In Darkness We Must Abide Read Online Free PDF

quickie.”
    Sheila gave Vanora a sharp look.
    “It wasn’t me,” she said defensively.
    “I was going to say! He can’t feed off of witches or vampires. We give him zero sustenance.”
    Vanora punched Greg’s shoulder as he passed her on his way into the house. “You asshole! Asking me to feed you when you knew-”
    “You cannot blame me for trying!” Greg ducked away.
    …he’s a demon. It’s what they do…
    “He doesn’t have to be such an ass about it,” Vanora answered Alexander.
    Sheila stopped dead in her tracks, eyeing Vanora. “What did you say?” The skinny vampire’s eyes flicked back and forth between Alexander and Vanora. “You…you can hear him?”
    “Can you?” Vanora asked.
    “Not actual words. Not his voice. I just…sense what he’s thinking,” Sheila answered. “But can you hear words?”
    “He has a Creole accent,” Vanora said, feeling a bit like she’d been caught doing something intimate with Alexander. When she met Alexander’s gaze, she grasped that veracity of that thought. Sheila was Alexander’s voice to the world. Vanora had just circumvented her. Not only that, she could actually hear his voice when Sheila could not. Guilt ripped at her like a hungry shark.
    Sheila stood very still, her hands clenched at her side, then gradually relaxed. “I can’t be selfish. I’m glad someone can hear him.”
    The long haired vampire reached out and caressed Sheila’s cheek. She went into his arms and they held each other tenderly. Staring into Sheila’s eyes, Alexander didn’t need words to convey his emotions. Vanora skittered around them, allowing them a moment.
    Besides, she needed to prepare.
    It was time to enter the other world and open the box to discover the secrets it contained.
     
    Sprawled across a white brocade divan, Leto watched Aeron pacing before the flames in the hearth. Dressed only in linen trousers, the vampire nearly matched the whiteness of the marble fireplace. Though the walls and floor were ivory and decorated with white furniture, the darkened room was aglow in orange-yellow glow of the fire. It was a relief from the stark whiteness that inhabited most of Aeron’s haven.
    The heavy, warm bodies of the two wolves sharing the divan with Leto reminded her of the fur pelts Aeron had worn when he’d first found her so long ago. At the sight of the wolf hide, she’d attacked him only to learn what so many of his enemies would discover over thousands of years of conflict. Aeron could not be killed.
    “Must you have them on my furniture?” The purple eyes flashed red for a second with indignation.
    One of the wolves yawned, while the other snoozed with his head on her lap. Leto had saved them from a poacher when they were mere cubs, and they were usually at her side in quieter moments. Without answering, Leto continued to stroke their furry backs. When she’d finally close her eyes to sleep, they’d press against her bare skin, warm and loving. It was the only true comfort she had anymore. Because of Aeron, the world was in turmoil and her werewolves were in danger. She’d do anything to protect them, even if it meant sacrificing some of her own blood.
    Aeron snarled, flashing one fang at her.
    She grinned in response, her mouth full of sharp teeth.
    That elicited a slight smile from Aeron. “You don’t worry about displeasing me.”
    “You can clean their black hair off your precious white divan after I retire if it bothers you so much.” Sitting up, Leto’s dark hair spilled over her shoulders and breasts. She was naked except for a filmy black scarf wrapped around her hips. After spending a few hours in her miso-likos form, clothing agitated her.
    There was a soft, hesitant step at the door to the room. Swiveling about, Aeron regarded the young woman in the doorway imperiously.
    “What is it, Kallos?” Leto asked swiftly, not wishing for Aeron to aim his dangerous mood at the nervous woman.
    “All of the likos have returned except for