Autumn Rising Read Online Free PDF Page A

fluorescent light above her. The sight shocked her. Her skin was pale, and she looked too thin after not eating properly lately. Her nostrils were dark with encrusted blood, and purple and green bruises blackened her eyes. There appeared to be another stainless steel surface which she was strapped down upon, like a surgical table.
    A fresh shot of terror surged through her. Surgical table! What did that mean? Surely they weren’t going to perform some kind of surgery on her? Autumn forced herself to clamp down on her fear. She needed to keep control of herself if she was going to make it out of this.
    She took a breath and opened her mouth, hoping her voice would come out stronger than she felt, and not betray her with a tremble. “Hey, Thorne! I’m awake now, or are you too scared to be in the same room with me if I’m conscious?” The words brought back the memory of his earlier threat, and she suppressed a shiver threatening to wrack through her. She listened intently for a response, her ears straining for any sound, yet none came. Even so, she felt sure she was being watched, that there were eyes on her. They wouldn’t bring her here and abandon her completely. Tala had proven that her blood did what everyone had told her, what her own experiments had shown, so now Autumn had no doubts. She was vital to whatever plans Calvin Thorne was hatching. Was he continuing Dumas’ good work and planning to create some kind of shifter army? Or did he have something even more heinous on his mind?
    “Come on, boys!” she shouted again, pulling at her bonds. “You must think I’m one hell of a threat to need to drug me and tie me down. What are you frightened of—that I’ll turn you into one of them?”
    Was that what they were frightened of ? Did they see her like some kind of master vampire creature, with the ability to turn regular humans into freaks at will?
    She heard the swoosh of a door opening, followed by heels going clack, clack, clack against the hard floor. The person walked slowly, and the sound of their heels against the floor grew louder as they approached—a woman, she assumed from the shoes. A strong waft of perfume surrounded her, something old fashioned and expensive, making Autumn’s currently sensitive stomach turn.
    A face blocked the light above her, silhouetted at first, but growing clearer as her eyes adjusted. Yes, a woman, older than her, she’d guess around early forties. Short, spiky blonde hair. Pretty, in an angular way. High cheekbones, a thin, sharp nose, almost cat-shaped blue eyes, a mouth that was just a little too wide, but which smiled at her now.
    “D octor Autumn Anderson, I’m so sorry we’ve had to meet on these terms. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
    She tried to sit up again, but her efforts were futile. “Well I’ve heard nothing about you! Who the hell are you?”
    “ I’m Calvin Thorne’s superior. I was also Maxim Dumas’ superior, and I’m sorry about how that situation turned out.”
    “I’m not!”
    She chuckled. “No, I didn’t expect you to be.”
    “Are you going to let me up? I assume we’re in some kind of secure facility. Don’t you think you’ve gone a little over the top with the bondage?”
    “You’ve proven yourself to be a slippery creature in the past.”
    “Yeah, well ... I had help.”
    The woman chuckled again. “And you won’t be getting such help again. Y our friends are well contained.”
    “You haven’t answered either of my questions,” Autumn said, as she realized it was true. What was this woman, some kind of politician? It wouldn’t surprise her, considering how apt she was at answering a question without really answering it.
    “And what would they be?”
    “Who are you, and what are you going to do with me?”
    “Since I guess you can’t do anything with the information, I might as well tell you. My name is Vivian Winters, and I am the head of the paranormal branch of the Department of Defense.”
    Autumn couldn’t