A Temptation of Angels Read Online Free PDF

the steps leading downward. Taking them as quietly as possible, she continued down a pathway at the side of the house. She could not be certain this was the direction Griffin and Darius had traveled, for they were already out of her line of sight. But the only other possibility was the backyard, and she was quite sure the brothers were not taking tea in the garden.
    The path led her to the front of the house. She saw the streetlight under which she had stood some time ago, trying to decide whether or not to ring the bell, and stood back from it, not wanting to be seen. She had a moment’s panic as she surveyed the streets, black save the pools of light seeping fromthe streetlamps. What if she was too late? What if they were already out of sight?
    But no. As she looked to the right and spotted the brothers making their way down the smoky walk, relief flooded through her. She followed them down the street, trying to maintain enough distance that they would not see her shadow or hear her footsteps, though this was likely an unnecessary precaution. She noted with satisfaction that her bare feet made nary a sound on the stone.
    It was not easy, trying to keep up with the long-legged stride of the two men while trying to mind landmarks so that she would not be lost on her way back to the house. She was skirting a light post when a dark figure appeared out of nowhere, standing in the shine of the lamp.
    “Oh, my goodness!” She clamped a hand over her mouth even before the words had escaped entirely.
    “You must be joking.” Her shock at the sudden appearance of the figure was outdone only by her surprise at the dry—and now slightly familiar—voice that came from its direction.
    She leaned toward him, peering through the fog. “Darius?”
    He sighed, tipping his head so that she could make out his features. “You shouldn’t sound so surprised, given that
you
were following
us
. Unless you’re in the habit of following strangers?”
    She shook her head. “But you… I… That is, I was following you.”
    “I think that has already been established.” The voice came from behind her. She knew without turning that it belonged to Griffin.
    She blinked a few times, trying to clear the fog that seemed to have drifted from the street to her mind. “I was
following
you. That means you were in front of me.”
    Darius folded his arms across his chest, his expression growing as dark as the streets around them. “That’s generally how following someone works.” His gaze drifted to Griffin. “She
is
a clever one, brother.”
    “No need to be snide,” she snapped. “You know what I mean.”
    She looked up the street where they had been walking only moments before. She
knew
they had been there. She had seen them. And yet now Darius was right beside her as if he had appeared out of thin air.
    Griffin sighed. “Listen, we’ll explain everything later. You really shouldn’t have followed us. It isn’t safe.”
    She placed her hands on her hips. It was the only act ofdefiance she could muster, other than her words, which never failed her. “I’m not going back. Whatever you’re doing, wherever you’re going, it concerns me as well. I’m not a child and I won’t be ignored like one.”
    “Any other time, I might like to argue that point.” Darius stepped from the lamplight. “As it happens, we don’t have time to debate the issue, and I’m quite sure you don’t know how to jump yet. You’ll have to come with us now, though you may very well wish you hadn’t, when all is said and done.”
    He walked ahead without another word as Griffin gestured her to follow.
    “Come. And stay close. It’s a very dangerous time for those of our kind.”
    She lost track of their progress through the darkened streets. She didn’t know why she should trust the Channings after so short a time, but she no longer worried about finding her way back to the house alone. She somehow knew that at the end of the night, she would return