Night Walker Read Online Free PDF Page B

fingers over the entwined flames of the ancient seal, his brow furrowed. He hesitated to open it and sat back in his black leather chair, quietly spinning his own signet ring around his finger with his thumb. He fought to make sense of the envelope he now held in his hands.
    28 LISA KESSLER
    The envelope had no postmark. It must have been hand-delivered. But seeing the signet told him enough about the sender.
    Fraternidad del Fuego Santo.
    He knew where the letter came from even if he wasn’t sure from whom .
    With a sigh of frustration, he broke the seal and carefully removed the letter inside. It read simply: We know where you sleep.
    Calisto crumbled the letter with a scowl. He slammed his fist on his desk, and then shot from his chair.
    They had no right to judge him. In fact, he still held them responsible for helping to create him. And they dared come to his home and threaten him. Did they have any idea of his power? It didn’t matter. He would put a stop to this.
    The monk came to his home while he slept. This messenger had gone too far. It would end now.
    Calisto raked his fingers back through his thick hair, snagged his black leather jacket free from the coat hook, and stormed into the night.
    Tala lived again, and he would not let the church come between them. Not this time.
    §
    Kate had spent the entire day shopping for something appropriate to wear to her meeting with Betty. She told herself that was the reason anyway. It wasn’t because she secretly hoped Calisto Terana might show up, too. No, it wasn’t that she wanted to see him again. Not at all.
    Ok, maybe just a little.
    It was dark by the time she got back to her parents’ house. She dropped her Macy’s bags and collapsed onto her dad’s overstuffed easy chair. She looked down the hall at the office. She should at least check her e-mail. But exhaustion weighed heavy on her shoulders.
    Instead, she reclined the chair and let her eyes drift closed. She just needed a little rest.
    Her breathing deepened, and gradually the landscape took shape.
    Night Walker 29
    Her body tensed, her mind already anticipating the chase, the fear.
    But instead she saw... water?
    Waves lapped at her ankles, and a man walked beside her. His face was lost in the shadow of the bright sun that warmed her skin.
    She held a flower, studying it, twisting it with her fingertips.
    It wasn’t a rose. The petals were larger and more delicate. Then she recognized it. The same flower she’d seen at the mission in the courtyard. The scenery around her gradually shifted, fading and growing darker as the dream changed. The woman ran through dry brush, fighting for breath, for life.
    The sound of her own scream woke her.
    Kate sat up, sweating and shivering all at once. Her mind raced with receding terror and confusion. The dream had always been the same—until tonight.
    Why would it change now, after all this time?
    She struggled to keep the details fresh, fighting to remember.
    There was a man. Could he be the same man who chased the woman in her nightmare? She wasn’t sure, and the more she thought about it, she realized she didn’t want to know. She hoped she would never see that man’s face.
    Finally Kate managed to stand, then wandered into the dark kitchen for a glass of water. It was probably just her pent-up emotions about being back at her parents’ house, combined with her anger at Tom’s betrayal, that changed her dream. Either way, she couldn’t go back to sleep.
    The clock on the stove read 2:33 a.m. The sun would be up in a few hours, and she felt like she hadn’t slept at all yet. She dug through one of the plastic shopping bags on the kitchen counter and pulled out a box of instant hot chocolate. Maybe if she had something warm and soothing to drink, she might be able to sleep.
    It didn’t hurt that hot chocolate was her go-to comfort food.
    She dumped the packet into the cup, filled it with water, and after ninety seconds in the microwave, she had a steaming mug