Demons of the Sun Read Online Free PDF Page A

bit, though. I wonder how it’d be if I went up against her.
    Could he keep up? He thought so, but he wasn’t sure, and there was something oddly exciting about that thought.
    She scored another goal, they called the game, and she walked over to him—well, more like Danielle, but he was there.
    “Don’t you dare ruin my high,” she said, eyeing him.
    Jax held up his hands. “After what I just saw, I wouldn’t think of it.”
    Dean stepped next to her, put his hand on her back, and gave Jax a pointed look. “You want us to stick around?”
    Those stormy eyes of hers flicked from Dean to Jax, then back to Dean. “I’ll be okay. See you tomorrow.” She gave Danielle a quick hug. “Rain check on the Upper East Siders marathon? I’m dying to see the new lickable love interest and all, but I think I better take care of some other things tonight.” 
    Lickable love interest? Did I hear that right?
    “I bet you do,” Danielle said, looking at him, then grinning at Persephone. She and Dean walked away, leaving Jax alone with Persephone. And after that whole lickable comment he was having a hard time focusing on anything but her full lips.
    She put her bag over her shoulder and started for the parking lot, slow enough he figured she meant for him to follow. A couple of strides caught him up to her. “So tell me, how much were you holding back?”
    “Enough that I didn’t send anyone home with crushed bones,” she said.
    “So how’d you get to be so strong?”
    “Practice.”
    A tiny girl keeping up with boys that had at least fifty pounds on her took more than practice, but she was finally semi-talking to him, so he decided not to push the matter.
    “And how much do your friends know?”
    Persephone dropped her chin. “Pretty much nothing. Dean and Danielle are the only ones who know my gran died, and it was all I could do to convince them not to tell anyone I’m living alone now. I didn’t think adding, ‘Oh yeah, and there are demons and I’ve got a sacred duty to attend to,’ would do anything but make them think I was straight-up crazy.”
    She reached her gray Mazda3, then turned back to look at him, like she couldn’t decide what move to make next.
    Usually, his grin could win anyone over. Since she seemed to be immune to it—not just immune, it seemed to anger her—he kept his expression as close to neutral as he could. “Are you really going to make me walk it, because you know I will.”
    She sighed, then hit the unlock button on her remote. “Get in then.”
    Persephone started the engine and pulled out of the school parking lot. The tension in her features was gone, her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes held a light he hadn’t seen in them before.
    “So soccer is the key to making you happy?” he asked.
    Her smile brightened her whole face. “While I’m playing, everything else fades away. It’s how I get out my aggression, and it’s also the one time I’m happy to have a little extra strength. To be different.”
    “That’s how I feel when I’m fighting demons.” He twisted toward her so he could gauge her reaction to his next question. “Have you ever fought one before?”
    The happiness drained from her face, and he wished he’d stuck with soccer talk. “Not fought. But I’ve seen some before.” Her voice shook as she continued, “And even though I was twelve, and there were more than I could count, I’ve always wished I would’ve joined the fight. I promised my mom, though…” She pressed her lips together and tears gathered in her eyes.
    “I’m sorry. I just thought…With how good you are at fighting, I wondered if you’d killed some before.”
    “For years I wanted to go out and kill as many as I could find. Like maybe if I killed them all I wouldn’t feel so empty. I think about it sometimes still.” Her knuckles whitened as she gripped the steering wheel. “So, how many have you killed?”
    “I started about the time I was fourteen. With my dad and