Evanescent Read Online Free PDF Page A

a mind block. I couldn’t kill anything – ever again. It was a guilt that destroyed. I climbed up one more story, positive I wouldn’t make it to the very top at the rate the energy tube was thickening out, almost squashing me to the wall. So, I went vertically with that tunnel and out the nearest metal, air grate above me. I shoved the heavy, iron grate, and moved it so I could lift myself out. I crouched down on the stone floor once I was out. I then moved the golden, patterned grate back over the air vent and closed my eyes, listening for the slightest movement. I found myself alone in a warmly lit, circular, stone room. An orange fire emitted from a black fireplace molded out of onyx stone, the yellow glow spilled into the night air outside. I stared into the fire, a familiar scent, and the familiar green tint in its sting – witchcraft. My lips pressed into a thin line and I turned away from my reflection in the black, glossy surface of the fireplace. I would never be associated with that kind of craft ever again. It had ruined lives. With every kind of magic there is balance. With the dark kind it was a life for power. I walked to a huge, arched window and as I looked down, I wondered what happened to our connection. I was stunned to see Troy looking back up at me.
    “Troy,” I said, my tongue suddenly heavy with surprise.
    In the glow of the fire lay the answers of exactly what had temporarily blocked his vitals from me. The very thing that powered the entire fortress had blocked my abilities. It was only then I realized what lay in the remnants of the coals. The essence of the Zulu king.
    “Oh goodness, Troy!” I called out again. He was climbing the steep, stone tower. I grabbed on to his forearm and helped him up. His lean muscles pulled in his arms and shoulders as his upper body strength easily lifted the rest of him onto the ledge, his legs swung under him, and he was suddenly wrapped around me. I had almost forgotten how gorgeous he was. I felt my breath catch as I pushed my face deep into the crevice of his soft, warm neck. It was then that I realized I could feel him. I pushed my face deeper, feeling everything of him, all over me. His warmth, the smooth skin of his arms over mine. His gentle fingers working through my hair. I came alive at his touch. He kissed my temple, stroking my hair from my face vigorously. “Are you okay?” he asked, speaking into my hair.
    I nodded, staring into his eyes, his forehead pressed against mine.
    “Don’t just say that for my sake. If he has done anything to you…”
    I swallowed the tight pull in my throat in order to push the words out. “I just want to get the heck out of here, okay?”
    He nodded and brushed his lips over my forehead, pulling me into his chest. His scent wrapped around me and lifted the dark cloud from my mood. I pushed him from me suddenly, remembering why it was that we were there in the first place.
    “Please tell me you found them,” I asked with desperation.
    “Maya is waiting for us, but…” His face fell. The laugh lines around his gorgeous eyes suddenly becoming folds of worry and deep sorrow.
    My eyes searched his. “What?”
    I need not have asked, the answer was evident in his tortured midnight glare as his eyes found mine. I covered my face with my hands, not sure what emotion I was experiencing at that very moment. It was too much, too many, and my instinct tore them away from me before I had a chance to feel the weight of it all.
    “Come, let’s get out of here, your sister needs you right now,” he said, obviously seeing the change in me. I was not only losing the sensation of any feeling on my skin, but my instinct was so tuned on survival, it was determined to shut out any human emotion. I fought it, not wanting to go back to that lonely place.
    “No, wait!” I pulled my hand out of his.
    He turned. “There is nothing you can do – it’s done, I’m sorry, but you can’t fix this right now.”
    “I…