Wicked (The Drake Chronicles Book 1) Read Online Free PDF

to be dead. I think you’ve got it wrong, it can’t be them .” The man’s voice was gruff.
     
    He looked up from a glass of red wine he held in his hand and shook his head.
     
    “They have the same names, stop trying to deny it.”
     
    “If by chance it is them, you are going to stay away from them. They don’t remember you and they sure as hell don’t remember me,” the man snapped.
     
    “I’ll do what I want.” The boy turned from the window. It was then that Emma and Ethan got a full look at the boy.
     
    It was their new neighbor, Logan Hardwicke.
     
    Emma’s hand flew to her mouth as she staggered backwards and nearly collided with the wall. Ethan snapped his fingers and the image disappeared, leaving behind a burnt black hole in the photograph.
     
    He sat his elbows on the desk and raked his hands through his hair. He knew Logan wasn’t a regular human, and when he looked up to tell his sister that he was right, he saw the stunned look on her face. Maybe now wasn’t the time for laughs. But now they knew where the man was.
     
    He was right next door.
     
    “Are you okay?” Ethan asked.
     
    “I—I just can’t believe that all of this is happening right now. This isn’t what our summer was supposed to be like, Ethan. It was supposed to be fun and normal. Now, we’re stuck in the middle of something we don’t even understand.”
     
    “And to top it all off, the man in that photo lives right next door. This is just too much… too much .” Emma, rattled, combed her hair over her head and rushed to the door.
     
    Just as she was about to grab the knob, the shed door swung shut with a bang, shielding off her departure. She whirled around to Ethan.
     
    “No. We are dealing with this right now, Emma. We are going to march over to our lovely new neighbors and see what we can get from that man. Maybe even Logan can help us, since we obviously used to know them,” Ethan explained.
     
    Emma twisted her fingers anxiously and stared into her brother’s eyes.  Mason had told them not to leave, but she wanted to know what was going on. She needed answers.
     
    “Fine,” Emma snapped as she yanked open the shed door and made her way back inside the house, leaving Ethan alone in the middle of the darkened room.
     
    Things were about to change enormously. He could feel it in his bones.
     
     
    It was dark outside now and the full moon hung in the sky like an enormous eye, watching their every move. Ethan had suggested that they change, just in case they wouldn’t be coming right back home. And for some reason Ethan had a feeling they wouldn’t.
     
    “Are you ready?” Emma asked, bringing Ethan back down to Earth.
     
    “Yes I am,” Ethan replied and turned away from the back door of their house.
     
    Emma began walking toward the back dirt pathway that was conveniently placed behind the eleven houses that filled their side of the street.
     
    It was a neighborhood walking path that hadn’t been used much for a long time, and was now overgrown with vicious looking weeds and bramble.
     
    Something rustled in the dark woods as they passed. Mason had recently outlined the entrance of the woods with cinnamon and raven’s heart, keeping various creatures from crossing into their yard.
     
    Even though they were outside of Elsmere, magical creatures still found their way into the mortal world. Some portals were broken and often allowed anything through, even mortals, who almost never made it back alive, Mason had once explained.
     
    Shivers ran down Emma’s spine, but she told herself that she was fine; nothing could cross… or could it? When had Mason redone the blocking spell? How recently was it?
     
    Emma shook the unnerving thoughts from her head and kept on, just a minute more and they’d be at their neighbor’s back door.
     
    Ethan kept his eyes on the woods, surveying them. Something was moving within the trees, watching. He could almost hear it breathing.
     
    The last time