Sunset: Pact Arcanum: Book One Read Online Free PDF Page A

Jeremy’s forehead. Jeremy’s eyes widened as he stared straight ahead into a brilliant white light only he could see.
    “Jeremy Kenneth Harkness, by your true name I bind you. I call your Gift to my hand, and I command you—remember.”
    A cascade of images funneled through Jeremy’s mind, shattering his awareness into fragments of thought and memory. Immediately, the spell stitched together the torn pages of his personality, as if rebinding a book.
    Scott lifted his finger away from Jeremy’s skin, and the younger man collapsed to the floor, shivering.
    “How do you feel, brother?” Scott offered Jeremy his hand.
    “Awake,” Jeremy said, dazed. “Like I’ve been asleep my whole life.” He let Scott help him to his feet. Then he turned to look at Nick. Eyes bulging, he stepped backward in shock. Jesus.
    “Jeremy,” Nick said, hurriedly raising his hands. “Wait a minute.”
    Jeremy snapped his right arm forward with his palm facing Nick and his fingers splayed. The knowledge of how to strike had automatically risen out of his subconscious, as if he had always known.
    Nick staggered back and screamed. Falling to his knees, he clutched his head in his hands.
    “Jeremy, wait!” Scott grabbed Jeremy’s wrist.
    “He’s one of them ,” said Jeremy, his voice brimming with hatred.
    “Listen to me, Jeremy. There are things you don’t know, things you don’t understand. Let him go.” Scott squeezed the younger man’s wrist, and Jeremy winced in pain. “Trust me. Please, just let him go and I’ll explain everything.”
    Still looking at Nick, Jeremy slowly closed his fingers into a fist, disengaging his attack. “Only because he saved my life. For that, I’ll let you explain.”
    Nick shuddered and then leapt to his feet, fangs and talons extended. “That fucking hurt!” he yelled, his voice deepening.
    Scott let go of Jeremy’s arm. “Nick, you’re Third Order. Weren’t you shielding?”
    Nick growled, his eyes blazing red. “Of course I was shielding!” Then he paused and his fangs and claws retracted. “I am shielding.” He looked at Scott and his eyes faded back to blue again. “All of my mental defenses are intact. He didn’t go through them; he went over. That was a Fourth Order attack.”
    “There hasn’t been a Fourth Order telepath in sixteen hundred years,” Scott scoffed, turning to look at Jeremy.
    “Jacob of Glastonbury—he took out half of House Daviroquir all by himself before they finally killed him.”
    “Well,” said Scott, showing doubt for the first time. “That’s disturbing.”
    “No kidding. His Gift must be immense to have channeled that much energy into psychic power.” Nick whistled. “He may be physically human, but psychically, he could probably wipe the floor with both of us put together.”
    “If the two of you are done talking about me like I’m not even here,” Jeremy said impatiently, “could one of you explain why you’re acting so chummy? You are enemies, after all.”
    “That’s part of those current events I wanted to tell you about,” said Scott. “Anywhere else and you’d be right, but in North America there’s a peace treaty.”
    Jeremy laughed. “Sure, a treaty with vampires. That’s rich.”
    “It’s true,” said Scott. “The truce has held for almost twenty years. They don’t kill us, and we don’t kill them. Armistice Security maintains the terms of the treaty, and all major disputes are settled by the Triumvirate, composed of one representative from each of the three races: Sentinel, Nightwalker, and Daywalker.”
    Jeremy raised an eyebrow. “What’s a Daywalker?”
    “A Daywalker is what you get when a Nightwalker takes back his soul and is cleansed of the Red Wind through a power from the higher planes called the ‘Grace’,” Nick said.
    “Wait,” said Jeremy. “There’s a cure for vampirism?”
    “There is.” Nick stood straight. “We are the Children of the Dawn, the soldiers of darkness redeemed, and