Chapter 2
Gabriel Thorne drew his long sword, lips moving silently as he cast a spell to enhance his vision as he prowled the depths of a long, pitch-black back alley in New Orleans’ famed French Quarter. At the moment he was stalking a foul-looking Drekros demon. The eerily pale, lumpy-skinned creature crept forward on deceptively weak-looking legs, its long, thin neck supporting a cruel head that was mostly made up of razor-sharp yellow teeth. Saliva dripped from its open mouth onto its hideous body.
As Gabriel stalked the Drekros, it was in turn stalking a pair of giggling college girls as they staggered down the dark alley, no doubt trying to make it back to the streetcar for a ride back to Tulane. The Drekros paused and raised its misshapen head, seeming to test the breeze. Gabriel
