The Brotherhood of the Snake (Return of the Ancients Book 2) Read Online Free PDF

don’t trust you ! Rafael's the one I trust. He’s the strong, cool, and handsome one!”
    A surprised silence greeted my statement.
    It took me a moment to realize what I’d just blurted.
    And though I hadn’t thought it possible, I blushed an even deeper scarlet than before.
    I couldn’t look at Rafael.
    It was time I got out of there. Straightening my shoulders, I cleared my throat and made up my mind. “Well, I’m ready. Let’s get this over with.”
    I hadn’t wanted to leave the safety of their presence before. Now, I wanted to get away as fast as I could.
    Holding my head high, I marched to the door. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Rafael folding his arms and settling back as if to watch me.
    I stifled a snort.
    Clearly, he was accustomed to girls behaving foolishly around him. No one that handsome could be used to anything else.
    Arriving at the front door, I yanked it open, but as I stood on the threshold, I remembered the Mesmers.
    But before I could even form the words, Jareth’s sardonic voice whispered over my shoulder. “Leave the Mesmers to me, Sydney. They won’t be interested in you, anyway, so you’ve nothing to fear.”
    I whirled.
    There was no way that could be a coincidence. “You can read my mind, can’t you!” It wasn’t a question. It was an accusation. He’d told me before that mind-reading was impossible, but I could no longer believe that.
    With an exaggerated eye roll, Jareth stooped to place his nose an inch away from mine. “What’s it going to take to be rid of you, Sydney? Go! Shoo! Be gone! Get out of here!” He began waving his hands dismissively at me.
    I stepped back, briefly considering pulling the door shut in his face, but as Rafael stepped into view, I decided to leave.
    I was too chicken to look at the expression on his face.
    Diving off the porch, I was halfway across the street before Ajax caught up with me, and as I plodded through Al and Betty’s front yard, I noticed he went out of his way to direct more than a couple of sneers my way, maneuvering to make sure that I’d see every one of them.
    “I get it, Ajax,” I growled, pushing the front door open.
    It wasn’t until I stood inside the brightly painted blue house that I wondered if Al and Betty would object to his presence. But it turned out that I didn’t even have time to stress out about it.
    “Oh, are you babysitting Ajax, honey?” Betty called from the kitchen the moment I arrived.
    “Yeah, just for a bit.” I cleared my throat, scrabbling for words. “Rafael had to … help his parents. It won’t be for long. He hoped you wouldn’t mind.”
    “Not at all!” Betty’s voice smiled. “That dog is so beautiful! I wouldn’t mind keeping him forever, only Tigger would get jealous.”
    Ajax apparently understood English very well, because he straightened proudly and bestowed a haughty, regal nod of clear agreement in the direction of the kitchen.
    I rolled my eyes.
    “Tigger's quite the looker, too,” Al’s voice differed from behind Betty’s Ebay boxes.
    I was tempted to roll my eyes again, but this time in humor.
    Betty came out of the kitchen, tucking her mousy-brown hair behind her ears and holding a kitchen towel in her hand. Her brown eyes widened a little as she took in my appearance, reminding me all at once that I was still dressed in the green Fae tunic with Rafael’s dramatic, sequined makeup painted all over my face.
    “Sydney let Rafael take her to a masquerade ball, Mom.” Grace wandered aimlessly into the room wearing pink sweats. Her pitch-black hair was pulled back into her trademark tight ponytail and her brown eyes sparkled with interest as she held out a pair of fuzzy UFO-shaped slippers with flashlights embedded in the toes. “Check out these ‘USS Enterprising Slippers’, Sydney! Mom said we could each have a pair!” With a grin, she tossed them at me.
    I caught the slippers, hugging them to my chest, and found myself suddenly smiling.
    I was so happy to