In The Shadows of the Cavern of Death (Shadows of Death Book 1) by Angelique Jones Read Free Book Online Page B

and it has been scheduled in three days’ time. This will be the perfect distraction for you. While they are focused on us, you can make good on your plans.”
    “Dad, what type of trouble are you expecting?” Tristian asked, his concern clear.
    “Nothing we haven’t dealt with before,” Crowley said, smiling and dismissing Tristian’s concerns.
    Realizing that he would say no more on it, I said, “It’s agreed then, in three days we make our move.” Rising from my seat, I said my good-byes and headed for Tristian’s room. Moving to the window, I was stopped by a hand on my arm. “I need to get back home, Josie and Tina are waiting,” I said.
    “Josie and Tina are hiding from you,” he retorted, “and they’re who we have to talk about.”
    “My family is my business, Tristian, and it doesn’t concern you,” I hissed, trying to pull me arm free.
    Tightening his grip, he swung me around, forcing me to land against his chest. Grabbing my chin, he gripped it and forced me to meet his eyes. “They are my responsibility, too, and I will be heard now,” he growled, releasing my chin and dragging me to the bed. Throwing me against it, he said, “Sit.”
    Glaring at him the whole time, which seemed to amuse him, I moved myself up so my back could rest against the wall. “Go ahead,” I sneered, waving my hand for him to begin.
    With a smile on his face that I wanted to slap, he said, “My father filled me in on his talk with you and I agree that the Cavern of Death is most likely our best way through, but have you given any thought on what that could mean?”
    “Yes, of course I’ve given it thought,” I said. What did he think I had done every moment since I had seen that damn vid disc? It haunted my waking hours and dreams, causing me to wake with screams trapped in my throat as accusing dead stares flashed through my mind.
    Shaking his head, he said, “I mean have you thought of what we might see in that cavern? What Josie and Tina might see?”
    Were my dreams a prophecy of my future when I walked through that cavern?  Would those dead stares follow my every move? I could already hear Josie and Tina’s screams echoing in my head as they looked at Rose’s lifeless, maimed body. I knew what he was saying, if I brought them in there unprepared, the horrors they might see would drive them insane, fracturing their fragile minds. I couldn’t stop the sob that escaped my throat any more then I could stop Tristan when he gathered me into his arms. He was right, they had to be told and it was my place to tell them.
    “No, not just your place––I’ll be there with you to help them accept it,” Tristan whispered into my hair, startling me as I realized I had been speaking my thoughts aloud.
    “Why did you and Rose hide the truth from me?” I croaked through my tears.
    “We did it to protect you. Had you known, you would have wanted to help and neither of us wanted you to experience the depraved acts that she and your cousins had in the name of freedom. You, for all your fierceness, are still pure, uncorrupted by the daily struggles of our lives. By keeping this from you, she saved a part of herself that would have been lost otherwise. Only with you was she ever the girl that she should have been, instead of the woman that she had to become,” he said, so simply, as if it was the most natural conclusion to come to.
    Sobs tore from my soul at his words. I was lost. Pushing into Tristan, I forced him down on the bed, curling myself onto his chest. Like a broken child, I sought comfort, burying my face, hiding from the world and the pains that it held. Sleep came quickly, as I was exhausted by the lack that I had since before Rose’s death and the turmoil of my emotions, and I embraced its sweet oblivion when it came.
    I’ve slept in Tristian’s arms before, so I wasn’t concerned when I woke in them. Careful not to awaken him, I slowly pulled myself free from his tight grip. Rising from the bed, I