Awakening by Catrina Burgess Read Free Book Online

were searching my face. “Do you feel it?” His
fingers brushed against my temple then moved slowly down my
face.
    Small scratches now marked my right
cheek.
    His fingers gently grazed across the
welts. “I’m sorry I hurt you.”
    The breath caught in the back of my
throat.
    His fingertips moved down and lingered
for a moment on my lips. He leaned in and said softly, “I don’t
think I can help myself.” He pulled me toward him. His mouth was
against mine. His lips were soft. His hands rested at my waist. I
moved closer, and as I did my mouth parted and our tongues touched,
sending delicious shivers down my spine. The kiss only lasted a few
seconds, but when we broke apart I felt breathless. My heart raced
in my chest.
    He suddenly pushed off the couch and
moved away. When he looked back at me, I couldn’t read his
expression.
    “ I’m sorry, I shouldn’t
have done that. I shouldn’t have taken advantage,” he said turning
his face away. “I’ll see you in the morning. Sleep
well.”
    Before I could say a word, he turned
off the light and left the room.

Chapter Three
Gypsy Magic
     
    Morning had been more than chaotic.
Darla rushed around making breakfast in between fussing over her
brother’s injuries. The more she worried about him, the more it
seemed to annoy him. I didn’t say much, but quietly watched the
pair of them while I consumed a large plate of scrambled eggs,
bacon and two helpings of grape jellied toast.
    Darla had begged to come with us to
the healer’s, but Luke had refused. He reassured her that the
Triads were a nocturnal group who were probably off sleeping the
day away. She finally gave in and decided to stay behind. Honestly,
I think he was just trying to get away from her excessive
mothering.
    This morning I wore a borrowed green
sweater and a pair of dark jeans that would have fallen off if I
hadn’t cinched them tightly at my waist with an oversized brown
leather belt. Once again, my outfit was courtesy of
Darla.
    Luke sported a black long-sleeved
t-shirt, this one minus the red phoenix and flames, a black jean
jacket, gray jeans and black boots. He was moving better this
morning, but the going was still slow. He couldn’t walk very fast.
We made our way to the corner and hailed a cab.
    A few miles later, we were
out of the cab and weaving our way through the crowds. We made our
way for a bit along the main throughway and then took a left and
headed down an alley. The alley part didn’t thrill me, not after
our late night adventure. I kept looking over my shoulder, worried
we were being followed. Out of one alley we went and then down
another until we suddenly turned a corner and found ourselves in a
seedier part of town.
    Signs of different shapes and sizes
hung over a few dozen shops lining the streets. I hadn’t spent a
lot of time in the city, but it was easy to spot which
establishment housed the healer. Going by the designs on the sign,
and the colorful tapestry in the window, she was a
gypsy.
    Gypsy magic was a bit different than
mine. My heritage was Scottish, which meant each healer in my
family was part of a clan. We sometimes did magic outside the
family for money but only under special circumstances. Blood was
everything to us. Our family was the most important thing, and to
us there was nothing more sacred than keeping the members of your
clan alive.
    Gypsies had a different set of rules.
They worked mostly for money, often traveling around, going
wherever their services were needed. For the right price, they
would heal you. It didn’t matter if you were on the side of good or
evil. Coin was the only thing that mattered in their
world.
    I was surprised to see the gypsy had
set up shop in town. Many cities had ordinances about healers and
soothsayers. Truly gifted healers in the city usually worked
through clinics or hospitals. Which made me start to worry, since
often those who set up shop for themselves weren’t the real thing.
They were charlatans.
    Not everyone