Darkness Fades (Darkness Falls Series, Book 3) Read Online Free PDF

takes in Nichelle slowly as she and
Maci follow me up the hill towards the cave.
    Aiden and Tristan are right behind him, in
the shadows of the cave, protecting themselves from the daylight
that hides beneath the clouds and smoke. Aiden watches Nichelle
suspiciously and then he finally steps out of the cave, drawing the
hood of his jacket over his head and tucking his hands into the
sleeves.
    “Who is that?” He nods his head in
Nichelle’s direction.
    I sigh as I keep climbing. “It’s Nichelle.
She says she’s from… another colony.” It sounds strange coming out
of my mouth; I doubt anyone will believe me.
    “There are no other colonies,” Aiden argues,
taking a step down the hill, his boots knocking wet rocks and
chunks of mud down the slope. “If there were, we would know about
them.” Both him and Greyson eye Nichelle skeptically, their muscles
raveled, edgy and on guard, which makes me uneasy.
    Greyson stands to his feet, leaving the dead
lizard on a rock. With his arms out to the side, he traipses down
the hill to stop beside Aiden. “Aiden’s right. If there are other
colonies, then why haven’t we known about them? It doesn’t make any
sense.”
    They take a few more steps towards us,
meeting us at the center of the hill. Then Greyson and Aiden begin
to circle around Nichelle with a dark look in their eyes like
they’re going to attack her or something.
    I turn with them, not sure why I’m
protecting Nichelle, other than she hasn’t given me a reason not
to. “Don’t even think about doing anything to her.”
    Aiden pauses, his head slanting to the side.
“Why not?”
    “Because she hasn’t done anything to us,” I
say with warning in my tone as I shoot him a look of caution. “And
if you do make a move on her,” I challenge, “then you have to go
through me.”
    Aiden’s eyes unexpectedly light up, as
though he likes this idea, and I remember that this isn’t the Aiden
I first met. He starts to circle us again and Nichelle reaches to
her side towards the leather pouch, taking out a small knife.
    “I can protect myself,” she says, aiming the
knife out in front of her. “I don’t need you to do it for me.”
    I shake my head and move with Aiden, making
sure to keep myself between them at all times. “No, you can’t.
Trust me… he’s a lot stronger than you.”
    “Yes, I can,” she argues. “Strength doesn’t
outweigh skill.”
    “Yeah, let her try,” Aiden insists with a
look on his face that makes me want to slap him.
    I probably would have, too, but Maci
suddenly steps up between Aiden and me, tipping her chin up to look
Aiden in the eye. “Nichelle’s telling the truth, Aiden. I’ve seen
where she comes from.”
    Aiden looks down at Maci with doubt. I seize
the opportunity to leap forward, grabbing him by his jacket and
shoving him backward, forcing him to stumble back into a large
boulder on the hillside. “Stop it now. Just because you’re suddenly
strong, doesn’t mean you need to be an asshole for no reason.”
    A glint of anger emerges in his eyes as he
rises to his feet, his clothes muddy. The anger vanishes, though,
as he shakes his head, and the old Aiden surfaces. “Sorry, I don’t
know what got into me.” He turns and heads back to the cave as if
nothing happened while I start to think that I might have a real
problem on my hands because Day Taker Aiden is very impulsive and
erratic.
    Greyson continues to watch Nichelle with
interest, but he stops tormenting and circling her. “So, Nichelle,
why haven’t we seen you or any others from your colony before?”
    I get where they’re coming from… sort of,
but I can feel Nichelle’s telling the truth, so they need to back
the hell down. “Greyson, I’d be able to tell if she is lying, and
she’s not.”
    Tristan’s voice carries from over my
shoulder. “Kayla’s right. Nichelle’s not lying. There are other
people out there. The Highers just haven’t found them yet.”
    We all turn in his