Darkness Becomes Her Read Online Free PDF Page B

stopped. Heidi dropped her hands to her lap and lifted her head, squinting through wary eyes against the harsh red glow. To her surprise, the light had dimmed as well, leaving the orange diffusion of lava to imbue the room with a soft incandescent flush.
    A few feet away from her stood a man who looked wholly unfamiliar to her. Shadows shrouded him, despite the fact that he stood in the brightest spot in the room. The light from the flowing lava seemed to stop just short of the edge of his shoes, unable to penetrate the near proximity of his personal space.
    Heidi could barely make out his features, but she had the impression of a lean, almost gaunt face, black hair tied low at the nape of his neck and strong jaw. He seemed to be wearing a stylish suit that encased his broad frame to perfection.
    Most stunning of all, though, were his eyes. While the dark-haired man’s black orbs had drawn her into their forbidden depths, this man’s fiery red eyes had the opposite effect. They repelled her the longer she looked directly at them. A feeling of despair washed over Heidi as she tried to hold his gaze. Bile rose in the back of her throat.
    At last, she lowered her head. The feeling of hopelessness lifted, leaving behind the same deep sense of confusion and unease.
    “Who are you?” Heidi asked when she could trust her voice.
    The apparition waved a hand through the air. “That’s irrelevant at this point. The question you really should be asking is… Who are you ?”
    Heidi shook her head. “I know who I --”
    The words halted in her throat, along with her breath. She groped for the answer she knew to be lying on the tip of her tongue. Finding an empty, gaping space where her sense of identity should have been, she frowned, adding to the throbbing ache behind her temples.
    “ Silina vi .”
    Squeezing her eyes tightly shut, Heidi gathered the magic drifting around her and used it to delve into the deepest, most intimate parts of her mind. She had to find an answer there. She obviously knew who she was. How else could she remember the words of power that brought order to the chaotic energy floating through the room?
    And how else could she remember her name?
    “Heidi Cole,” she said, relief suffusing every word. “I’m Heidi Cole.”
    “So you are.” The dark man took a step toward her. “Traveling to the mortal realm always leaves you a little addled when you return. Thankfully, any lingering memory loss is only temporary. And this time, you still seem to have full control of your abilities, which is another positive sign.”
    She glanced up only as far as the space where his mouth would have been, trying to avoid gazing into his daunting fiery eyes. “I -- I do this often?”
    “Every decade or so. I can’t seem to stop you.” A flicker of a smile beamed from within the darkness, sending a skitter of fear to shiver up her spine. “You’re absolutely stubborn when you want to be, my love.”
    Heidi took a deep, trembling breath. The way this man addressed her, with so much familiarity, made her slightly queasy. “I don’t think I should be here. This doesn’t feel right.”
    The shadowed figure shrugged. “Here we go again. We’ve been through this a dozen times, sweetheart. Reach within yourself and feel the truth of what I’m telling you.”
    She narrowed her eyes. “That’s what I’m trying to do. It’s not working. There’s something… wrong about all this.”
    “I knew you’d say that. So in the interest of saving time…” He threw up his hand and swirled a few strands of magic around his thumb. As he did so, Heidi had a clear view of long tapered fingers, square nails and a perfect masculine manicure. Another jolt of recognition slid through her, bringing with it the remnants of a brief recollection. That same hand, slipping through a patch of midnight to reach for her -- and then nothing.
    She sighed, aggravated by her inability to remember key pertinent things about herself and what