Immortal Becoming Read Online Free PDF Page A

her to the impenetrable darkness. She’d never been afraid of the dark, but this wasn’t like a normal dark. It was different from any dark she had ever encountered, tomb-like. She felt suffocated. How could Shane even see to walk around the Jeep? Inexplicably her eyes began to make out shapes in the dark. She wasn’t even sure if it was real or if her mind has playing tricks on her. When Shane opened Jess’s car door, her pupils shrunk to normal under the dome light.
    She couldn’t hide the relief that little glow of light gave her. Shane must have noticed. Grinning, he flipped the wheel of a lighter he must have fished out of his pocket and held it up, leading the way to a solid rock wall. The stones appeared to shift in the flickering light. Not possible. They must have walked into a blind entrance into the wall.
    Lights came on from behind odd-shaped crystals placed into the walls. The room was larger than she would have guessed, modern in a male kind of way. Below each of the crystal lights were displays of different antique weapons. In the center of the room sat a leather loveseat, two matching leather chairs, and a table with a detailed chess set. Across from that, countering the medieval motif, was a La-Z-Boy recliner facing a giant flat-screen TV, securely mounted into the stone of the wall. On either end of the room were arched openings. One led into what appeared to be a kitchen or dining area. In the other she could make out the edge of a massive bed. Jess had images of Shane lying in the rumpled bedding. Yum.
    “I left my bag in the Jeep.” She turned to head back the way she came in.
    “I’ll grab it.” Shane stopped her, and this time she could clearly see the stone in the wall slide away, revealing the opening they had entered through. Sure her mouth was gaping open; she peered around it to watch Shane jog to the side of the Jeep and reach in to grab her bag. He walked back into the room and the stone slid back, sealing the wall as if it had never been.
    “How did you do that?” This was beyond weird. Did she fall into the twilight zone?
    Shane turned his head, following her line of sight at the stone entrance. “We have much to discuss. You haven’t f … er … eaten anything. Why don’t you take that shower and I will find something for us to eat.” He seemed unsure of himself for the first time since she’d met him. Maybe he needed a minute to collect himself. She knew she sure as shit did.
    Relieved when he deflected an answer that might just send her into a full-blown panic attack, Jess agreed. “That would be good. Where is the bathroom?” Jess glanced around.
    Shane pointed to the perfectly normal door across the room, framed into a rock wall and centered between the arched entries.
    “Thank you; baby Jesus, a door that makes sense.” She headed toward it, and then turned back to Shane. “It’s not going to be dark with spiders or anything, right?” She shuddered.
    Shane chuckled. “Not at all you will find it quite modern and comfortable. There are robes hanging on the door. It will illuminate as soon as you enter.” Of course it would, no light switches required, no reason to deviate from weirdness now. She didn’t even see a power outlet. Good thing she had hair that didn’t require a blowout to lay straight.
    Jess opened the door and stood just inside as the crystals lit. She looked back at Shane, opening her mouth to speak. Was the light going to go off and plunge her back into that darkness again? Forget it. She snapped her mouth shut again, giving herself a shake of her head, and stepped slowly into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.
    Whistling, Jess took a moment to appreciate the lifestyles of the rock-dweller rich and famous bathroom. There was a giant shower cut into the stone with three different showerheads aimed into the center. A clear, no frills shower curtain guided the water to a drain in the floor. Fluffy towels sat folded on the shelf located