Dark Embrace by Brenda Joyce Read Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Brenda Joyce
peopleâs problems.
She screamed.
It was a scream of fear and pain; he knew sheâd been wounded.
He did not think. He leapt.
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S TILL DEVASTATED BY THE IDEA that Aidan had become the Wolf of Awe, Brie hurried down the block. Dusk was approaching and she knew she had better not be caught outside. The city wasnât safe after dark and although the mayorâs curfew was voluntary, very few of the cityâs denizens disobeyed it. Every shop on the street had already closed, except for the grocery store on the corner, and they were pulling their blinds.
She started to run. She couldnât recall ever being this upset, not even when Allie had vanished into time last year. But she had known that Allieâs journey to the past was her Fate, sheâd even seen the golden Highlander coming for her. This was entirely different.
The Book, handed down from generation to generation of Rose women, was very clear on the matter of Fate. It could never be defied by a mortal. Only the gods could rewrite itâand they never entirely did.
But sometimes events happened that were not in The Game Plan and the Gods corrected things when they went awry. Eventually, what was meant to be would happen.
Brie prayed that the historian sheâd read had gotten all his facts wrong, or that her vision was wrong. She began to think that maybe sheâd better go to Scotland and check out the tomb there, but she was really afraid of what sheâd find. And why was her grandmotherâs ring bothering her? It had always fit perfectly, but now it was pinching her.
Brie stared at the ring. âThis is meant to happen, isnât it?â she murmured.
Her grandmother had passed away a decade ago, at the ripe old age of 102. Sheâd been in full possession of her faculties right up until sheâd taken her last breath. When she passed away in her sleep, Brie had somehow known her time had come and spent the night at her grandmotherâs Bedford, New York, house. Sarah Rose had died smiling, and Brie often felt her presence.
She felt her now. âI mean, I could have felt all that pain and anguish last year or the year beforeâbut I felt it now, for a reason. He needs me. Iâm supposed to help him.â She thought about her crush. Had she become infatuated with him so she could help him? âWhy else would I feel him so strongly?â
She felt her grandmotherâs benevolence. If Sarah approved, Brie was on the right path, she thought. That only made her more determined to get into that Level Four file.
A shadow fell across the pavement directly in front of her.
Her heart seemed to stop with alarm. In a moment the sun would be vanishing beneath the horizon and the city would be lost in the gloom of the night. Sheâd never make it all the way to CDA.
A teenage boy stood in front of her, smiling maliciously.
He was pale, pimply and wore a long black cloak, marking him as a member of gangs who reputedly burned âwitchesâ at the stake.
Brie breathed. âGet lost!â she cried, even though she was terrified. âItâs light out!â
âNot for much longer.â He snickered.
She tensed as three more teenage boys barred her way, all of them ghostly white, their lips nearly purple, wearing the same long black cloaks, as if theyâd come from the Dark Ages.
She knew all about the ongoing investigation into these gang members at CDA. The âsub-demons,â or subs, as they were often called, were human, with normal DNA and very real identities. They were missing boys and girls, belonging to distraught family members, but, robbed of their souls, they were pure evil.
Brie whirled to run, and faced two more leering teens in black hoods and cloaks. She was in big trouble. She prayed that Tabby and Sam would sense it and come to her rescue. And simultaneously, she thought about Aidan. It was instinct. If he was near, he had the power to save
She screamed.
It was a scream of fear and pain; he knew sheâd been wounded.
He did not think. He leapt.
Â
S TILL DEVASTATED BY THE IDEA that Aidan had become the Wolf of Awe, Brie hurried down the block. Dusk was approaching and she knew she had better not be caught outside. The city wasnât safe after dark and although the mayorâs curfew was voluntary, very few of the cityâs denizens disobeyed it. Every shop on the street had already closed, except for the grocery store on the corner, and they were pulling their blinds.
She started to run. She couldnât recall ever being this upset, not even when Allie had vanished into time last year. But she had known that Allieâs journey to the past was her Fate, sheâd even seen the golden Highlander coming for her. This was entirely different.
The Book, handed down from generation to generation of Rose women, was very clear on the matter of Fate. It could never be defied by a mortal. Only the gods could rewrite itâand they never entirely did.
But sometimes events happened that were not in The Game Plan and the Gods corrected things when they went awry. Eventually, what was meant to be would happen.
Brie prayed that the historian sheâd read had gotten all his facts wrong, or that her vision was wrong. She began to think that maybe sheâd better go to Scotland and check out the tomb there, but she was really afraid of what sheâd find. And why was her grandmotherâs ring bothering her? It had always fit perfectly, but now it was pinching her.
Brie stared at the ring. âThis is meant to happen, isnât it?â she murmured.
Her grandmother had passed away a decade ago, at the ripe old age of 102. Sheâd been in full possession of her faculties right up until sheâd taken her last breath. When she passed away in her sleep, Brie had somehow known her time had come and spent the night at her grandmotherâs Bedford, New York, house. Sarah Rose had died smiling, and Brie often felt her presence.
She felt her now. âI mean, I could have felt all that pain and anguish last year or the year beforeâbut I felt it now, for a reason. He needs me. Iâm supposed to help him.â She thought about her crush. Had she become infatuated with him so she could help him? âWhy else would I feel him so strongly?â
She felt her grandmotherâs benevolence. If Sarah approved, Brie was on the right path, she thought. That only made her more determined to get into that Level Four file.
A shadow fell across the pavement directly in front of her.
Her heart seemed to stop with alarm. In a moment the sun would be vanishing beneath the horizon and the city would be lost in the gloom of the night. Sheâd never make it all the way to CDA.
A teenage boy stood in front of her, smiling maliciously.
He was pale, pimply and wore a long black cloak, marking him as a member of gangs who reputedly burned âwitchesâ at the stake.
Brie breathed. âGet lost!â she cried, even though she was terrified. âItâs light out!â
âNot for much longer.â He snickered.
She tensed as three more teenage boys barred her way, all of them ghostly white, their lips nearly purple, wearing the same long black cloaks, as if theyâd come from the Dark Ages.
She knew all about the ongoing investigation into these gang members at CDA. The âsub-demons,â or subs, as they were often called, were human, with normal DNA and very real identities. They were missing boys and girls, belonging to distraught family members, but, robbed of their souls, they were pure evil.
Brie whirled to run, and faced two more leering teens in black hoods and cloaks. She was in big trouble. She prayed that Tabby and Sam would sense it and come to her rescue. And simultaneously, she thought about Aidan. It was instinct. If he was near, he had the power to save