Stone Angel Read Online Free PDF Page A

her pounding headache, only to
find herself bound and gagged, tied with rope and cords to a cold
metal chair.
    She faced giant double doors opened into a
hallway filled with white statues, likenesses of humans in horrible
torment. She wanted to gasp, to pray, to close her eyes and go mad
so she didn’t have to face this reality.
    But a man stood by the doors, a tall,
powerfully built man with short, brown, lustrous hair, chiseled
features, and a tattoo on his arm that seemed to be a tiger with
glittering eyes. The Sculptor. This must be the Sculptor.
    He allowed her to take in the terrible scene,
then glided toward her, his gait easy, lithe, effortless. He knelt
beside her chair and pointed. “Do you see that statue? The woman on
her knees? The one in the slutty clothes? She’s been that way for
years … I froze her while she begged for mercy. You see, she wanted
to change her career, but once you’ve signed on with Osgood, the
deal is for eternity, and cannot be broken. Osgood lost the income
from her, of course, but the other prostitutes fell right in line.”
His voice sounded kind, like a pervert uncle pointing out a torture
scene to his cringing niece. “And there. See him? He’s almost a
man, but when he came here, he was a gangly adolescent, taken from
his mother as a payment on her loan. Foolish of her to think she
could default, but Osgood was fair. He gave her the chance to
repay. Too bad, what with being ill and all, she couldn’t manage
it. She died of cancer, poor thing, and grief.” From his crouching
position, the Sculptor looked up at Amanda. “As the boy grows, I’ve
had to re-plaster him. It’s a bit of a nuisance, but I like the
continuity of all white statues. It makes my display a little more
artistic. Don’t you think so?”
    Amanda wanted to rage at his callus disregard
for so many lives wasted, so much time stolen. But the gag filled
her mouth with cotton, and when he stood and put his arms on either
side of her, she cowered.
    Wrapping his hands around the back of her
chair, he turned her to face into his workshop.
    He stepped out of the way to allow her to see
… Sophia, standing still as stone, her arm outstretched toward
Amanda, tears frozen on her cheeks.
    As long as she lived, Amanda would never
forget that moment.
    Her heart stopped. She screamed, the sound
muffled by the gag.
    “ How do you like it?” His voice was
gravelly, the voice of a smoker, perhaps, or a much older man. “How
do you like my newest masterpiece? I call it, ‘Little Sister.’” He
chuckled at his vile joke, and his laughter was a crackling,
strained noise.
    Amanda screamed again. She strained at the
ropes.
    “ I’m not going to plaster her, like the
others.” He waved his arm in the direction of the statues in the
front hall. “I like her expression best of all … her futile faith
that you would save her.”
    Amanda stared at him, incredulous, shocked,
revolted.
    Her fault. When she read about the Others,
she should have acted. Taken Sophia away. She had thought they were
safe. She had trusted Liam.
    She had been so wrong.
    “ I’ll bet you’re wondering why, when we
have won the prize, you’re still alive.” He smiled conspiratorially
and leaned in to whisper, “I hear she saved you with a lovely
little force field.”
    Amanda recoiled from his hot breath on her
ear.
    “ Now’s your chance to save her.” The
Sculptor moved to face her again, his brown eyes sparkling with
menace. “I’ve been thinking what I can use I have for you, and I’ve
got a most brilliant idea. My boys inform me that you are a nurse,
correct?”
    Amanda stared at her sister. She couldn’t get
her breath. But she didn’t dare faint, either. She had to listen.
She had to do … whatever it was the Sculptor wanted.
    “ I assume you’ve heard of the Chosen
Ones.”
    She nodded.
    “ Their little leader, Irving, is in need
of a private nurse. The fool went and got himself pushed down the
stairs. Horrible injuries, I