Dying Forever (Waking Forever Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page B

university was broadening its appeal to working students and providing an array of courses during the evening was one way the board was ensuring the school’s long term viability.
    Alison rubbed her cheek as she walked through the nearly empty parking garage. Her gums were still sore from that afternoon’s heavy cleaning, as well as the last hour she had spent lecturing. A woman’s voice echoed through the garage. “Professor Bailey?”
    Alison’s hand slid into her front pant pocket and tightened around the pepper spray dispenser secured there. Though the campus wasn’t known for violent crime, Alison felt it never hurt to be prepared. She had bought the spray when she agreed to teach the night classes.
    Keeping her finger on the red button at the top of the dispenser, Alison turned toward the voice. The vise like grip she had on the canister lessened when she saw a woman in her early thirties ten feet away. She had cropped black hair and was dressed in a pair of loose fitting khaki pants, a tan scoop neck t-shirt, and a pair of beige leather sandals. “Yes?” Alison forced confidence into her voice, hoping her nervousness wasn’t obvious. The last thing she wanted was to sound like a victim.
    The woman smiled broadly . Her mouth was large and slightly disproportional to the rest of her face, causing her to have an almost clown like expression as she walked toward Alison. “Professor Bailey, I’m sorry if I startled you.” The woman extended her hand toward Alison. “I’m sure a stranger’s voice in a nearly deserted garage isn’t exactly reassuring.”
    Alison released the pepper spray canister, letting it drop back to the bottom of her pocket as she took the woman’s hand. “You’re fine, but you would have got a dose of pepper spray if it wasn’t for these snail-like reflexes of mine.”
    The woman laughed and the throaty sound filled the garage. “Then today is my lucky day.” She stepped closer to Alison, their hands still joined. Placing her other hand over Alison’s, the woman lowered her voice so it sounded intimate and secretive. “I’m Christine. It’s nice to finally meet you.”
    The intensity of the woman’s gaze, and the hushed tone she spoke in, made Alison uncomfortable. Slowly extracting her hand from the woman’s, Alison took a step back , but not before noticing the small silver Wiccan Triqueta emblem hanging from a thin silver chain around the woman’s neck. “Finally? Have you been trying for a while?”
    Christine smiled, and her face took on a slightly demonic expression. “I have , as a matter of fact. I’ve read both your books and thought your analysis of the early puritanical culture of the Colonies and the patriarchal structure of the church as key elements triggering the witch trials was incredibly insightful.”
    “Wow, you actually did read them.” The encounter felt odd, and Alison was too tired to engage in an academic discussion with a complete stranger at ten o’clock at night. “I’m glad you enjoyed the books.” She was amazed how many people as of late had read the books, and how there seemed to be a convergence of fans. “My office hours are nine to eleven, Mondays and Wednesdays, if you would like to swing by and discuss.”
    Shaking her head , the woman reached into her pocket. “Oh, I’m not a student, and I wouldn’t think of interrupting your working hours.”
    Alison’s eyebrow s shot up, and she felt an uneasy feeling stirring in her stomach, as the woman extracted a small, black stone from her pocket. “You’re not a student? Then what brings you to campus?”
    Christine flattened her hand out, palm up in front of Alison’s face. The black stone lay perfectly still in the woman’s hand. “I want you to have this.” Even though the stone had a matte finish, there was a brilliance to it, and Alison, though her mind equated this to a child taking candy from a stranger, couldn’t stop herself from reaching for the trinket.
    Just as