Living Nightmare Read Online Free PDF

patching people up. The best I could do would be to slap a strip of duct tape over it. That’s not good enough.”
    “Actually, that would be perfect. Not only would it stop the bleeding; it would also keep me from getting more blisters.”
    “You’re not going back there to dig up those bones, and that’s final.”
    “I thought you, of all people, would listen to me.”
    “Why? Because I’m so fucking sensitive?”
    “No, because you know I’m not crazy.”
    “No, I don’t. Standing out in the cold in the middle of the night in a cemetery, alone and unarmed, is pretty fucking crazy.”
    “I need those bones. Please.” She put her hand on his arm, and because he was driving, he couldn’t flinch away. She felt the thick muscles below her hand twitch as though he wanted to, but she knew he wouldn’t risk crashing the car.
    A weary sigh filled the silence. “Why, Nika? Why are those bones so important?”
    “Because they prove Tori is still alive.”
    “No. Even if those aren’t her bones, all that proves is that we haven’t found her body yet. Do you really want to do that to Andra? Do you really want to take away what little bit of peace she found by burying Tori?”
    “You don’t understand. Tori is still alive. I can feel her. Rescuing her will make Andra feel a lot better than any fake funeral ever could.”
    “You can’t know she’s alive.”
    “I do. We’re connected. She’s getting weaker, but I can still feel her inside me. I can still feel her suffering.”
    He shook his head. “This is crazy. You need to let it go or you’re going to get yourself killed.”
    “So what? You’ve made it clear you don’t care about me one way or another.”
    The truck lurched to the right, screaming to a sudden stop. Madoc slammed the gearshift into park and turned to face her.
    “You have no fucking clue what you’re talking about. I’ve spent every spare moment since I met you hunting the sgath for you, trying to free that fucked-up mind of yours. That counts. I may be dead inside, but damn it, that counts .”
    The pain radiating out from him shocked her. She’d always thought of him as invincible. Clearly, even he could hurt.
    Nika reached up and pressed her hand against his cheek. Beard stubble tickled her fingers. His jaw clenched, but he didn’t pull away.
    “You’re not dead inside. Why would you think that?” she asked.
    His mouth tightened in anger and his eyes closed. A deep breath filled his chest, lifting his shoulders. She could feel him struggling to regain control.
    In a carefully modulated tone, he said, “Forget I said anything. I’m fine.”
    It was a lie. She could feel the taint of it staining his words, which meant he wasn’t fine.
    Panic exploded inside Nika. She couldn’t let anything happen to him. He was too important—not just to her, but to everyone else, too. “What’s wrong with you?”
    “I’m an incurable asshole. That’s all.” With that, he turned back to the road, pulling away from her touch, and merged onto the street.
    Nika sat back, her mind reeling. He was lying about being fine, which meant something was wrong. Seriously wrong.
    Whatever it was, Nika had to figure out what it was and fix it. She needed Madoc too much to lose him. Without him, she was destined to go back to the way she used to be—unable to control the pull of the Synestryn on her mind, unable to resist being sucked into their world of blood and pain and death.
    She couldn’t let that happen. Not again. One way or another, she was going to figure out what was wrong and find someone who could fix it.

Chapter 3
    C onnal was already waiting for them when they pulled into the Gerai house. Madoc had been here before—the night they’d taken Nika from the mental hospital. The human doctors had done nothing to help her, and had actually allowed her to fool their minds into thinking she was fine when she was wasting away, unable to eat.
    Madoc had known the moment he saw her that she