalking forms advancing just from the increasing volume of the sounds.
Thoroughly intrigued, he decided to wait until they had found a less dangerous
location before he'd fire another round of questions. The messenger had said two
things that he wanted to learn more about. One was the part about souls being
harvested. If he was damned, and if he was dead, then where was his own soul and
what was feeding on it? The second issue was the question of unredeemed sinners.
The messenger had not just plainly said sinners. By now Carlos had learned that