Keeley Thomson (Book 3): Mistress of Souls Read Online Free PDF Page A

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    "Alright. I agree to those specific terms." You didn't say "deal" to a Greater Demon. Making a bargain with one had to be explicit and exacting or it could end in slavery forever. Not for her, being a Greater Demon too, but even a few months or years of that kind of thing could be pretty damaging. Darla had mentioned the horrors she'd experienced at the hands of their older brother before she'd broken free. That was a scary idea once she thought about it. What had he done, what could he do, that was so bad Darla couldn't just make herself forget about it? True, Keeley's mentor wasn't Xenses, but why risk what you didn't have to?
    Darla sounded pleased enough about it all though.
    "I'll be over in two hours then. I suggest you inform Charles that he has that much time to arrange a flight out of the country and to be on his way. I'm bringing lawyers with me, so be prepared for that." Then she hung up without saying more, which wasn't like her at all. Normally Darla had very good phone manners.
    Her parents were still bickering, Sherry in tears and Charles seeming more and more vindicated as each one fell. Keeley waited for a brief lull in the noise to speak.
    "Mrs. Gibson is coming over to deal with this. She said that if dad was gone before she and the lawyers got here, headed out of the country, she can buy him some time. No one will think he's running if we don't go with him. Not at first." She glared at her father, head shaking and a bit of anger creeping into her body language.
    "I had to call in a favor for this and it will cost me for a long time, I can't even begin to explain how screwed up this is. I suggest you use the next two hours to get as far from here as possible and never look back. Just so you know... you have a mental problem. A real one that's hard for you to see. Women really don't go around sleeping with people like you think they do. Not all of them, not even most. If you ever find love again, keep that in mind or you'll end up losing her too." She waited as he just stood, his eyes baffled. It could have been about any part of the thing, but it was the last bit that did it, Keeley was certain. It was just too hard for people to see their own brand of crazy. Most didn't even try.
    Sherry moved to sit by her on the sofa, still crying, hugging her tightly, which broadcasted the wave of emotions she was feeling directly into Keeley's head. The anger at being betrayed. The fear and uncertainty, since Sherry really didn't have any money of her own to support them with and her OCD made getting a real job more than a little frightening. Relief that this mess that her married life had become was nearly over.
    Plus dread that Charles was going to get in trouble.
    Just because she wanted him gone now, that didn't mean she had no feelings for him at all. She'd loved him once and still wanted to. She just couldn't anymore.
    It was hard to tell if her dad believed her or not, but he didn't hesitate to grab a bag from the garage, one that had already been packed and hidden for a quick getaway and started to put it in the car without saying goodbye.
    Keeley tilted her head at him and growled.
    "No. You aren't taking the car. If you do that everyone will think you're running. Call a cab and pay in cash so there's no record of it. Travel by bus and alternative transportation when you can and don't use any more money than you have to. Draw what you can from the ATM here and then destroy the card before you leave town. They can track those things when you use them. Also, ditch your cell phone now. Those can be tracked too." It was like he hadn't even thought this part through. He also needed to buy a plane ticket, but it would be safer for him to charter a boat. People found planes easier to manage and faster, so they thought it was safer, but airports were easy to watch and control. Ports were larger in general and not used even a fraction as often to get out of the country, which meant they weren't looked at as