Embrace (The Gryphon Series) by Stacey Rourke Read Free Book Online

strong freak.  Since taking down a three-story dragon, muggers had become significantly less worrisome.  
    I ducked around the corner of a four story office building and strolled toward Smokey Joe’s.  Almost instantly the street noise was silenced by the concrete and brick walls around me.  Trash cans were lined up outside service doors, graffiti covered sections of wall, but there were no signs of life. Perhaps the ominous nature of my isolated surroundings were to blame, but a familiar prickling sensation sprang up on the back of my neck.  I glanced behind me.  Nothing there but a few random leaves blowing around in the nippy autumn breeze.  I zipped my coat up a little further, then kept walking.  The feeling intensified.  No doubt about it, someone was following me.  I couldn’t hear whoever it was, but I knew they were there.  Despite the quickening of my pulse I kept my head down and stride steady. 
    With my empathe ability , I reached out for the link to my stalker’s emotions.  No living being was anywhere around.  Yet my Conduit instincts told me I wasn’t wrong.  I prepared for the inevitable by dropping my purse next to the wall, shoving my coat sleeves as far up my arms as they would go, and striking a defensive stance.  The corners of my mouth tugged back in a grin.  A little violence to blow off steam was exactly what I needed.  And here it came.  They entered this realm in five black puffs of smoke. 
    Poof. 
    Poof. 
    Poof.
    Poof. 
    Poof.  
    The gangs all here.
    I righted my posture and dropped my arms to my sides.  “You have got to be kidding me.”  
    These were, without a doubt, the worst collection of demons I ’d ever seen.  On the far right stood a broad-faced, pasty-skinned guy who looked an awful lot like Eddie Munster with a Mohawk, signature widow’s peak and all.  Next to him were a pair of Siamese twin demons connected at the shoulder with bowl haircuts, and glasses held together with Scotch tape.  I even had a couple inches on them height-wise. The third dude was tall and gangly, with reddish-orange hair that stuck up every which way.  He had a fish hook nose and Dumbo ears that trumped Professor Nosehair’s.  The last guy suffered from some sort of demonic acne.  His skin was an angry mess of boils, blotches and puss.  After my initial glance, I opted to avoid looking directly at him at all costs.
    They were demonic geeks , and seemed absolutely terrified to be here.  I confirmed my suspicion by doing a false-start jerk in their direction.  They squealed and huddled together.  The twins even squeezed their eyes shut.  Unless these guys had some hellacious powers, I found it deeply offensive that this sniveling band of goobers had been sent after me. 
    “The Dark Army sent you ?” I scoffed as I yanked my coat sleeves back down my chilled arms.  “To do what exactly?”
    “We’re supposed to kill you.” One of the twins squeaked and tried to hide behind his brother, which of course was physically impossible.  Idiots.
    My hand paused on my sleeve.  I raised one eyebrow at him and did my best imitation of Gabe’s cocky smirk.  “Is that a threat?”
    I couldn’t tell which, but one of them whimpered.
    “No !  Our powers aren’t completely developed yet.” Admitted visibly trembling Red.  “We don’t even know why we were sent!”
    With an exasperated sigh, I straightened up —again.  This proved without a shadow of a doubt that Rowan lied.  Why would anyone in their right mind voluntarily abduct and demonize these weenies? 
    But a demon ’s a demon, and I was still itching for a fight.  “What can you do?”
    “Well, I can do this.” Red held up his index finger.  He grimaced and strained until the digit began to glow red hot. 
    “That’s something!”  I encouraged.  “You hitting me with a scalding hot fi st could do some serious damage.”  I waved him forward.  “ Let’s give it a try.”
    He frantically