Burning Emerald Read Online Free PDF Page A

a mountain of encyclopedias, old news articles, and other source material. This had always been Mom’s makeshift office, but it had quickly transformed into a library and demonology classroom.
    An astute accountant by day, by night Mom moonlighted as a renegade myth buster. She burned the midnight oil trying to understand why a succubus spirit had jumped bloodlines to occupy my body. This type of possession was supposedly a hereditary trait, so this new living arrangement produced a ton of questions and sleepless nights.
    â€œHey, Mom.” I dropped my bag on the counter and headed to the fridge.
    â€œHey, honey.” She returned from somewhere behind the stack of books.
    I grabbed a carton of orange juice and poured a glass. “How was counseling?”
    â€œAwkward as usual. I’m not a big talker, so I end up listening to other people’s problems more than anything else. The stories they tell in the meetings would break your heart, Samara. I feel guilty because I always leave thinking, ‘You know, things aren’t that bad.’ ”
    â€œGroup therapy: proof that life could get a whole lot worse.” I saluted her with my glass before taking a sip, but watched her with caution.
    I worried about her recent issues with insomnia and night terrors, and I secretly wished Nathan Ross could be just a little bit more dead for her sake. Even in death, the face of Caleb’s father taunted her, like some movie villain coming back for one last scare. Her doctors chalked it up to trauma, and Caleb and his brothers assured us there was no lasting damage. Good luck explaining that to a woman who almost had the life sucked out of her by a deranged Cambion. In either case, nothing could be left to chance, not even dreams.
    I leaned against the counter, watching her carefully. “You know, there’s better ways to vent if you’re upset. You can always go back to the gun range.”
    â€œTrue. I just hate that they close at nine. I mean, what’s a girl to do in the middle of the night.”
    â€œDrive-bys?” I offered.
    Mom smiled and returned her attention to her laptop. Text and lights dragged across her glasses.
    â€œWhat you working on now?”
    â€œTrinkets and sanctified objects. Did you know that priests and missionaries use olive oil for exorcism? There’s a sacred ritual that expels demons.”
    â€œFor real?” I rummaged through the overhead cabinet and retrieved the bottle of olive oil Mom used for cooking. As soon as my hand gripped the bottle, Lilith flinched, causing a quick jolt in the middle of my back. It ended as quickly as it had begun, so I figured she was probably hungry.
    I let a few drops fall on my finger and hissed at the contact. “Ah! It burns! It burns!”
    That got Mom’s attention. Immediately, she stood to her feet and raced to my side. “Baby, are you okay? What happened?”
    I gave a wide grin and showed her my oily hand. “Nothing. I’m just playing with you.”
    Mom didn’t look amused. She turned away, then did a double take. “What happened to your eye?”
    â€œDodgeball shows no mercy and takes no prisoners,” I said in a dramatic, movie-trailer-guy voice.
    After giving me a light whack on the back of the head, she returned to her research.
    I licked the oil off my finger, then said, “I don’t know why you bother with that stuff. It’s hardly accurate.”
    â€œWell, it says it has to be sanctified and untainted. That’s the cheap stuff; I think I got it on sale.”
    I rested my elbows against the counter. “You mean like anointing oil?”
    â€œSomething like that.”
    â€œDoesn’t work, either. I tried it on Caleb when he first came to the house.” In fact, I thought I still had that little vial somewhere in my bag, among other things I should’ve trashed months ago. I had a hard time throwing stuff away, resulting in me