Rakshasa Book I, Part #2: Aurora Read Online Free PDF Page B

“Perhaps I haven’t made myself clear, Altaican, you will never see Ishan again. Do you understand?”
    I choked, gasping, kicking at his thighs. He relaxed his grip on my windpipe enough for me to gasp in a half-lungful of air. “N-No! You told me you accepted our bond!”
    Hailstone growled and shoved me back. I stumbled but kept my footing, my agility surprising myself.
    “Don’t mistake what I say before my coven for what I truly feel, fledgling. This comes from me . Ishan is a good man with a strong heart, he cannot be corrupted by you and your kind. You Altaicans are all the same; you cannot be trusted. ”
    I rubbed my bruised throat, coughing. “What have we ever done to you?”
    Hailstone fixed his gaze upon me, staring unblinkingly into my eyes. I matched his stare with one of my own. “The Champawat Tiger is one of yours,” he growled, “and he killed my brother. He’s killed fledglings, Rewa more than Altaica, and he’s an aberration. A monster. His actions threaten to expose us. If our kind are discovered and word gets back to India, they will come for us, and their vengeance will be swift and terrible. None of us will be spared.”
    “The media don’t know what he is yet. The humans think he is one of them.”
    He scowled, giving a dismissive snort. “For now.”
    I coughed again, but already the bruises on my throat were feeling better. Already my body was healing itself. “Why does he kill fledglings?”
    “The Champawat Tiger believes that the power of the Rakshasa are all drawn from a single pool. The more of us there are, the weaker we all become. The converse is also true. He wants power, plain and simple, nothing more.”
    “I’m not like him.” I tried to make my voice as confident as I could. I needed Hailstone to believe that I would never, ever, be like the Champawat Tiger. “That monster tried to kill me, too. I’m not like that.”
    “I can’t take that risk,” said Hailstone, “not now, not ever.”
    I held my arms out wide. “So just kill me then.”
    He stared at me, flexing his muscled arms. “Fine,” he said, “if you want it that way.”
    In a flash he was upon me, again, and I didn’t resist as he pressed my windpipe closed. I stared directly into his brown eyes as the seconds passed. I felt myself become lightheaded, and remembered what Ishan had told me. We needed less air, we were stronger…
    But we had limits.
    The world became darker and my hands shook beside my sides. I still didn’t fight back. My body struggled for air, my brain pleading with me to breathe, but I forced myself to be still, to let him choke me. Slowly the world began to go grey as though all the colour was drained out of it.
    And then I was on the floor, panting and heaving, clutching at my bruised, injured throat.
    Hailstone regarded me, scowling darkly. “Leave town tonight,” he said, then turned his back to me.
    Fighting for air I stared up at Hailstone’s back as he closed the door of my apartment and left me alone on the cold tile floor.

Epilogue

    How To Hurt A Rakshasa

    It took me several minutes to get my breath back. My neck, sore and bruised, still felt tender after Hailstone had injured it again. Still, I could feel the power of the Rakshasa bloodline within me, healing me. A human would have died, their neck snapped in an instant.
    But that wasn’t my fate, not now that I was what I was. I wet a cloth from the sink, pressing the cool wetness against my bruised skin, letting the sensation ease the pain. Clintonette and the kittens mewed incessantly, so I poured a nice big pile of food into my shoe closet then left the door open enough for them to get out if they wanted.
    Then I figured I should feed myself. I walked back into the kitchen in time to hear a knock on the door. Warily, I crept up, peering through the peephole.
    Ishan.
    I threw open the door, falling straight into his arms, grabbing him and holding him close. I felt his strong arms around me, holding my