Fire Kissed Read Online Free PDF Page A

battlefield, the smell of it heady with Shadow magic. The Brands had been the Eldr clan then and had fled under the cover of their fire. Other clans escaped as best they could. Marauders were left behind, stumbling grunts of men who were Shadow-poisoned, their minds blanked, marked by deeply gouged black X s under their eyes. He raised his sword and cut a poor beast down, gore splattering. His arm was tired from releasing humanity from the clutches of black magic. Somewhere a mage had been left behind to control the mules they’d made of man. What clan the mage came from Jack didn’t know, but he found the scoundrel, an old woman, hissing power toward the battlefield from her concealed ditch. She’d bought her clan time with her life, though she begged “Mercy!” now. Was there honor in that? Jack took her head anyway and the Shadow-possessed on the battlefield thumped to the ground.
    Nearby Ms. Brand’s room, an external thought interrupted his memory : ... drug should have put her out by now... .
    From the person’s companion: ... what’s Hampstead want with the woman if he’s gay ... ?
    Jack heard the lock release on the door, but he kept his seat. The two men entered, both young and strong, twin sneers curling their mouths.
    “Ms. Brand isn’t here,” Jack said. The red of the battlefield memory still stained his vision.
    Both men looked at the sprawl of limbs visible through the bedroom doorway.
    “You came for her, but she was missing,” Jack explained, then gave a little push with his mind. Technically, angels were not to interfere with the choices of humans, but Jack’s need trumped the free agency of the parties involved—these men and the hotel’s owner. “She wasn’t here. You should search the rest of the hotel, however, before reporting back to Mr. Hampstead.”
    Hampstead’s going to be pissed... .
    Got to get out of this business....
    “And I wasn’t here either,” he continued.
    What had Ms. Brand gotten herself into? More trouble, certainly. It was time for a change ... of venue. He was relying on her bad habits for what he had in store.
    The men left. Hampstead approached the room, but he was made to change his mind as well. The hotel quieted in the very early hours of the morning. The sky paled to white, then turned a dirty blue as the sun finally crested the horizon.
    When the world was bathed in light, Kaye groaned from the bedroom.
    Jack leaned in the door frame and waited for the shock of a strange man in her room—unless she was used to it—to wake her completely. He hoped she wouldn’t be ill. Time was wasting.
    Kaye blinked, bleary. He watched as her gaze shifted to the glaring window, to the bright mess of clothing spilling off a chair. To Jack, then held.
    She bolted to kneel on the mattress, her hands shaking and full of livid faefire.
    “Angel,” she said, naming him as she prepared to strike.
    “That won’t be necessary,” Jack said. Though he could read human minds easily, Kaye’s was a complete and utter blank, like all of the soulless mage-born. But he knew human nature well enough. If he remained at ease, she wouldn’t burn him. Most likely.
    Pillow lines creased one cheek. Her auburn hair was flat on that side as well, wavy on the other. Black eyes. Her legs were braced apart, athletic in their youth. The skirt was still rucked up high on her thighs. Her stance was full of fight, so the life she’d been leading hadn’t broken her yet. Very good.
    “Although historically I’m your mortal enemy—” Jack began. Mages, like the fae, had always defied Heaven. He added a smile to make the acknowledgment seem friendly. “Today, I’m your prospective employer, Jack Bastian.”
    “Get out.” The blaze in her hands grew brighter, shifting to an almost citrine intensity.
    Jack looked out the window at the ugly view and sighed heavily. Garish at night, the Las Vegas cityscape was hungover in the morning. “Last night the hotel’s owner drugged you. Then two