were their prey; flying predators from the astral world, gathering for the kill…"Close your eyes!" <strong>Constantine</strong> said, taking out h<strong>is</strong> lighter."What? Why?""Because!"She merely stared at him.He shrugged. "Suit yourself." He flicked the lighter on, a small flame flickering feeblyagainst the congealing darkness, and lit the sacred cloth around h<strong>is</strong> hand on fire - the cloth fromthe robe that Moses wore to Mount Sinai.As he swung h<strong>is</strong> arm at the restless darkness, the cloth ignited with an unnatural flammability,making a flash so bright Angela yelled and covered her eyes.<strong>The</strong> strobelike circle of light lit up a dozen winged demons, a few yards away and comingright at them - shiny-black, reptilian, gargoyle like but sleek, jaws br<strong>is</strong>tling with needlelike teeth;m<strong>is</strong>sing the tops of their skulls like most soldier demons, the brainpan scooped away; their batwings bigger than a condor's spread; their talons lifted in front of them like the claws of hawksabout to pounce on mice. <strong>The</strong> nearest was a split second from Angela's throat.But the circle of light from the igniting cloth expanded instantly outward in a ring of pun<strong>is</strong>hingflame, consuming the demons. <strong>The</strong> flame swept through the air, sizzling the demons' materialforms away, leaving little but malodorous w<strong>is</strong>ps of smoke.All but for one, farther off than the others, that flapped away into the night, screeching.And as the demon flew off, the streetlights came back on in its wake. <strong>The</strong> light seemed bright,cheerfully technological, as if nothing had happened.One of the demons had been not completely consumed; its body was a rubbery, smoking shell,lying in the street. <strong>Constantine</strong> nodded toward it, muttering, "Demons stay in Hell, huh? Tellthem that."Angela suddenly bolted for a comer of the building, bent convulsively over, and retched intothe trashed-up alley."Don't worry," <strong>Constantine</strong> said, "it happens to everyone the first time. It's the sulfur."As he considered taking the demon's remains for evidence to show Midnite, a semitruck turnedthe comer, roared past them - and drove right over the demon's husk, shattering it into featurelessashes.Spitting, Angela returned from the alley. <strong>Constantine</strong> found a handkerchief in h<strong>is</strong> coat pocket,picked some old food crumbs off it, and handed it to her. She looked at it suspiciously."My handkerchief's not especially flammable," he said.She dabbed at her mouth. "I saw wings... and teeth.... <strong>The</strong>y were flying. What the hell werethose things?"She blinked at him.He shrugged. "Demons. Ghouls."<strong>Constantine</strong> looked around. Wondering if another attack was imminent. "Seplavites, actually.Scavengers for the damned."She shook her head. "You can't be serious. Th<strong>is</strong> <strong>is</strong> impossible.... ""Yeah, so everyone keeps telling me. And you know what - I don't think they were after me."He looked at her, suspicions beginning to coalesce.<strong>The</strong>re were many forces at work in recent events. Powers of darkness and light both.Someone had tried to kill them - but someone or something had also brought her to him. It wasn'tsomething Hell would have wanted.He felt like a drink. But he also felt something else.Just a flicker of light, somewhere inside him. A chance."Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked, frowning."You really believe she wouldn't commit suicide? You sure about that?""Isabel?" Her frown became a scowl. She dug in her purse, found a breath mint and chewed itup meditatively, looking out at the night sky. Neither one of them was in a hurry to leave the
comforting domain of the statue of Chr<strong>is</strong>t's mother.At last she answered him. "Never in a million years."<strong>Constantine</strong> made up h<strong>is</strong> mind. "Let's be sure." He started off toward h<strong>is</strong> apartment. <strong>The</strong>y'dneed a few things from there. He wondered if Detective Dodson would cooperate. "Let's see ifshe's in Hell."EIGHTFirst time in a couple of years I've been alone with a respectable woman in her apartment,<strong>Constantine</strong> thought. And what am I here for? Only the last damned thing I really want to do.Sitting on the edge of the recliner, <strong>Constantine</strong> rummaged through a cardboard box of oddsand ends from Ravenscar, while Angela, in the kitchen, filled a large plastic bowl with water.She carried the water carefully in, trailed by her cat. "Was it supposed to be hot or cold?"It didn't matter and he didn't bother to say. "Are these all of Isabel's things?""I can't believe I'm doing th<strong>is</strong>...."<strong>Constantine</strong> straightened up from the box to look at the cat rubbing against h<strong>is</strong> leg. "Howabout the cat?""Duck? Yeah, why... uh...?""Duck?" He smiled and picked up the cat. "Cats are good. Half in, half out anyway."Angela licked her lips. "So if th<strong>is</strong> <strong>is</strong> some kind of spell or something..."He sat back in the recliner and looked at the cat.Seemed to see something in its eyes that looked across the stream of time."...don't you need, like, candles and a pentagram for th<strong>is</strong> to work?"<strong>Constantine</strong> looked at her, deadpan. "Why - do you have any?" He smiled to show he waskidding and to hide the fact that he was scared. He was used to a lot of things. What he wasabout to do was something you couldn't get used to in ten thousand years.Some had tried to get used to it for just that long and more.He pointed, and she put the bowl of water down in front of him. He let the cat jump up ontoan armrest as he removed h<strong>is</strong> shoes and socks, then put h<strong>is</strong> feet into the bowl of water."Th<strong>is</strong> <strong>is</strong> crazy," Angela said, staring at <strong>Constantine</strong>'s feet in the water."Yes," <strong>Constantine</strong> agreed.But he meant it differently. Feeling some surpr<strong>is</strong>e that he could be more scared in th<strong>is</strong>moment than he had been in thinking about it earlier. He'd have thought that was as scared asanyone could get. Apparently there weren't any limits.He cleared h<strong>is</strong> throat. Made sure h<strong>is</strong> voice didn't tremble as he said, "I need you to stepoutside."She looked around-th<strong>is</strong> was her apartment. <strong>The</strong>n back at <strong>Constantine</strong>. ''I'm sorry?""Angela? Please."She let out a slow breath, then nodded and went to the hallway door.<strong>Constantine</strong> looked around. <strong>The</strong>re was a TV and stereo in an entertainment center, against thewall to h<strong>is</strong> right; potted plants dripping vines down between the TV screen and the shelves ofDVDs; prints of paintings by Turner and Wh<strong>is</strong>tler. <strong>The</strong>re was a pink ottoman on the light bluecarpet; a cabinet of books, some of them from a classics book club, some bestsellers, a Bible, aWebster's dictionary, a few police manuals, and a slender book he recognized: Time and the Soul
- Page 2 and 3: Styrofoam cooler. Last month, openi
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- Page 34 and 35: Constantine didn't even glance back
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- Page 44 and 45: y Jacob Needleman.He smiled. This w
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- Page 62 and 63: ELEVENConstantine didn't explain ho
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Chaz looked at Midnite more serious
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He'd sound like those lunatics who
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The darkness reached its maximal th
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madman, yet freighted with meaning
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Constantine had come out of the con
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second-sight. "You think Satan's so
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mumbling castings, so that they wer
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NINETEENConstantine and Chaz burst
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oaring out:"Into the light I comman
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He was supposed to be immune. He ha
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seconds?"Satan thought about it....
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his lips were too heavy to move. He
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Gabriel cleared his throat. "Then..
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the smoke away, and went to the fir