Above The Flames (The Flames Trilogy #1) by Cassandra Fear Read Free Book Online Page B

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    The man looked like he just stepped from the front page of a GQ magazine, the theme survival of the fittest. Through the scraps left of his shirt, she could clearly see the defined muscles of his chest and abdomen. His blond hair was long for a man, resting just above his shoulders. A bit of scruff lined his jaw and above his lip. His light brown eyes seemed as if they could see right through her with the intensity of his gaze.
    “Tell me, how did you free us?” he asked.
    Jasmine shivered at the gravelly voice, which was just what a man should sound like. “How about you tell me your name first.” Her voice came out a bit breathless.
    The man smirked, but quickly masked it with a frown. “My name is Amon.”
    “I’m Jasmine.” She flicked her head to the side. “And this is Beau.”
    “I think you owe me an explanation now that your demands have been met,” Amon said, and it sounded as if he was laughing, even though he wasn’t.
    “I have power, and it is based on heat, so I burned through your ropes.”
    The silence was so thick you could hear a blade of grass fall to the ground. Four open mouths stared back at her, until the one with the spiky hair came forward. “Amon, do you know what this means? We’ve found an Angel Blessed.”
    Amon pursed his lips. “I doubt this girl is an Angel Blessed, Azzy.”
    So spiky hair’s name is Azzy. Mental note made.
    “Ah, but she is an Angel Blessed, Amon. I’ve seen her before. I could never forget that long brown hair,” the man without the wings said, and when he came closer she could see he had the darkest black hair she’d seen, straight on the sides but raised at the top. His eyes were dark brown, almost black.
    Jasmine raised her hands in the air. “Okay, for one, I’m right here, so you guys can stop talking about me like I’m not standing in front of you. Also, it would be very helpful if you threw everyone’s name out there. I know Azzy, and I know Amon, but who are the rest of you?”
    “I’m Caim, and the woman is Lamia,” Caim said.
    “Thank you.” Jasmine turned to Amon. “Now, why were you tied up?”
    “Because they’ve been very naughty!” a high-pitched voice boomed from beside them. Jasmine jumped, turning as if in slow motion.
    “Run! Get out of here!” Amon screamed. “It’s Bael!”
    Jasmine didn’t think, just did as he said; although she wasn’t sure what made her trust him. But she did, so she grabbed Beau’s hand and took off in the opposite direction of the voice. Her heart pounded in her ears, and her footsteps thumped heavily against the dry ground. The smell of sulfur came to her, and grew stronger with every step she took, but she kept going, even though everything inside her screamed to turn back.
    A body tackled her from behind, and she slammed into the ground. Her face drug across the grass, and when she stopped her cheek burned, but the body was no longer on her. She scrambled with her hands and pushed to her feet, but not in time. She was thrown down again, but this time the man, because with that kind of strength it had to be a man, stayed on her. He wrapped his arm around her front and yanked her up. With her back slamming against his chest, and his grip so fierce, she couldn’t squirm free, as much as she tried.
    Oh God! Where’s Beau?
    Jasmine had lost his hand sometime in the hard run for freedom, and she didn’t see him now. Not that she could really move her head much. A slimy hand grabbed under her chin, and held her in place. She jerked her neck to the side, but the man’s hand dug in further, his nails sinking into her skin.
    “Let me go! I didn’t do anything to you.”
    Cruel laughter wrapped around her and a shiver shot down her spine, but that was the only response she got. She hadn’t expected anything different, but deep inside she’d hoped.
    All of a sudden, someone slammed into the man holding her, and his hands dropped from her. She reacted instantly, her feet moving before her