Heart of the Dead: Vampire Superheroes (Perpetual Creatures Book 1) by Gabriel Beyers Read Free Book Online

Stop worrying so much .
    That was an easy stance for Alicia to take. She didn’t have to face Debra Phoenix’s wrath. Jerusa had already pushed the boundaries of her mother’s law. Wanting to get her driver’s license, wanting to apply to college, the ride home in Thad’s Jeep, even walking on this isolated path was taboo in her mother’s eyes.
    Alicia stopped suddenly, looking about like a startled cat.
    Jerusa kept walking, distracted but not overly alarmed by the ghost’s demeanor. Alicia was often given to fits of exaggerated emotions which Jerusa chalked up to being a perpetual fifteen year old trapped in a world she couldn’t touch.
    Alicia vanished, reappearing a few seconds later, twenty feet up the path. Jerusa wondered if perhaps another spirit had sensed her presence and was approaching.
    “What is it, Alicia?”
    The ghost didn’t respond, but remained still.
    Jerusa scanned the woods on either side of the path, but could see nothing. The ghost had only ever reacted this way with Foster Reynolds. Foster, in his pursuit for physical perfection, was famous for his marathon hikes through the limestone hollows.
    “Foster,” Jerusa called out. Alicia turned, a look of disbelief curdling upon her face, and gestured for Jerusa to go.
    But it wasn’t Foster that stepped out from behind a large maple tree, startling Alicia bad enough that she jumped back. Jerusa remained fixed to her spot, unsure what shocked her most — the sudden appearance of the young man, the fact that he had somehow surprised Alicia, or that he stood as naked as the day he was born.

Chapter Six
    J erusa turned her head, looking toward the ground, but the young man seemed not at all abashed at his nakedness. He stood next to the large maple tree, hands on hips, watching Jerusa with the most curious look upon his face. She guessed his age at late teens, early twenties, but something about his eyes made her think of a young child trying to sort out a simple puzzle.
    “Are you all right?” he asked. His English was flawless, though the cadence with which he spoke made it seem as if it were a new language to him.
    “Yeah, I’m fine.” Jerusa brought her hand up to shield the view her peripherals captured.
    “Why do you cover your face?”
    Jerusa made a nervous little laugh. “You’re not wearing any clothes.”
    “And that makes you uncomfortable?” he asked without a hint of derision.
    “Just a little bit.”
    “My apologies,” he said. Jerusa heard the dead leaves crinkle under his feet, and then he said, “Is this better?”
    Jerusa slowly dropped her hand and looked at the man. He was once again behind the maple tree, but now leaned over, looking around the trunk like a child playing peek-a-boo.
    “Yes, better.”
    “Whom were you speaking to?” the man asked. “As you walked up, I heard you speaking to someone.”
    Jerusa’s eyes drifted to Alicia. The young girl’s eyes were wide and wild, her mouth hung loose, and she panted as though out of breath. A chill rolled down Jerusa’s body.
    “I was just talking to myself,” Jerusa said. The young man’s strange green eyes seemed to pierce her thoughts and she could see that he did not believe her.
    Jerusa tried to pull her gaze from his, but found it impossible to completely look away. His hair was dark, curly, and unkempt. His skin was the bronzed color of someone from the Mediterranean. He had a face that was ruddy and handsome, without the shadowing of a man’s stubble. His jaw and chin were masculine and defined, perfectly proportioned to his face. And, of course, his otherworldly eyes, two glassy orbs topped in a shade of green that had no name, shone like ghost lights in the midst of a blinding fog. His body was smooth, hairless like a boy, but as firmly muscled as an Olympian.
    “Who are you?” Jerusa asked. “I’m mean, what’s your name?” It was all she could do not to trip on her clumsy tongue.
    The man seemed to consider the question for a