Rival Demons Read Online Free PDF

he hadn't really scared me. Still, an entire city of
demons speaking in a foreign language might get to be a bit
overwhelming. Especially if they all were staring at me like they
hated me.
    I took a deep breath, then emptied the vial into
my mouth and swallowed. Surprisingly, it tasted sweet.
    "What else?" I asked. The first part hadn't
really been a rule, I noticed, but I let him continue.
    "We can't cast any magic until we get down
there," he said. "It's too easy to track."
    I nodded. No magic. Easy enough as long as we
weren't being attacked.
    "You said it was just until we got to the
Underground though, right?" I asked. "Can we do magic once we get
down there?"
    "Yes, they are so deep under the surface and
buried under a special stone that blocks the trace from being seen
or felt by anyone up on the top," he said. "Once we get down there,
magic use will be fine. Still, you'll want to play it very low key,
okay? It will be very important that you listen to me and do what I
tell you."
    I chewed on my inner lip. I had never been one
to respond well to the phrase 'do what I tell you'. But I would try
to behave.
    "What else?" I asked, suddenly feeling that the
worst was yet to come.
    He looked up, staring out across the ocean. His
knee jerked up and down. There was still something he was nervous
about having to tell me.
    "Just say it," I said, my stomach full of
butterflies. "How bad can it be?"
    Jackson ran his fingers along his forehead, then
finally met my eyes. "You know how I feel about you, right?"
    Ouch. That was never a good start to a
conversation. "Yes," I said, a tremble in my voice.
    "Once we leave this cave, we can't let anyone
know we have any sort of relationship beyond the fact that you're
connected with my brother."
    I swallowed, but felt a lump of worry stick in
my throat. Was he breaking up with me?
    "It's forbidden for shadow demons to have
romantic relationships with humans," he said. "The way my people
see it, that's how we got into this mess with the Order in the
first place. Friendships are tolerated when the human is
sympathetic to our cause, but never more than that."
    I tried to breathe, but despite the open air, I
suddenly felt very claustrophobic. I couldn't find my voice.
    Jackson stood up and stared out at the water,
his body tense. "It's not like I wanted things to be this way," he
said, finally turning toward me. "But we don't have any choice. The
Underground is the only place where I can guarantee that you'll be
safe."
    Safe. And completely alone. It was obvious he
and Lea had already discussed this, which only hurt me more. The
idea of staying down there forever was bad enough when I thought we
were going to be together. But the thought of never kissing him
again or feeling his arms around me? Or worse - watching him fall
in love with Lea? What kind of life was that going to be?
    "I won't go," I said. He couldn't make me go
somewhere I didn't want to go.
    Jackson's face grew red. "Yes you will," he
said. "I won't sit back and let the Order take you away from me
again."
    I stood, scowling. "No, but you'll willingly
take yourself away from me in the name of safety. How is that any
different?"
    "At least this way I can watch over you," he
said. "You'll be alive and safe."
    "And completely miserable?" I shook my head.
"That's not the life I want."
    "You'd rather have no life then?" he shouted.
"Don't be stupid, Harper."
    Tears welled up in my eyes, and I swiped at
them. "I don't understand why we can't just keep running," I said.
"If you really love me, why wouldn't you do everything you could to
be with me? There has to be someplace else where we could hide. The
mountains. Somewhere out there on the ocean. This can't be the only
choice."
    Jackson put both hands on my shoulders and held
me tight. "Harper, don't you know that I would give anything to be
with you?" he said. There were tears in his green eyes for the
first time. "Believe me, if I thought there was any chance we could
run from the