Damned if I Do Read Online Free PDF Page B

appreciate me not drumming up old feelings, even though he’ll never know it.
    God, I’m pathetic.
    You look like you’ve seen a ghost, Jude had said. Boy, did he hit the mark in more ways than one. I’m remembering the ghosts of what I used to be.
    Thing is, I never wanted to be The Harker. Sure, I've held a stake ever since I was old enough to not hurt myself with it. My mother had me trained in martial arts and weapons training for most of my life. But I was never meant to be the Harker. That was always supposed to be Meghan’s bag, who would pass it onto her daughter when she was old enough and strong enough, who’d pass it on to her daughter, and so on.
    I was supposed to be the spare.
    Yet, when Meghan died, I became the Harker, as the power and the sword is immediately passed onto the next-strongest in the family who will carry on her legacy. When I woke up two days after the attack, I found out that I was the next one. No one had to tell me that Meghan was dead. I knew because I simply was The Harker. And you can imagine my surprise when I summoned Glimmer for the first time, on accident.
    We’ve now been whittled down to two descendants, my three-year-old niece and me. And I’m not going to be around much longer.
    My options are to either find a cure, which isn’t going to happen, or I can kill the bastard that killed Meghan.
    Of course, I choose revenge. I’m trying to find Anthony. Sure, I have some people doing research for me to find a cure, though I doubt anything will come out of it. I can die easier if I know Anthony isn’t a threat to my niece.
    It's four in the morning by the time I finally pull into the driveway of my house on the north side of Austin. Technically, it's not my house, but Meghan's and my brother-in-law's place where I've been living since I was fifteen. With Meghan gone and Graeme raising their daughter by himself, I can't leave them alone.
    I turn off the car and, despite the lateness of the hour, take another cigarette out and light it up while Trent Reznor continues to sing about every day being exactly the same. Graeme doesn't let me smoke in the house, yet with my nerves as frayed as they are, I have to have one last smoke before I head in for the night. I should've packed my stash in the car, but I hate driving across the state with it. Pot would really help to mellow me out right now.
    A single light illuminates the living room windows of the two-story house. Despite protesting my begrudging choice in extracurricular activity, Graeme cares whether I make it home every time I go out on a hunt. After Meghan's death, he's become overly paranoid and protective, especially when it comes to Amelia. It isn't without good reason, but it's still a source of stress for me to deal with.
    To be honest though, I'm actually glad he's awake. I feel like after my drive and what happened earlier, I could use contact with another human being, one who isn't a vampire or a ghost or my ex-boyfriend. Even though Graeme isn’t exactly my biggest fan.
    Should I tell him that I saw Meghan's ghost ? I frown at the thought, wondering if I would want to hear something like that if I were him.
    I decide not to. It would upset him. We’re already not on friendly terms, so I don’t want to rock the boat.
    I stub the cigarette in the ashtray. My hands aren't shaking anymore, so that's at least one good sign. I paste a smile on my face and prepare to act like nothing happened. Because if I indicate otherwise, it's going to be another argument with him. He thinks I should see a doctor about my scary wound and my sickness and get on with my life and go back to school, but I know there's not a snowball's chance in hell of that happening.
    I get out of the car and retrieve my duffle bag of weapons from the trunk. In it are several stakes, a few daggers and knives, a katana, a pistol, and a few hand grenades on a bandolier. A little overkill for the night, especially since I’m forever carrying Glimmer, but