Katie's Hope (Rhyn Trilogy, Book Two) by Lizzy Ford Read Free Book Online

and porcelain figurines on display in the wide foyer.
    Her first instinct was to run back to the
shadow world, but she had a hard time looking away from the two
hideous creatures battling it out in Hannah’s home. The sound of
footsteps running down the hall drew her attention, and she flung
herself backwards as the maid with the butcher knife tried to cut
her. A piece of the broken door slashed her as she fell, and she
scrambled away as the maid slashed at her again. The maid lost her
balance and toppled over.
    Katie scrambled up into the hall and
maneuvered her bloodied arm to see the damage, suddenly aware the
two demons had stopped fighting. She looked up to find both hideous
beasts staring at her, drooling. Their gazes followed the drops of
blood as they fell from her arm to the marble flooring. Both inched
toward her, the inhuman growling filling the hall.
    “Winner takes all,” she said, backing
away.
    The maid lunged at her again, and she darted
for the kitchen, followed by Jared’s blood monkey, who was wailing
with frustration. One of the demons launched itself down the hall
after her, only for the other to tackle it and the two of them to
roll down the hall in a furry mass of wings, legs, and snapping
teeth.
    Katie whipped around the breakfast bar, eyes
roving the kitchen for the knife block or something with which to
defend herself. She snatched a wooden cutting board as the maid
rounded a counter with the knife raised. Katie ducked again then
twisted her hips in a perfect baseball batter’s swing and smacked
her hard in the face. The maid dropped silently, her nose busted
and blood splattered across her features.
    “I have enough problems with psycho Immortal
demon jackasses. You really think some stupid human with a knife
scares me?” she said, furious. “Now I understand why Kris is such
an ass to humans.”
    She shook her head to clear her anger and sat
with her back to the counter, forcing herself to concentrate on the
shadow world and tapping into Rhyn’s power despite the sounds of
demons fighting so near the kitchen. The portal opened, and she
bounded through it, running to the brightest portal and through it
to emerge on the snowy park behind the castle.
    It was dawn, and she breathed a sigh of
relief at being safe. Ully emerged from the castle, hair mussed and
dressed as if for a run. From behind him, Toby tore out of the
castle in a snowsuit. He dove into the snow while she stood and
waited for Rhyn. Guilt made her resolve to drive him away
waver.
    “You’ve been using the repellant,” Ully said.
His nose crinkled as he drew near. “You ready to run?”
    “Not today, Ully,” she said. “Your repellant
doesn’t work!”
    “I tested it on one of the warriors. I know
it works.”
    She held up her bloody arm. “I just got out
of a fight with a demon. It didn’t work.”
    “It doesn’t work on demons,” he said. “Only
on Immortals.”
    “What’s the difference?”
    “Demons are … demons, and Immortals are more
closely related to angels. Completely different genealogical
make-up. I can make you a demon repellant, if you want.”
    She gritted her teeth and wished she’d
brought the cutting board with her to knock some sense into Ully.
The bloodied arm was making her unusually lightheaded. She lowered
it to her side and took a few deep breaths.
    “Here, kitty, kitty!” Toby said in
excitement. He barreled toward the forest, and she turned in time
to see the black jaguar with the white eye patch seated at the edge
of the park, tail flicking and intense green eyes on the
approaching child.
    “Toby,” she called. He continued running.
Alarm reignited her adrenaline. “Toby! Stop!”
    Ully looked over at the child and jaguar
curiously. Katie bolted for Toby, knowing the kid was too young to
recognize Rhyn from any other demon-jaguar.
    “Toby, if you don’t stop, you’re grounded for
all eternity!” she shouted, running hard.
    The child slowed as he neared the jaguar