The Crossing (Immortals) Read Online Free PDF

mixed the two forces in one spell.
What would be the point? When death and life magic
were cast together, they canceled each other out.
    They didn't merge into a force so strong it sent Mac's
mind-and senses-reeling.
    What, exactly, was he dealing with here? Closing his
eyes, he delved deeper into the fading magical signature,
snatching at evaporating whispers. Secrets the unknown
spell-caster had tried very hard to erase.
    Awareness of the villain's essence jolted through him.
Human, as he'd expected. Or mostly, anyway. And...
    Female.
    A new wave of desire coursed hotly through his veins. A
woman. A witch. With magic that was... unique, to say
the least. The spell she'd cast-death and life magic intertwined completely and seamlessly-should have been impossible.
    And yet here it was, calling to him. Drawing him in.
Fascinating him.
    Sending sweet, consuming fire straight to his cock.
    Gods.
    He tore his hand away. Cold beads of sweat chilled his
brow. He sat back on his heels, heart pounding.
    This unknown witch was stunningly dangerous. Com pletely undetected, she'd approached a hidden faerie village and cast a life/death spell that had devoured the clan's
life essence like a starving wolf. She'd pushed an infant to
the brink of death.

    And then she'd allowed her spell to... what? Evaporate? As if it had never been?
    Why?
    Mac shoved himself to his feet and paced a series of
ever-widening circles around the spark. It took a half hour
to find a second clue, a good fifty feet from the first. But
the third came easier, and the fourth easier still.
    A trail.
    One he would follow to its end.
    "Mommy? Where are you? Please answer. I'm afraid....
    Artemis's eyes snapped open on darkness, her heart
pounding like a herd of elephants on stampede. "Zander?
Oh gods, baby, is that you?"
    Silence.
    Tears burned her eyes. A dream? But Zander had
sounded so real. So alive. So frightened. Artemis didn't
count telepathy among her magical powers, but if she
were to have a mind connection with anyone, surely it
would be with her only child.
    She held her breath, listening, but found only cold, dead
silence. Zander was gone now. If he'd ever been in her
mind at all.
    She shoved herself into a sitting position, her spine
screaming in protest of the unnatural position in which it
had spent the last few hours. There wasn't much room in
the back of the Corsa. And it was damn cold.
    She drew her knees up to her chest and huddled under
her tartan blanket. The thick wool, combined with her old
army jacket, did a decent job of repelling the night air. But
the chill in her heart? Nothing could reach that.
    The starless night seemed to seep around the edges of her tightly closed windows. She'd chosen this road for its
remoteness. She hadn't wanted to sleep at all, but sheer exhaustion had given her no choice. Her magic was useless
unless she maintained her body's equilibrium.

    She checked her watch, glowing faintly yellow in the
dark. It reminded her of a malevolent eye.
    Five-thirteen. The sun would rise at seven twenty-five.
With sunset exactly nine hours and five minutes beyond
that. Eleven hours and seventeen minutes left until her
rendezvous. Her fingers crept to her throat, encircling the
moonstone. She'd slipped a charmed silk-platinum woven
pouch over the pendant to shield the stolen life essence,
but the knowledge of the energy at her fingertips calmed
her. At least a little. Whatever it took, she had to resaturate the stone before sunset.
    Fully alert, she flicked on the car's dome light. The map
was where she'd left it, tucked safely into her pack. She extracted it carefully, unfolding it on her lap. At a casual
glance, it appeared to be what it once had been-a simple
road map of the Highlands, the kind given out at any
tourist office. A brief, whispered spell-life magic alone,
this time-turned the document into something more.
    Lines of light seeped across the paper like a web spun by
a drunken