Claiming Emerald Read Online Free PDF Page A

attempt to stand. She dropped onto her back, rolling to her side. Her idea had worked perfectly, but she didn’t know that she could feel so dramatically ill in a dead body. Her head was reeling, the stomach which she no longer had feeling queasy.
    Salt knelt beside her and pushed back her hair. “Are you okay?”
    “I feel sick. Vampires don’t get sick.”
    “You obviously do.”
    “Go help the others. I’ll be okay.”
    Salt nodded and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Stay until you feel better.”
    “I will.” Em smacked her lips. She felt as if she was going to vomit but had no reason to feel that way. She had established long ago that she no longer had a gag reflex. She rolled onto her side and curled into herself, unable to tolerate even having her eyes open.
     
    * * * *
     
    Rory walked over and lifted Em in his arms. She did not respond, not even to roll to her back. With a flip of his hands, he got her into a more comfortable position and carried her over to the waiting sled. What the hell had happened to her while she was spinning? He had been sure that she would get up from the ground and begin to help. Em hadn’t and worse, he hadn’t noticed because he was busy trying to uproot towers that were frozen to the ground. Why was she out cold? Why wasn’t she responding? She wasn’t dead, but something had obviously happened.
    Rory stopped at the end of the huge pile of six windmill parts. They had all been placed on the sled, but he had no idea if it was even going to move.
    Salt hurried up to him and frowned. “Is she okay?”
    “I don’t know. She’s unconscious. What did she say to you earlier?”
    “She said that she felt sick, but she would be fine. What do you mean she is unconscious?”
    “What do you think I mean? I just picked her up and flipped her to her back and she didn’t respond.”
    Salt glared at him. Rory had no idea what was wrong with Em and he couldn’t tell Salt anything. They needed to get back to the fortress and underground before the sun came up. They had already stayed too long. Rory laid Em on the sled. “We can’t wait any longer.”
    “I know.” Rory and Salt walked around to lift two of the five chains they had attached to the steel panels.
    “Mush!” yelled Rory, half as a joke and half just to get things moving. He put worry over Em to the back of his mind. If they didn’t get back, then all six of them would be dead.
    They began to walk and then picked up the pace. The sled moved slowly at first, but as they gained speed it seemed to rise higher and higher to the surface, cutting down the drag. They ran, racing the sun to get back before it bloomed on the horizon.

Chapter 4
     
    Rory dropped his chain and ran around to grab Em’s body. It was gone. He looked at the sky, feeling the first tingle of warning sunrise. He had about thirty seconds to get inside before the sun began to burn his skin. He looked back over the path they had just come, but saw nothing. Rory did the only thing he could. He leapt the fence and flashed into the building. Slamming the door, he leaned back against it and slid to the top stair. Salt was already down in the main room, but his eyes were locked on Rory. He flashed up the stairs. “Where’s Em?” he demanded.
    “I don’t know.”
    He tried to push around Rory, to get the door open. Rory stopped him. “You can’t go out, the sun is up.”
    “I know that. What do you mean you don’t know where Em is?”
    “She wasn’t on the sled where I put her. I have to think that she fell or rolled off.”
    “So she’s out there exposed to the sun?”
    Rory nodded slowly. He pushed himself to his feet and with a tight arm around Salt’s shoulder began to walk back toward their room. Salt struggled in his grasp, but Rory was stronger. He pushed Salt into the room and slammed the door. Rory wiped at the blood read tears that were dripping down his cheeks.
    Russell was lying on the bed with only a light blanket over his body.