The Darkening Read Online Free PDF Page A

man's head whipped to one side as his eyes rolled up into his head.
    "He should be out for a couple of hours," Darius told her as he got to his feet. "Let's put him in there and you can come back for him later."
    The woman turned to look at the large metal box he'd noticed against the side of the building. "The trash Dumpster?" A slow smile spread across her face, giving her features a radiance that transfixed Darius.
    Taking that as agreement, he carried the man over to the Dumpster. While the woman held the lid, he unceremoniously dropped the man inside. They found a few cement blocks abandoned in the lot next door and heaved them on top to help keep the lid down in case the man should wake before they came back.
    As they worked, he couldn't help noticing how her shirt fell open, offering a tantalizing sight of a generous cleavage. He'd definitely been in Ravenscroft too long, and as he breathed in this woman's intoxicating scent, he could hardly resist the temptation to drag her into his arms and take her right there and then. With considerable willpower, he forced his thoughts back to more immediate concerns.
    "You said there were people waiting for me?"
    "Yes. Your brother, Adrian, for one."
    "Adrian! He's here?" The thought of seeing one of his brothers after so many years was exciting, no matter how dire the circumstances that brought them together. "No, he's in Seattle with a witch named Amber Silverthorne, but I'm sure he'll want to tell you what's go ing on."
    "Why don't you tell me what's going on?" he suggested.
    A frown replaced the smile that had been there just moments earlier. "I can tell you what I know, but it's not much."
    At that moment, two men appeared from around the corner and gave Darius and the woman curious glances as they walked past. The woman remained quiet until they had moved out of hearing range. She lightly grabbed the front of Darius's duster and gave it a small tug. "Let's go someplace where we can talk in private."
    "I like the sound of that." He didn't bother trying to keep the suggestive tone out of his voice and received a sharp glance as he fell into step beside her. "What's your name?"
    He'd followed her to a bustling intersection and came to an abrupt stop. It was unlike anything he'd seen before. A myriad of strange machines whizzed by, the spire of a huge building soared into the sky off to the right, and crowds of people bearing multicolored bags hurried past in both directions. The woman beside him paused, and he felt her gaze upon him.
    "It's been a while since you last came to Earth, hasn't it?" she asked him.
    His attention stayed fixed on the traffic as he answered. "About seven hundred years."
    She looked around, perhaps trying to imagine what the world must look like to him now. "So much has changed," she mused. "I don't exactly know where to start." She waved her hand in the air and one of the contraptions shot across the street and stopped about a foot away. "Instead of relying on horses, mules or oxen for transportation, we have these." She pointed to the contraption. "They aren't alive-it's all metal and plastic. It's called-"
    "A cab," he finished for her, earning another amazed stare. "I've kept up on things," he said, reaching out to open the back door.
    He leaned in to look inside and then held the driver's gaze for a long time, assessing him. He wasn't worried about his own safety-after all, he was immortal-but he wasn't willing to trust the woman's life to just anyone.
    "You comin' or what?" the driver asked.
    "We're coming," the woman said behind Darius, pushing at his back. He stood aside so she could climb inside and then joined her.
    She rattled off an address, and the cab shot into trafic. Then she looked at him. "My name is Lexi. Lexi Corvin "
    Darius pulled his attention from the view out the window to look at her. He liked the way she spoke. Her voice was sultry, alluring. Like the woman. He silently vowed that before he left this place, he would get to