Nightshine: A Novel of the Kyndred by Lynn Viehl Read Free Book Online Page A

stretching out through the darkness, radiating around her like a web made of amber light. In the center of them stood the big blond man from the bridge.
    Samuel?
    He turned toward her, his eyes closed but his mouth smiling. There you are. He held out his hand, and she saw her own reaching for it.
    As soon as they touched she knew the warmth had come from him, for a deeper, richer wave of it swept up her arm. Are you doing this, or am I hallucinating?
    A little of both, I think. He drew her closer. Charlotte, whatever happens, you must live. Fight for your life. Everything depends on it.
    Everything? She felt bemused. Like what?
    I can’t see it yet, he admitted, caressing her cheek with the backs of his fingers. It’s like you. I can only feel it. But it’s very important that you live.
    We all die, Sam. She didn’t want to think about it. This is a great dream, though. She admired the shifting patterns of the lines. I could stay here with you forever.
    That’s not your destiny. He sounded tired now. Or mine.
    I thought you couldn’t see anything, she chided.
    I know that I’m dying, he said gently. I thought I’d accepted it, but now . . . Why couldn’t I have met you years ago?
    We have. She didn’t know how she knew that, only that it was the truth. On the bridge, I felt it. I’d never seen you before in my life, but I swear I recognized you.
    It was the same for me. He lifted his head and then put his arms around her. I don’t know if I’ll survive this, but when you wake up, look for me. Find me.
    I will. The darkness was dragging at her, pulling her out of his arms. Samuel.
    Don’t be afraid, Charlotte. The light and the warmth dwindled, and the last thing she heard was his voice. Here or in the real world, I’ll be watching for you.
    Time passed unnoticed. The sound of the sea finally roused Charlie, but the sunlight on her skin and the decadent comfort of the fine linens swaddling her tried to lure her back to sleep. The fragrance of some exotic fruit rose from the pillow under her cheek, as if the sinfully soft bedsheets had been washed with pineapples or mangoes. She turned her nose into the delicious scent, and a firm, smooth texture brushed across her lips.
    Skin. Naked skin.
    She opened one eye and looked at the chest she was nuzzling. The golden eye of a bird tattoo stared back at her, and for a moment she thought she saw its scarlet-tipped black wings flutter where they had been inked over strong collarbones. She glanced down and saw its lower body had been fashioned out of curling flames.
    Not a bird, Charlie thought as she idly traced the blaze of fire and feathers with one fingertip. A phoenix.
    A phoenix tattoo.
    She pushed herself away from the chest. The man beside her lay sprawled over two-thirds of the enormous bed, his clean-shaven face still, his chest barely moving as he slept on.
    It was Sam, the man from the bridge. But why was she in bed with him?
    Charlie jerked off the scarlet cotton sheet twisted around her and saw only naked skin. She crawled away backward, not stopping until she went over the side of the bed and fell to her knees. Softness cushioned her shins, and she looked down at the black fur throw spread out over a floor made of clear blue water, coral, and tiny tropical fish. Only when she saw the ghostly image of her own wide-eyed face staring back at her did she realize the water was under a layer of crystal-clear glass.
    Slowly Charlie lifted her head. If she was in a hotel room, it was the largest she’d ever seen: at least two thousand square feet, with a cathedral ceiling supported by innumerable lengths of smoothly polished bamboo. Primitive-looking motifs and murals covered the walls in bright primary colors, all of which darkened into an azure-purple ombré at the base, giving the impression that the entire room was melting into the gigantic aquarium of the floor. Irregular flat plates of multicolored stone had been stacked to form treelike columns that supported