Soul Thief (Dark Souls) Read Online Free PDF Page A

acute aversion to getting wet. The drops were always ice cold against their skin. Cold enough to burn. That was why Kleptopsychs, Hybrids and Rogues alike favored leather. It kept the rain from penetrating their flesh.
    The true irony was that his kind often brought on the storms. When several of them gathered in one location, the energy they released in the atmosphere produced small vortices in the air that ascended to the clouds, creating a chain reaction that more often than not resulted in rain. For that reason, as well as many others, the Kleptopsychs chose to live underground, hidden within a vast network of catacombs.
    The girl actually had the audacity to chuckle. “No, no problem. But unfortunately, I seem to have forgotten my umbrella.”
    He was glad she’d recovered enough to find humor in the situation. After what Kyros had done to her, he’d feared irreparable damage to her psyche. Over the years, he’d seen too many humans break under the mental coaxing of his race not to be concerned.
    “This way.” He pulled her around a corner toward an old, darkened theater.
    “It’s locked,” she told him. “There are no showings this late at night.”
    With a single concentrated thought, he unlocked the door and sent it swinging inward. “After you.”
    “How—” She shook her head. “Never mind.” She walked into the deserted theater, squinting as she scanned her surroundings. “I thought you said we needed to be somewhere crowded.”
    “Only long enough to throw them off our trail.” He led her farther into the building, across a thick velvet carpet. Unlike her, he could see perfectly well in the dark. “We should be safe here for a while. They won’t venture anywhere near this building.”
    “How can you be sure?” She shot a worried glance at the door.
    “This particular building is rich in copper. Everything, from the plumbing to the ventilation system to the copper-clad windows and doorknobs, acts as a repellent against Kyros and his army.” And him. He wondered how long he’d be able to stay here before the copper began to weaken him. Thankfully, his tolerance for the stuff was slightly higher than that of their pursuers because he wasn’t of pure Nephilim blood. Another gift he’d inherited from his Hybrid father.
    She crinkled her forehead, unconvinced. “How come?”
    “The Kleptopsychs are severely allergic to copper.”
    Her eyes rounded just as her lips parted. “Klepto what?”
    “Kleptopsychs. That’s what they’re called.”
    He could feel doubt creeping in, her all-too-human desire to close her mind to any reality that didn’t match the one she’d been raised to believe. “And what exactly are these Kleptopsychs?” She smirked. “Robots? Genetically altered soldiers? Alien invaders?”
    Adrian hesitated. Never before had he confided in anyone, least of all a human. Suddenly, the need to speak with somebody, to reveal a truth he’d kept hidden for far too long, reared within him. What would it feel like to share some of his burden, to not feel so utterly alone, just once?
    “None of those things.” He fingered the gold necklace around her neck. Ironically, the pendant was shaped like a pair of wings. “They—we are the sons and daughters of fallen angels, creatures once known as the Nephilim.”
    Her brows rode high on her forehead. “Angels? You’re serious?”
    “Yes.”
    She wagged her head, sending a wild riot of curls bouncing around her face. Her hair was a warm honey-brown and fell in soft waves to brush her shoulders. He hadn’t noticed how silky it looked until now. “This is crazy.”
    He lifted his hand and trapped one of her golden curls between his fingers, savoring the rich texture of it. “I’m a hundred and sixty-eight years old,” he confessed. “I don’t feel pain. I can’t burn or bruise or bleed. I can make you do whatever I want, take your soul if I so choose. Human life-forces fuel me. They strengthen me and allow me to experience