Demonstorm: Heart of a Vampire #6 Read Online Free PDF Page B

thought of Brüs even now sending orders for her brother to be tortured… Or put to death.
    No. He wouldn’t dare kill Cyrus. He’d keep her brother to use as a bargaining chip. She sent a silent prayer to her long dead mother that she was correct. If her escape led to Cyrus’s death, she didn’t know what she’d do.

 
    Chapter Four
     
    S ean lay still, listening to the movements of the troops, searching the shadow filled ground for any sign of approaching enemies. Mayah studied him intently, her expression stone-hard, yet again an unemotional mask.
    He wished he could tell what she was thinking.
    The sounds of clanking metal and hoof beats grew dimmer. But the army could double back at any time, drawn to them by anything—sounds, scents, intuition.
    After twenty long minutes passed in near silence, he nudged Mayah.
    She jumped at his touch, her lips thinning as if disgusted a half-breed dared such a thing.
    Anger tinged his voice. “I think they’re gone.”
    She glanced away. “Most likely. Lucky for us they drank so heavily last night.”
    He grunted, sitting up. She was probably right. He didn’t care to think about trying to face an army of alert demons. “Let’s go,” he stated quietly.
    Starting down the tree, he quickly reached the ground and waited for her to descend. He pulled Jezamine’s map from his pocket, tracing the path he’d followed while hiking in.
    Looking up, staring at the tiny strips of dark sky visible between thick, interlacing tree branches, he tried to determine their exact position.
    Mayah glanced at the map, then gasped, grabbing it.
    “What?” he asked.
    She pointed to a blank corner of the cloth. “This.”
    Staring at the spot, he asked, “What about it?”
    She squinted at him. “You can’t see it?”
    He shrugged, straining to see anything there. “It’s blank.”
    “You’re not attuned to your demon senses at all, are you?”
    “What does it matter?”
    She swayed, hands trembling. Her eyes unfocused as if she wasn’t seeing anything around her, but something within herself. In a strangely deep voice, she said, “Deny half of who you are at your own peril.”
    He shivered at the magic, the power of knowledge, in her words.
    Then she blinked and shook her head. “Sorry. Sometimes it just comes over me.”
    Slowly, making sure he didn’t touch her, he reached over and took the map back. “What do you see on here?”
    “A message.”
    “Which says?” he prodded.
    She nibbled her bottom lip, now losing some of the heavy red color. “I’ll tell you later. Right now, we don’t have time to stand around chatting.”
    As if her words tempted fate to intercede, four human-looking demons slipped from the shadows and surrounded them.
    “Shit.” Sean shoved the map back in his pocket. He drew both katanas, telling her, “Stay back.”
    She rolled her eyes. Pulling the bag from her waist, she drew out the little golden box.
    One of the demons, his pitch black eyes flickering with a dark glow, commanded, “Put your weapons down and come quietly. You had no right to take the Abatu’s ward.”
    Sean took a step forward, brandishing his swords. “She chose to come with me, rather than remain a prisoner.”
    He needed to get the demons on one side. Put a tree at his back. Keep Mayah safe.
    Mayah opened the gold box and withdrew two wicked-looking gloves. She slid them over her hands, up her arms. Strange black crystals covered the tops of the dark mesh reaching to her elbows. Metal claws tipped each finger.
    “I will never return to Brüs.” She moved closer, putting her back to his. She glanced at Sean, her eyes bright. “I call two of them.”
    Something colored her voice, a strange emotion he couldn’t place at first.
    Then it hit him. Incredulously, he realized it was a tone of anticipation. She was eager for this fight.
    The man in front of Sean narrowed his eyes as he sniffed the air. Then he jerked back, growling, “Half-breed. I’ll kill you fast.