Claimed By Shadow Read Online Free PDF

back in his chair, looking more amused than frightened. “If you’re so powerful, why do you need my help?” he asked archly. “Why not remove the geis yourself, and rain down your wrath on Antonio while you’re at it?”
    “It doesn’t work quite like that,” I said dryly. “And what is so damn funny?”
    The grin that Casanova had been attempting, unsuccessfully, to restrain broke over his face. “Inside joke,” he chortled. “You’d have to be an incubus to understand.”
    “Give me the condensed version.”
    He looked coy. The expression should have appeared odd on his strong-featured face, but he pulled it off. “Anticipation, you might say. Like looking forward to the next heavyweight championship match. In this corner,” he said, his voice taking on the cadence of a veteran ringside announcer, “we have Lord Mircea, never defeated in five hundred years of political and social maneuvering. And in this corner, his opponent, the deceptively sweet-looking Cassandra, newly elevated to the Pythia’s throne.” He grinned even wider. “You have to understand, Cassie. For an incubus, it doesn’t get much better than this. If I wasn’t so protective of this body, I’d be wrangling for a ringside seat.”
    “You’re babbling,” I said in disgust. “Tell me something I can use!”
    “Why don’t you tell me something for a change?” he countered. “What, precisely, do you think you’re going to do if you find Tony? He’s been around for a long time. He isn’t going to be easy to kill. Why not relax and let Mircea handle him? He’ll find him sooner or later and then you and I are both—”
    “Mircea can’t deal with Myra!” I couldn’t believe Casanova still didn’t get it. “He might be able to protect me in the here and now, but it isn’t the present that worries me.” Myra had been Agnes’ heir until she fell in with some very bad company and was disinherited. But her fall hadn’t taken away her abilities, meaning that she could slip into the past and attack me long before I even knew who she was. She could even kill one of my parents, insuring I was never born. And Mircea couldn’t do a damn thing about it.
    “But if Antonio is protecting her, how do you expect—”
    “I have a few surprises for Tony. What I need from you—”
    “Is likely to cost me greatly. You cannot believe—” He broke off at my expression. “What is it?” I jumped to my feet, wobbling a little in the heels, and stared over his head at the sight barreling in the bar’s entrance.
    My least favorite war mage was heading across the lobby at a dead run. His short blond hair looked like it had been hacked at by a machete, and his icy green eyes were angry. Not that that was unusual: I’d never seen him smile, and normally considered it a good day if he wasn’t trying to kill me. Considering that he was wearing his usual knee-length leather coat, the one that bulged with concealed weapons, it didn’t look like today would be one of those.

Chapter 2
    “ Is that who I think it is?” Casanova gave a panicked glance at the mage, whose coat had blown open to reveal enough firepower to take out a platoon. Even vamps are cautious around war mages—wizards and witches who have been trained in human and magical combat techniques by the Circle. They have the Shoot first, ask questions if you feel like it later mentality that human law enforcement left behind with the Wild West. Of course, police officers don’t have to face the kind of surprises the mages frequently get.
    I’d already seen as much of this particular mage as I wanted, and apparently Casanova felt the same. Without waiting for me to answer, he let go of dignity and dove under the table. I was wondering whether it was worth the effort to try to run, when Enyo hopped down from her bar stool and jogged over. She gestured at the mage and raised bushy eyebrows that in her case protected only empty folds of skin. I’m not sure how I knew what she