Demon Bait (Keeley Thomson) Read Online Free PDF Page A

it wasn't healthy, either physically or
mentally.
    Zack didn't look at either of
them as he spoke.
    "Um, I didn't know, until a
few months back. About Lyn. Your Aunt Magda." This was said to Keels, she
knew, since Hally couldn't fit that bill at all.
    "Ah? Interesting? I bet your
Grandfather was thrilled to find that out? Or did he know?" That seemed
unlikely, since the man wasn't a slave, but Lyn had fooled her totally
when they'd met, hadn't she? The lady had seemed like a mage. A healing
one at that. It was such a good act that even checking her out had seemed not
worth the effort at the time.
    "Yeah, he did not like that one. He found out when I was confirming that I was one, too. I need
to get around and visit with him again soon, before he has a chance to flip out
and start thinking that I'm all evil. Anyway, if you live through the Second
Crucible, you should meet her. Darla and her are friends, so you two should get
along, too."
    Hally looked away, responding to
the idea that her friend might well die, but Zack didn't take it back, even
though it was clear he noticed it. He also didn't seem to be taking pleasure in
his own words. It was just the truth, and his new pet needed to be ready for
whatever came.
    It was hard to think about the
situation that way, but since it was either pet, slave, or girlfriend, she
could live with it.
    The meal had small talk, and Zack
ate most of the food, giving her a nice check for it, which rounded up the
cost, but didn't pay for more than that by too much. Unlike her, he probably
did his own grocery shopping, so knew what things were worth that way. Not that
she had an excuse as far as that went, herself. That kind of information was in
her head, if she bothered to look.
    After they were done, he stood up
and held out a hand for Hally, explaining things as they walked to the front
door.
    "It's considered rude to go
onto the lines in front of someone. The real truth is that it distorts space,
and making people walk through the ripples left over can make them sort of
seasick. I don't have that problem, but a lot of people can't take it, so it's
considered best to set up rifts and nodes outside of a person's home." Then
chattering the whole time, they moved to the door at the front of the house.
Hally turned and kissed her suddenly, her lips warm and slightly strawberry
flavored. It was her lip gloss.
    She didn't have bags, having
already set up in Washington. Her parents knew what was happening, and that
part was taken care of. All that was left was leaving Keeley behind, to face
whatever would come. Alone.
    That was fair however. Hally
couldn't survive what she could, and really, it might not work for Zack either,
if he got too close just then. It was a big enough risk for him to take people
in like he was. If the wrong Demons went for him, they could all wind up dead.
The only good thing there was that Finias and Darla had both suggested that
just getting them out of town, under Zack's protection, would be enough. The
point was, that as long as she didn't have assets, they couldn't be taken away,
by the rules. If those counted in her case. It was, clearly, a set up. She
would have wondered who was doing it too, if the man hadn't volunteered the
information himself, through several other people.
    Tarsus. The Librarian. Pretty
much the leader of all the Greater Demons everywhere. Not that it was an
impressive number, being that only about five hundred and twenty of them
existed. Still, there was no way that she was ready for whatever it was the
being had planned. Along with a threat to kill her if she failed, that pretty
much guaranteed that she wouldn't be around much longer. True, the man could
have been bluffing, or simply playing a prank on her, but that wasn't too
likely, was it?
    If that was the case, it would
have already come to a head, and she'd know the punch line. It did occur
to her that Tarsus had to have something other than her simply dying in
mind. If he wanted her dead,