Awakened by P. C. Cast Read Free Book Online

Jack.”
    “Look, Aphrodite, Damien isn’t a fluttery gay, not that there’s anything wrong with that. But I really wish you’d be nicer about both of them.”
    “Oh, please. I’m not talking your gays. I’m talking about Neferet.”
    “Neferet!” My voice was sharp. I hated even saying her name. “What have you heard from her?”
    “Nothing, and that’s exactly what I’m worried about. But, hey, Z, don’t lose any sleep over it. After all, you’re going to be here, on Skye, with a gazillion big, strong guys—and Stark—to protect you, while the rest of us mere mortals get on with the whole good versus evil, Darkness v. Light, epic battle, blah, blah, et cetera, ad nauseam.” Aphrodite turned and stomped up the front stairs of the castle.
    “Aphrodite’s a mere mortal? I thought her pain-in-the-ass level was well beyond mere,” Stark said.
    “I heard that!” Aphrodite called over her shoulder. “Oh, and FYI , Z, I had a luggage emergency, as in I didn’t have enough of it, so I’m confiscating that suitcase you bought the other day. I’m off to do some power packing. Later, peasants.” She slammed the thick, wooden door to the castle, which really took some doing.
    “She’s magnificent,” Darius said, smiling proudly as he vaulted the steps and followed Aphrodite.
    “I can think of a lot of
m
words that she could be.
Magnificent
isn’t one of them,” Stark grumbled.
    “
Mental
and
mean
pop into my head,” I said.
    “
Manure
pops into mine,” Stark said.
    “Manure?”
    “I think she’s full of shit, but it’s too many words and doesn’t start with an
m,
so that’s as close as I could get,” he said.
    “Heehees,” I said. Then I linked my arm with his. “You’re just trying to distract me from the Neferet stuff, aren’t you?”
    “Is it working?”
    “Not really.”
    Stark’s arm slid around me. “Then I’ll have to work on my distraction skills.”
    Arm in arm, we walked to the castle entrance. I let Stark amuse me with his list of
m
words that fit Aphrodite better than
magnificent,
and tried to regain the sense of contented happiness I’d felt so recently and so briefly. I kept telling myself that Neferet was a world away—and the adults of that world could handle her. As Stark opened the castle door for me, something pulled my vision upward and my eyes caught on the flag that waved proudly over Sgiach’s domain. I paused, appreciating the beauty of the powerful black bull with the shape of the glittering Goddess within his body. Just then, a trail of mist lifted from the waters that flanked the castle, altering my sight of the flag and changing the black bull to ghostly white as it blanked out the Goddess image completely.
    Fear skittered through my body.
    “What is it?” Instantly alert, Stark moved to my side.
    I blinked. The fog dissipated and the flag shifted back into its proper form.
    “Nothing,” I said quickly. “Just me being paranoid.”
    “Hey, I’m right here. You don’t have to be paranoid; you don’t have to worry. I can protect you.”
    Stark took me into his arms and held me tightly, blocking the outside world and what my gut was trying to tell me.

CHAPTER FIVE
Stevie Rae

    “You ain’t yourself. You know that?”
    Stevie Rae looked up at Kramisha. “All I’m doin’ is just sittin’ here, minding
my own
business.” She paused, letting the
unlike you
implication sink in. “How is that not being myself?”
    “You picked the darkest, creepiest corner stuck all over here. You blew them candles out so it’d be even darker. And you sitting here moping so loud I can almost hear your thoughts.”
    “You can’t hear my thoughts.”
    The hard edge to Stevie Rae’s voice had Kramisha’s eyes widening. “ ’Course I can’t. They’s no need for you to get all huffy. I said
almost.
I ain’t Sookie Stackhouse. Plus, even if I was I wouldn’t listen in to your thoughts. That’d be rude and my mama raised me better than that.” Kramisha