Gideon's Promise (Sons of Judgment Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page A

scene with a sense of great burden falling onto his chest.
    They hadn’t been fast enough.
    Whoever had done the deed, had left eight scorched bodies in a neat row just far enough away from the calloused structure to leave no doubt that they’d been burned first. Then the house. They had gone so far as to place them by size, a sort of sick stepping game from largest to smallest, which looked to be a child of about six.
    “Who would do this?” he heard himself say to no one in particular.
    “Whoever they are,” Magnus moved to stand over the bodies. “They covered their tracks. There’s no way we’ll be able to identify cause of death with the bodies like this and the house in ruins.”
    “But why?” Rather than face the house, their father was scanning their surroundings. “Why this family? Look at this place.” He waved a hand over the dirt road they’d come up. “It’s completely isolated. Not a neighbor in sight. The clearing is small, so the house would have been even smaller to give them enough room for the vegetable garden in the back. These were people who wanted to keep to themselves.”
    Magnus turned away and sighed. “I think we need to have a talk with our visitor.”
    The sun was making a slow rise to noon by the time they arrived home. The front room was empty, as was the kitchen. They found the group in the parlor upstairs. His mother was at her desk, pouring over demon applications. Reggie sat in the far corner with a book open in his lap. Octavian was by the window. He must have told the others of their arrival, because no one looked surprised when the trio trudged into the room.
    Imogen leapt to her feet off the sofa where she’d been sitting with Riley and turned to face them. The hope on her young face was devastating.
    “Is my family all right?” she asked, gaze darting anxiously from face to face.
    Gideon couldn’t do it. He dropped his head forward, turned on his heels and walked over to lean a hip against his mother’s desk.
    “Darling.” His father motioned his mother over.
    He didn’t even have to say another word. She was at Imogen’s side in an instant. Her arms slipped around the girl’s small shoulders and she guided her back down onto the sofa as his father moved to take the sofa across from them.
    “We went to your house,” he began slowly, his voice reflecting the anguish on his face. “I’m sorry, my dear. There’s nothing left.”
    For several rigid seconds, no one spoke. All eyes were on Imogen who was watching the man peering back at her with devastating heartbreak mirrored on his face.
    "I don't understand," she said at long last. "They can't all..." She dampened her lips. "Not all! You have to be wrong."
    "We're not."
    "Magnus!"
    Magnus, ignoring his mother's sharp retort, moved deeper into the room. He stopped when he was in danger of walking into the armchair facing the twin sofas.
    "There were eight bodies, now if you tell me there's one missing..."
    "Jesus Christ, Magnus!" Gideon snapped, genuinely horrified by his brother's callous disregard.
    Exasperation blazed white hot across his brother’s face. “She came to us for help. We can’t help her if we don’t stop pussy footing. We need answers if we’re going to catch the sons of bitches.”
    “I don’t know!” Imogen exclaimed. “I didn’t see anyone.”
    Magnus waved dramatically towards her as though to say, there. See? Hopeless, before whirling on his heel and stomping across the room to toss himself down in a chair far away from everyone else.
    “Then there is nothing we can do for you,” he grumbled, staring hard out the window.
    “Magnus, that is enough,” their father said with an authority that had rarely ever been used. “It is our job to find those responsible, yes, but we are also here to give comfort to those who need it.”
    Magnus said nothing, but Gideon could see the slight tick just beneath his right eye. Hardly anyone ever noticed the subtle twitch, but Gideon knew his