Dragon Rising Read Online Free PDF Page B

rcher watched the shadows around the yellow Jeep while the valet fetched his car, making sure none moved. Wraiths never attacked in the open, but the interior of Lyra’s car was fair game. They had no reason to assault her. Not that lack of a reason would stop them.
    When he pulled past her, she fell in behind him. He kept an eye on the rearview mirror as he drove. The streetlights illuminated her creamy skin and full mouth.
    Keeping her around is a bad idea. In many ways.
    Unfortunately, she was right. She had information he needed if he was going to find Jeremy. He’d do anything to find his brother, who had already been through so much. Dread and worry tightened Archer’s chest. How much more could Jeremy handle?
    Archer glanced again at the headlights on his tail. Would he do anything to help the Dragon girl? The need to help tugged at him, like someone trying to pull out a feather. Her draw to him was normal, one of the curses of being a Caido. That he was drawn to her as well, a dangerous anomaly. Caidos, out of necessity, had to shut down their sexuality. How many times had it been their downfall? From the first fall of the angels from Heaven to the most recent at the island of Lucifera, Caidos had paid the price for their father’s sins, a torment that never ended. He thought of those wings in Jeremy’s bedroom. Well, there was one way for it to end: death.
    Archer pulled up to the garage entrance at the Raphael and punched in the code to allow himself and another car inside. Her Jeep appeared out of place among the Mercedes, Ferraris, and other luxury vehicles. Caidos could enjoy the sensuality of a beautiful car, her lines and curves, the purr of her engine, and the thrill of going fast.
    Lyra Slade is a thrill you cannot enjoy.
    She parked next to him and stepped out of her vehicle, slinging a large purse over her shoulder. Her high heels snicked across the concrete as she stalked toward him, jabbing her finger in his direction.
    “How dare you drop something like that and walk away? Wraiths! What do you mean, wraiths? Are they like ghosts?”
    “Worse than ghosts. Quick, get to the elevators.” He wanted her inside the building.
    Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something dark slink behind the back of a Maserati across the way. “They are the souls of dead Caidos who were not properly interred.” He moved behind her. “They become shadows with fangs and teeth.”
    “Oh, nice.” She followed his stare. “And they followed us here, didn’t they?”
    “Two of them.”
    One slithered closer, hiding beneath the front tire of a blue Lamborghini.
    “Oh, is that all?” Her voice was pitched high, her eyebrows furrowed as she searched.
    He ushered her toward the elevator, scanning their surroundings. The wraiths’ dark, slimy energy pressed closer.
    “Why are they after us?” Lyra turned her back toward the elevator the moment they reached it, a sign of good fighting instinct.
    His hands clamped over her shoulders, keeping her close to him. “My guess is that someone doesn’t want us poking around.”
    Her body vibrated hot beneath his hands. Her skin blurred, flesh tone to yellow and back again.
    Wraiths moved like shadows, vaguely the shape of gargoyles. The two flowed around the front of the cars flanking the elevator. He searched their shapes and their gaping dark eyes, a nugget of fear forming in his chest. Are either of you Jeremy?
    The forms inched closer. Archer flicked a glance to the indicator above the stainless-steel door. Still on the eleventh floor. The stairs were on the other side of the garage. They would have to fight. Transforming made him vulnerable, though he would have to take the chance.
    She was staring at him. “You’re…glowing.”
    A powerful energy surged through his body, like an electrical charge and just as painful. He bellowed with it, feeling his wings push through his back like two hatchets. The wraiths shot forward. He readied for their talons to tear into