Demon Day Penelope Fletcher (which ebook reader TXT) 📖

of the fog cleared and I blinkedeven as the road opened out and ahead of us was a large stone graybuilding. Dozens of shallow steps on a gentle slope led up to thebig wooden doorway flanked by thick rounded pillars. Engraved intothe stonework were small furry animals and flowers, and even thosestone depictions looked creepy.

“Stop.” I yanked my handfrom Tomas’ and rubbed my temples, keeping my eyes on him. “What ishappening here Tomas? My mind is … not right. I am missingmemories, like they’re covered in smoke I can’t see through.” Evensaying the words helped me dispel some of the shadows in my mind.“What are you doing?” I whispered. “Whatever you have done to mymind stop.”

Tomas’s face creased in panic.“Rae–”

Where was Breandan, and why did thelook in Tomas’ eye make it feel like ugly dark things were crawlingover my skin? I sought out the bond, was rocked when my awarenessof Breandan snapped like a coil, and stretched, and I couldidentify that it was bad for him to be so far.

My heart rate leapt and Ihyperventilated. “Rightnow,” I shrieked. “Get out of myhead!”

Tomas caught my chin between his coldfingers. “Don’t fight this.”

He pulled me forward to kiss meroughly. At the contact the fog thickened and swelled through mymind again. His fangs ran out and sliced my bottom lip open, andhis tongue lapped the blood that flowed greedily, but even that wasdone distractedly, his focus was elsewhere. His influence tried topush me under again, tried to cloud my mind, but I resisted,realizing that he was keeping me this way.

I shoved him away, my hand covering mymouth as he skidded back.

He made a sound of frustration. “Thiswill be difficult for you to understand. I don’t want you to feelany needless pain. Accept me back into your thoughts.”

“Can you imagine if I wasthe jealous type? I would think you had replaced me,love.”

The voice came from above and my eyesdanced up the stone steps until they landed on a tall, curvy womanwith dark brown ringlets that brushed her chin at the front andcascaded down to her shoulders at the back. Dressed in a sleevelesstunic, shredded jeans, and bare foot she came down the steps towardus with an intense expression. Her pink-rimmed eyes never left myface and the intensity of her blink less stare was the most probingand unbalanced I had ever felt on me. She inhaled deeply and hermouth parted as two broad fangs dropped.

“I sent you for a human,Tomas. You bring me a fairy.” She did not sound angry, moreconsidering anger and merely bothering with apatheticcuriosity.

Tomas said nothing, but the tenderexpression that had come over his face looking at the femalevampire had me extremely anxious about my currentsituation.

“Gwendolyn,” he murmured.“I am home.”

“I missed you,” she saidwithout any real kind of emotion still walking steadily towardme.

The air around her was disturbed, likethe space surrounding her body did not want to get too close. Iinched back feeling my wings fit more snugly on my back and my tailcurl up to whack my shoulder in agitation. The dark that wreathedround her form was evil, the nasty sticky kind. The dark thatcloaked Tomas had never felt evil to me, his dark was clear, buthers was sinister and radiated malevolence.

My nature pushed at me to run, toattack. To do something, anything, but I just stood there for myshock was too great, and frankly, my limbs felt like they wereglued to the floor. Whatever compulsion Tomas had forced on me hadnot yet freed me. Even as I could recognize my reactions andmemories were not as they should be, I could not bring myself toleave this place.

Tomas said, “Where isDaphne?”

Reaching him her eyes left me. Thecorner of her mouth lifted as her attention switched solely toTomas. “Your pet is around here somewhere. She has a habit ofappearing at the oddest of times at the strangest of places. Ithink you set her to spy on me, no?” Her voice hardened at the endand Tomas’ face took on an innocently blank look.

The darkness that surrounded himmerged with hers, and they were one. She snaked her hand around hiswaist, and the other fisted in his hair, pulling his mouth to meethers.

Stunned, I stood still and stared atthe middle distance, my mind reeling, stomach sinking. I lifted myhand to … what? I was not sure, maybe hit her … but Tomas pulledout of their kiss, grabbed my wrist, slid his other round my waist,and pulled me to stand in front of him, as if offering me up forinspection. His head came to rest on my shoulder, as if inaffection.

The vampire giggled, andher gaze roamed over me, curious. She gave Tomas a toothy smilefilled with anticipation and excitement. “This is her … the one that I saw. Iremember her gold eyes, but I thought she was supposed to behuman.”

“So did she until a fewdays ago.”

It was surreal. They talked about meover my head as if I was not even there.

The vampire’s eyes lit up and shelooked me over. “She has a story to tell I see.” Briefly, her eyesclosed and she inhaled and exhaled with a lusty sigh. “Full bloodedfairy, delicious.” She stepped closer and took my head in herhands. I tugged once half heartedly, not liking the contact, butshe gazed deep into my eyes. “I am Queen here, tell me everythingyou know,” she ordered, and her pupils contracted.

I blinked, grabbed herskinny wrists, and yanked them off my face. “No. And don’t touchme.” I glanced over my shoulder. “Tomas? What. The. Hell. Is. Going. On?” Ishook my head, still not understanding what I was seeing. “What … Idon’t get how … what are you doing?”

Gwendolyn looked from Tomas to me, andback again so many times, and so quickly, her face blurred. “She isbreaking free of your compulsion, yes? But she does not bend tomine … why can you…?” The disgust on her face made her pointy nosescrew up in an ugly way. “No. Tell me it is not true.”

“I did not expect it tohappen,” Tomas grated and from the tension in his face, I could nottell