Bite Marks Read Online Free PDF Page A

stepped forward, his cane clicking on the tile as he closed on me.
    “All right, then,” she said. “Come on, Jasmine.”
    I hesitated, my way blocked not just by Vayl’s physical presence, but by the intensity in his expression.
    “She needs me,” he told Cassandra, though he kept his eyes on mine. “I feel it more deeply than this wound in my side. And yet you are the one huddled here with her.”
    “Jaz needs all of us.” When she caught his expression, hers softened. “But you most of all. Remember that, because how you handle the next few minutes could make the difference in her soul’s salvation.”
    “Oh geez, Cassandra, let’s not put any pressure on him or anything,” I said as I twisted Cirilai on my finger. His eyes shot to it, alarm widening them, making me drop my hands to reassure him that I wasn’t about to take it off. I had once, and the wall that had dropped between us had nearly destroyed us both.
    Trust. Maybe I could work on that.
    “What is Cassandra talking about?” he asked me.
    I tried to pull in one of those bracing breaths that get you through tough situations, but my lungs wouldn’t cooperate. Too busy considering a full collapse. “I think you’ve sensed that something was wrong with me ever since we hit Canberra. I’m—”

    I tried. The word wouldn’t move past my frozen tongue. Brude had put a block on communications, and while I struggled against him, Cassandra watched me with a sympathy that made me fight all the harder, because it was a reflection of how far I’d fallen.
    She turned to Vayl. “Jaz has been possessed.”
    He looked deep into my eyes. I fought to keep mine open against the sudden pain that pierced them.
    Brude, you son of a bitch! Now that I know you’ve been the one torturing me, you gotta know how bad you’re going to bleed when I finally beat you!
    I’d have piled on more ire, but Vayl was checking Cassandra for confirmation of what he’d seen moving behind my pupils. By the time he turned back to me his irises were already darkening to the black with red flecks that reflected his most disturbing emotions.
    “Possessed by what?” he murmured, still talking to me like he thought I could respond.
    Cassandra answered. “She says it’s one of Lucifer’s minions. A Domytr she encountered on your last assignment that goes by the name of Brude.”
    “Why is she not talking?”
    Our psychic considered me. “May I touch you?”
    I tilted my head sideways, then nodded. She leaned forward and took my free hand. Just a brief clasp was enough to make her look like she’d eaten something rancid. “His strength increases when she is feeling some extreme emotion. Right now she’s deeply”—Cassandra smiled at me—“nervous. About how you’ll react to this.”
    I wanted to snap off a witty comment. Hey, let’s all discuss Jaz like she’s not even here, why don’t we? But now my throat had closed so tight I’d begun to feel dizzy. A lot of good can be said for honesty.
    But too big of a dose can kill you.
    From a distance, like the wail of a train horn, I heard Cassandra tell Vayl, “She believes you’ll be furious when you find that Cole and I both accidentally discovered her secret before she could tell you. She’s worried that you’ll see her as weak now, or perhaps mentally unfit like Liliana and, in either case, undeserving of your affections. She wanted to handle this on her own, so that your new romance could have time to cement itself before it was rocked by such an event.” Cassandra went on, but her words disappeared in the hum my ears put out as they tried to cope with my narrowing vision. Brude, I swear to Jesus if you let me pass out I’ll make it a personal goal to pry every one of those tattoos off your skin with a screwdriver and a pair of pliers.
    Vayl emptied his hands, just like that, dropping the cane on the floor as if it mattered less to him than a flyer you’d crumple up the moment after some poor schmuck handed it