Claimed By Shadow Read Online Free PDF Page B

was thinking, because she didn’t say a word, but the point came across. I shook my head emphatically. I wasn’t actually sure what he was, but “friend” didn’t sound right.
    Enyo whirled to face the mage, who was only a couple of tables away. He stopped dead in his tracks and a second later I realized why. The three sisters weren’t pretty by anyone’s standards, but they looked harmless enough. Enyo’s squashed face—containing so many folds that the absence of eyes wasn’t all that noticeable—toothless mouth and straggling hair normally made her resemble a particularly homely bag lady. But she didn’t look that way now.
    My mythological knowledge is not great, composed mainly of bits and pieces left over from long-ago lessons with Eugenie, my old governess. This was one of those times I wished I’d paid more attention. Where a diminutive old lady had been, a towering Amazon stood, clad only in matted ankle-length hair and a lot of blood. Enyo’s transformation was so quick that I hadn’t seen it take place, but Pritkin’s face, which had shut down to the pale, closed look he gets when truly terrified, told me there was more to her story than I recalled. I decided I didn’t want to know.
    I have never claimed to be a hero. Besides, Casanova had started to crawl away, using the tables as cover, and I still didn’t know where Tony was. I dropped to the floor and followed on his heels. The next second, it sounded like all hell had broken loose behind us, but I wasn’t crazy enough to look around. I’ve had lots of practice running away, and I’ve learned that it’s best to keep your mind on the goal.
    Half of a black lacquered chair flew over my head, but I just ducked lower and crawled faster. Casanova appeared to be heading for a blank stretch of wall, but I knew better. This was one of Tony’s places, and he never built anything that didn’t have at least a dozen emergency exits. I was pretty sure that somewhere up ahead was a door hidden by a glamour, so when the top half of Casanova’s body disappeared into the red Chinese wallpaper, I wasn’t surprised. I grabbed a handful of his suit coat, scrunched up my eyes and followed. I opened them again to find that we were in a utilitarian corridor with industrial fluorescent lighting.
    Casanova tried to pull away, but I held on for dear life. It wasn’t easy since the impromptu escape had left me with a serious wedgie and he was stronger than I was. But he was my best link to Tony and I wasn’t about to lose him. “Oh, all right!” he said, dragging me to my feet. “This way!”
    We raced to a door that led to a much more luxurious corridor carpeted in thick scarlet plush. The gold brocade wallpaper boasted a line of salacious prints and reeked of musky perfume. I gasped, but Casanova was too busy punching the elevator call button a dozen times to notice. It finally came just as I was about to give up on the idea of breathing altogether, and we jumped on board. Casanova hit the button for the fifth floor and I managed to choke out a protest. “Shouldn’t we be heading down, to the parking level? If we stay in the building, he’ll find us.”
    He shot me a look. “Do you really think he came alone?” I shrugged. I’d never seen Pritkin work with other mages, so it seemed possible. He did enough mayhem all on his own. “He almost certainly has backup,” Casanova informed me, running shaking hands down his slightly rumpled suit. “Let the internal defenses deal with them.”
    The elevator let out into a spacious office that looked a lot like a boudoir. There were mirrors and fat chaises everywhere, and a bar almost as big as the one downstairs lined one wall. A good-looking secretary, who was probably going to be recruited by the incubi if he hadn’t been already, tried to offer us refreshments, but Casanova waved him off.
    We barreled through a set of doors to a plush inner office.
    Casanova ignored the huge four-poster bed sitting