My Wicked Enemy Read Online Free PDF

was left of the metal push bar from the door had landed near Carson’s feet. She grabbed it, because something was better than no weapon at all. The metal chilled her palm.
    Nikodemus ran toward Kynan, then spun and, using the force from his spin, coldcocked him with a furious backhand. She heard the crunch of bone giving way. Nikodemus kept moving until he was behind Kynan. He wrapped his arms around Kynan’s neck and chin and wrenched hard. Kynan threw him over his shoulder and staggered, blood pouring from his broken nose. Meanwhile, Tibold was back on his feet. He propelled himself at Nikodemus.
    Carson screamed a warning, and that made Kynan’s head whip toward her. His broken face was healing right before her eyes. He pointed at her and grinned.
    Nikodemus had Tibold in a headlock. His arms strained. Bone cracked, and when Nikodemus let go, Tibold’s body hit the ground and didn’t move. Nikodemus knelt and did something with his hand. The body jerked once.
    Someone roared. Kynan, Carson realized. He shot toward her so fast she didn’t have time to think. She swung her metal bar as hard as she could. She was going to die, she thought. But not without a fight.
    The jagged end of the bar caught Kynan’s cheek and tore through his skin. He grabbed his face, eyes burning like a furnace, and Carson felt the world turn upside-down. She couldn’t move. Her brain was locked tight against her. Kynan’s eyes boiled as red as the blood oozing over his fingers.
    “Don’t worry,” Kynan said. “I’m going to take my time with you. It might be hours before I kill you.”
    Behind him, Nikodemus was on his feet. He didn’t look any friendlier than Kynan. He flung out a hand, and Kynan’s body bowed toward her. Her paralysis shattered. Kynan whirled to Nikodemus, who was circling around them.
    Carson’s headache returned with a vengeance. She was practically blind from the pain. Her stomach burned. Her mouth tasted bitter, metallic, and sour. Her vision wavered. No matter how hard she blinked, Kynan looked more like a deformed lion than a man. His eyes glowed; his upper face protruded, or maybe his jaw receded. He started running toward Nikodemus. Steam rose from his feet. Beneath her the pavement rippled.
    Kynan snarled, a rumbling sound that buzzed in her ears and vibrated in her chest. He leapt toward Nikodemus, arms outstretched, fingers curled into talons. Carson grabbed her metal bar with both hands and darted toward Kynan, shouting with inchoate rage. She swung the bar with all her might and hit the back of his head with a crack like a gun shot. Her joints hurt from the impact. Kynan staggered.
    Heat bubbled around her, burning her. Her skin sizzled, and she was sure her head was going to explode like the fire-exit door. Pain enveloped her, and she screamed. The heat came from Nikodemus. It gathered around him, coalesced, and flashed outward. She didn’t see anything, but she felt the push on her body like a punch. Kynan flipped head over heels and hit the ground, sliding backward, smoke curling out of his mouth and wide-open eyes. He lurched to his feet, normal now. No animalistic face or body. Only his normal, beautiful, hate-filled face. Carson held her bar like a baseball bat.
    “Come on!” Nikodemus sprinted, grabbing her wrist as he passed her. She clenched the length of metal as they exited onto the main street and slowed to a normal pace. He pushed through the crowd, jostling people as they went. “You can drop that now,” he said.
    She looked at the bar. “No.”
    Nikodemus shrugged. “Suit yourself.”
    Down the hill, a No. 1 California bus moved through traffic, less than a block away. Bodies pressed in on her, carrying her toward the bus stop, whether she wanted to go or not. Nikodemus was ahead of her, moving through the crowd easily because he was tall and acted like he owned the sidewalk. The pain in her head was a dull ache, but she still had the visual disturbances and the sensation that