Relic Read Online Free PDF Page B

long braid trailing down from the back of his head. His dark, almond-shaped eyes peered at me without expression.
    I turned to the Haciendo, grasping for words. “I didn’t mean to use it.”
    I stared back at the shimmering horn, still in a daze. I’d read a great deal about the gravitational forces that accompanied earth magic, but what about the whispers? The echo of the unicorn’s voice in my head? It had to be my mind playing tricks on me. Or perhaps this was what powerful magic felt like. After all, I had healed the Haciendo without even trying. The experience was both frightening and thrilling at the same time.
    I looked back up at him, heat coloring my cheeks. “Are you all right, sir?”
    His face smoothed into a calm, almost charming smile. “It would appear so. Thanks to you.”
    “Thanks to the relic,” I said. “I’ve never seen one so powerful.”
    The Haciendo and the expert exchanged a swift but meaningful glance. “Indeed.”
    “I’m sorry about the glass. I didn’t—”
    “No need for apologies, señorita.” His voice was smooth and rich with a Spanish accent. “This was clearly an accident.” He turned to the aging expert. “I shall send one of my men to pay for a new case at once, Moon John.”
    Then, carefully, the Haciendo lifted the unicorn relic from the glass, wiped the blood away, and laid it into its case. I noticed his hand tremble ever so slightly as he clicked the latches down.
    The expert, Moon John, nodded. “I will clean up this mess.”
    He headed to the back rooms, but just before moving out of sight, he shot a single, piercing glance back at me. A look that made my breath catch.
    The Haciendo held out his hand to help me up with the casual smile of a young man perfectly at ease with the opposite sex. “May I?”
    “Thank you.”
    I stood on wobbly legs, my head still spinning at the rapid blur of the last few seconds.
    When we had stepped away from the shattered glass, the Haciendo turned to Mr. Connelly. “Now,” he said firmly, “what did you do to this girl to make her recoil so violently from you?”
    It surprised me to hear the Haciendo address a much older man in such an authoritative tone, but Mr. Connelly only glowered.
    “Nothing,” he said. “She’s a clumsy little fool, that’s all.”
    “That’s not true!” I said, outraged. “Your man here was speaking to me in a despicable way.”
    Mr. Connelly grimaced, and that seemed to be all the Haciendo needed to know what I meant. His jaw tightened. “You must forgive him, miss,” he said. “Percy has all the tact of a mule.”
    Mr. Connelly snorted. I glared at him and brushed off my skirt.
    “Yes, well, he hopelessly misunderstood what kind of a lady I am, sir.”
    “I have no doubt,” the Haciendo said. “And you have my deepest apologies for that. Miss…”
    “Davis,” I said out of trained politeness.
    “Miss Davis. Again, forgive my servant’s poor treatment of you. Percy’s a good man, though he has a nasty temper.”
    His genteel ways threw me off a bit, but I tried not to be too easily won over. He may have been rich and young and even handsome, with his raven hair and amber eyes, but I should not be associating with strange men without a proper introduction.
    “Well, thank you for your apology, but since my answer is still a very emphatic no, I believe this conversation is over.”
    “Suit yourself.” Mr. Connelly snorted. “I guess beggin’ in the streets sounds better?”
    “I’ll find other work.”
    The Haciendo sighed a little.
    I turned to him, the heat of fear creeping into me. “Surely there’s other work. I may be only a girl, but I’ll wash clothes or dishes. Clean rooms in the hotel. There has to be something. ”
    “We are experiencing hard times here in Burning Mesa, Miss Davis. Indeed, there are many good men who would gladly take the jobs you describe, but alas.”
    “It can’t be…”
    “Might I accompany you back outside?” The Haciendo offered his