Soul Bound Read Online Free PDF Page A

staff lounge was quiet, empty save for Lia, who was busy pouring herself a cup of coffee, and that served Diane’s purposes just fine. She had a job to do. One that would require a great deal of concentration and privacy.
    Silent as the wind, she breezed in and bolted the door with the power of her mind. Thankfully, Lia didn’t hear the lock click in place or the sound of Diane’s soft-soled shoes whispering over the carpet as she approached. She was too lost in thought.
    That was the cross humans bore. A soul could be a cumbersome thing. Emotion clouded the mind and the senses, made a person weak and blind to the energy surrounding them.
    Lia brought the coffee to her mouth, let the paper cup linger against her bottom lip for a few seconds. Shoulders hunched, she secured one arm around her middle, as if struggling to hold herself together.
    Human beings were such weak, pathetic creatures—defenseless little lambs living in the constant presence of an invisible wolf. They thought they were safe, that their actions were their own, that their souls were immortal. But they were fooling themselves. If they knew what lurked in the dark—or in bright daylight—they’d never sleep soundly again.
    This one had good instincts. She spun around before Diane could reach her, and that was saying a lot, because Diane was as fast as she was silent.
    Coffee spilled to soak the front of Lia’s white lab coat. “Good God, are you trying to kill me?”
    I wish I could. Her life-force was compelling, strong and electric. The rush a soul this powerful would give her…
    She chased the tempting thought from her mind. That wasn’t what she was here to do. An unexplained death was sure to draw the attention of the Watchers, something Athanatos was determined to avoid, at least until Cutler no longer posed a threat. If she was to become his queen, she had to do everything in her power to please him.
    “I didn’t realize you were in today, but I’m glad you are.” Lia grabbed a wad of paper towels from a nearby table and began patting herself dry. “We need to talk about what happened last night.”
    “That’s why I’m here.” Diane’s smile was meant to be disarming, but Lia wasn’t fooled. Blatant mistrust shadowed her eyes.
    “Why did you lie to Dr. Adams? We both know that man was stabbed.”
    “You mean the one who miraculously came back to life?”
    There it was, that flicker of doubt. Souls were flawed that way. They second-guessed everything, wallowed in crippling feelings of guilt and insecurity. That was what made them so susceptible to the Kleptopsychs’ persuasive charms.
    Recovering quickly, Lia shook her head. “I don’t understand what’s wrong with everyone. Why doesn’t anyone remember seeing the stab wound? Even the paramedics deny having seen it.”
    “No one remembers because there was no stab wound, Lia. Jace Cutler didn’t die last night…” Diane waited for the trance to take hold, for the doctor’s mind to bend to her will.
    But the only haze that came over the other woman was one of anger. “Why are you talking to me like I’m a five-year-old?”
    Shock and confusion left Diane momentarily speechless. Never before had she encountered a soul she couldn’t manipulate. Usually, all it took was a small suggestion and the past was rewritten, a person’s memories forever altered. But Lia had resisted her suggestion not once, but twice.
    This meant only one thing. She’d have to make contact—a risky proposition under the best of circumstances, but with a life-force this tempting, it would require an inhuman level of discipline. Thankfully, Diane wasn’t human, and there was something she desired far more than the temporary high she’d get by ingesting a soul, even one as appealing as Lia’s.
    Inhaling deeply, she grabbed the other woman by the side of the head and administered the kiss , careful to absorb only last night’s events.
    All she got for her efforts was a sharp slap.
    Lia’s