The Stone Demon Read Online Free PDF

him away for two centuries?”
    Which made Donna feel guilty all over again for letting such a potentially powerful being loose on the world. She guessed it was a feeling that wasn’t going to disappear any time soon.
    “So, Mom, how are you feeling?” If the change of subject was unsubtle, her mother didn’t call her on it.
    “Better. Much better.”
    “Are you sure?” Donna couldn’t help her constant anxiety about her mom’s illness and recovery. She wished she could have stayed with her in Ironbridge, just to keep an eye on her, but here she was stuck in England serving out her “sentence” for all the mistakes she’d made. It didn’t help any that her mom had a tendency to brush her sickness aside as though it had been a minor thing, rather than a ten-year trip around the bend to Crazy. Half the time, Donna wondered whether her mother’s recovery was yet another of the Wood Queen’s tricks, but so far things seemed to be moving in the right direction.
    “You worry too much,” Rachel said. “I’m feeling almost back to my old self. I’ve been spending a lot of time with Quentin.”
    “That’s great,” Donna replied. “I bet he’s happy to see you back.”
    Her mother laughed. “He’s the only one.”
    Donna couldn’t help her own snort of laughter. Aunt Paige and Simon Gaunt had been shocked to witness Rachel’s magical recovery. They’d tried to look and sound pleased, but neither of them did a very good job of it. Even Aunt Paige, who was experienced at putting a positive spin on things in her day job working for Ironbridge’s mayor, had looked shell-shocked.
    Her mother sighed, filling the silence between them. “I’m just sorry you’re having to deal with any of this. You’ve already had a decade of secrets and lies to come to terms with. Now this.”
    Donna’s fingers tightened on the phone. “I’m not even sure I have come to terms with it.”
    “So you don’t want to try?”
    “Not really, no.” She lowered her voice. “I want to leave, Mom. You know that, right?”
    “I do,” her mother replied steadily. “I’m not surprised, and I certainly don’t blame you.”
    “I’m just trying to figure out the best way to … ”
    “Make your escape?” There was the hint of a smile in Rachel’s voice.
    “Something like that.” Donna blew out a breath, relieved to be having this conversation, while at the same time regretting that it was happening while her mother was so far away. “I’m sorry. Are you mad?”
    “Why should I be? I love you, no matter what. I never wanted this life for you.”
    It was far too late for that, Donna thought. This was the life she had, and the only thing left was to make the best of it. At least until she turned eighteen this summer. Not long , she thought. Not too long to wait .
    She wondered if she would even reach her birthday before the world ended at the hands of a reaper storm of demons. She’d probably die a virgin, knowing her luck; she smiled faintly as she remembered how close she’d come to sleeping with Xan, that night she’d teleported to his house.
    Not like she could think about romance when there was a demon king knocking at the door. Pushing images of Alexander Grayson from her mind, Donna pressed the phone against her ear and focused on her mother’s gentle voice again as she recounted what had happened at the alchemists’ meeting. Anything to ground her, to take away the feeling of despair that suddenly hit her in the gut and made her dizzy.
    Not many people her age had to worry about stuff like a demonic apocalypse, but it didn’t make Donna feel in any way special. She was tired. She felt old and worn out and cynical. She wanted the chance to be a kid again, before it was too late. She dreamed of traveling the world and going to college and doing normal teenage things. Perhaps those things would always remain just out of reach—more like a cruel mirage than a dream—but if she didn’t hold on to hope, what else