Possession Read Online Free PDF Page B

share any tips. Her questions were left to be
solved by answer columns in magazines like Glamour and Cosmo .
    Typical for most young women. You fumbled
about with boyfriend after boyfriend until you figured out what
worked for you, unless you happened to find that one magical guy
who could read you like a book.
    Alana also had another motive for sharing as
much as she did. “Things will be different once he turns you,”
she’d said. “But you still have to know how to take care of
yourself.” Then, her voice dropped to an intimate murmur. “If you
know yourself, you can be prepared for the pain.” And then she’d
slipped Catherine a note with a summoning incantation written on
it, “just in case”.
    Halfway through her training, now, she was
acutely aware that time was rapidly slipping away. Just three more
weeks until Lorcan came back to get the progress report from
Julian.
    ***
    Julian brought in a new book for her to
study. Well, it was an old book, like all the rest, but new to her. The History of One of the Most Feared Vampire Clans of All
Time .
    “This is the most accurate version in written
form.”
    “Alright…” She wasn’t making the connection
why that was important.
    “It’s the clan you’ll be born into,
Catherine.” He’d taken to using her first name since she’d been
bitten. She hadn’t asked why.
    Her mouth formed an “o” as the light bulb
turned on above her head. “Lorcan is in here?” she asked, patting
the book.
    “Among many others. You’ll get the same
stories from him, although they’ll be a lot more colorful than the
truth, the pompous git.”
    She nodded. “Will there be a test?”
    Julian shook his head, a little smile playing
at his lips. “Nah, this one’s just for your own good. You should,
uh…you should have the truth.”
    “Okay,” Catherine replied. “Thank you,
sir.”
    “ Julian . You’ve been here long enough,
and you’re more respectful than Alana. It’s Julian.” He turned away
and selected a Bo off the wall. “So, you ready to earn today’s
bruises?”
    “If you’re ready to earn yours,” she
countered.
    He laughed. “Just as long as you stay away
from the knackers, love.”
    She picked up the book to read after dinner,
in her room. The front two pages were a family tree in tiny print,
the page number recorded next to each name. Glasses on, her finger
skimmed down the line as she looked for Lorcan’s name.
    Lorcan--sired James, Peter, and Celia.
    The notation under Celia’s name caught her
eye: Julian, Killer of Demon Hunters. Lorcan’s mention of
“family” now made sense.
    Skipping ahead to Julian’s pages, Catherine’s
eyes poured over the book. The account described his exploits in
gruesome detail, up until he and Celia parted ways in Santa
Barbara, CA. Celia followed her sire in one direction, and Julian
went elsewhere.
    The book seemed to stop for every vampire in
1998, so she guessed another volume was being written somewhere at
this minute.
    Was Julian really so distraught over Celia
dumping him that he retreated from the world in this house from
then on? Alana had already mentioned it was a modern business, but
Catherine hadn’t guessed it was less than ten years old.
    Two things had stuck out in his
biography--his zest for a challenge, and his devotion to his sire.
Had they been entwined? Just ways to prove himself to her? Julian
was still an enigma.
    She shouldn’t like him, of course. As decent
as he might have been since she came to stay here, Julian was still
a killer, a murderer, a vampire. Feeding was a natural instinct for
any species, but he hadn’t just fed to survive--he’d killed people
and enjoyed it. Meditated how he would carry it out. It was all on
the pages. Even without a conscience, he’d still had a choice.
    Stockholm Syndrome was not where Catherine
wanted to see her life going.
    “Just continue getting yourself through this
so you can escape later,” she muttered. “You have to think of how
to