Dark Flight (The Shadow Slayers) Read Online Free PDF

were bright splotches in her vision when she stared back at him. He unwound the parchment, revealing a map that was finely drawn in black ink. Some sections were intricate, with castles, mountains and strange landmarks, but other parts were completely blank. He picked up what looked like a crystal pointer from the center of the page and stared at the drawings for a good, long while.
    Finally, he plunked his finger down on some land mass Kara had never heard of. “The map believes you should start here.”
    Kara blinked. “It does?”
    “Yes, Raleon’s kingdom. And it looks like…hmm…the fawn.”
    The fawn? She sure as hell hoped someone in the Mercury Clan knew how to get there. “Okay. Got it.”
    “Use this to mark the map.” He pressed the crystal stylus into her palm.
    “Mark it? Why do I have to mark it?”
    He looked at her like she was daft. “Because the Mount of Truth is never in the same place twice, and I don’t know how badly it wants to be found. Unless you have an exceptional memory, you may want to mark down the next steps along the way so you don’t forget. You can’t expect the map to do all the work, can you?”
    “Uh… I guess not. Have you ever used this map to find the Sanctiáre yourself?”
    Mazeki laughed. “The Fallen rarely have sufficient reason to make the climb. But you…I believe you’re pure of heart in this endeavor, my little Shadow Slayer.”
    Oh, great. Now he was making up weird pet names for her. “Does that matter…being ‘pure of heart’?”
    She grasped the aging map lightly for fear she’d crush the delicate paper it was drawn on, but Mazeki simply patted her cheek and ushered her toward the door. “Best of luck, dear. I imagine I’ll see you again soon. And to answer your question—yes. Those who petition the Sanctiáre with unclean intentions never come back down the mountain.”

Chapter Four
     
    Abbey and Jaxon had scored pretty much all-new furniture after moving into Gavin and Julian’s vacated apartment. Kara couldn’t help but be slightly envious of her two best friends as she sat on their plush, expensive sofa and stared at the blank screen of a large plasma TV.
    Not so long ago, the three of them had been making do in Kara’s cramped apartment with her old-school television—the kind where you couldn’t count nasal hairs on the morning announcers. But since the pair had taken their relationship to the next level, it was better for everyone that they had their own place. Abbey had been loud in the bedroom before, like earplug loud, but after shacking up with Jaxon—a man who’d spent a hundred years in a harem—her vocals were now shooting-muff-worthy.
    “No, you’re freakin’ kidding me,” Abbey said from the other side of the sofa, and Jaxon’s hand tightened almost imperceptibly against her calf from his position beside her on the carpet.
    “Did they know?” Jaxon demanded.
    “Who?” Kara asked.
    The muscles in his strong jaw flexed and bunched. It was amazing to see how Jaxon had blossomed into a thigh-clenchingly hot alpha now that he had Abbey all to himself. “The Mercury Lords. They worked for your father. Did they know he’d promised you to Mazeki when you reached maturity?”
    “Aiden says he didn’t know a thing about it. Julian wouldn’t remember. And Gavin…I haven’t asked him yet, but trust me, I’m going to.”
    “Those bastards,” Jaxon said.
    Abbey nibbled her lip, never taking her eyes from Kara. “So what are you going to do? Do I need to talk to the coven about providing you some back-up?”
    Kara smoothed a hand over the fabric of the sofa and shook her head. “Nah. I’m going to be okay, you two. Don’t worry about it.” She was worrying enough for the three of them.
    “And besides,” she continued, “Mazeki didn’t seem like he was going to push it. What we need to focus on is getting Julian up to speed so he can help us send Brakken to the Abyss. Rachel’s baby is due anytime now, and