Sergius: #4 (Luna Lodge: Hunters of Atlas) by Madison Stevens Read Free Book Online

that’s what Jade kept telling herself, but it seemed so real, felt so real.
    Darkness moved in the forest beyond Dea. Jade called out to her hoping that she might be able to do something.
    Dea looked around, and Jade wondered if she might’ve heard her.
    The darkness in the forest moved closer and closer. Jade cried out again.
    The hybrid woman gasped and breathed in deeply. She frowned a little as she picked up a scent.
    Jade knew that she was looking for her, but instead she’d found something different something much worse.
    “Leave her alone!” Jade shouted at the dark shadow.
    The image broke up in front of her as she tried to step forward to do something.
    Dea let out a piercing scream. The scream went on and on. It took a moment before Jade realized that the scream was her own.
    She jerked away and sat up in her sheets, covered in sweat and breathing hard, her throat sore from screaming.
    Whatever that was had gone for Dea.
    She took a deep breath. Just a dream, she reminded herself. It was just a dream.
    She looked over to her right arm and gasped.
    A jagged gash ran down her arm, just like in the dream. Blood drenched her sheets.
    What the hell? Was it a dream or reality? Both?
    She jumped when Sergius burst into her bedroom, his blue eyes blazing and cutting through the darkness
    “Are you okay?” he asked in a hurry.
    Jade didn’t know why he was there but was glad to see him. She threw the covers off her body and stepped out of the bed.
    She didn’t completely know what was going on, but after the earlier vision, she could no longer ignore the truth.
    “Dea is in trouble,” she said quickly. “We need to get to the chicken coop.”

Chapter Eight
     
     
    His heart hammered in his chest as they ran to the chicken coop.
    There was so much he didn’t understand. He’d thought he’d just been having a dream, but it was clear to him now that he’d been in Jade’s dream, or maybe she’d been in his. He couldn’t be sure.
    Sergius didn’t know what had happened or why he had been in her dream, but he did know that whatever darkness had over taken them was now stalking Dea. If that was the case, then they had a lot to worry about.
    The scent of blood filled the air the closer they got. It was hard to tell if the creature was still around, but the smell made him gag.
    They rounded the corner. Splatters of blood covered the chicken coop.
    “Oh God,” Jade said quietly, holding a hand over his mouth.
    He sniffed the air and shook his head. “It’s not hers.” He moved forward.
    Jade found Dea lying among the dead chickens on the ground, her body limp and slightly bruised.
    Sergius watched Jade from the corner of his eye, and he knelt next to Julia. In the dream, Jade hadn’t known what the evil was now surrounding them.
    He could see the fear in her face as she looked into the darkened tree line, and he knew that she was just as worried as he was.
    He scooped Dea into his arms, and they made their way to the meeting house. Rem, along with Magnus and Marcus, met them just as they were stepping up to the house.
    “What the hell happened to her?” Rem said, a faint frown on his face.
    Marcus looked between Dea and Jade suspiciously.
    Jade glanced over at Sergius, her face pale.
    “It’s difficult to explain,” Sergius offered.
    “Let’s get them inside,” Rem said quietly. He looked around into the darkness and then back at their group. Sergius wondered if Rem was more in the know than he had thought. “I think we better look at doing doubles for patrol from now on.” He turned to Magnus. “Sweep the perimeter, just to be sure.”
    Magnus nodded and hurried off.
    “There’s an odd smell to her,” Marcus said. He nodded to Dea.
    Sergius had been so distracted by the scent of blood that he hadn’t even noticed the odd scent coming off Dea.
    They placed her on one of the couches in the meeting room. Jenna raced in then with a glass of water.
    “How is she?”
    Jenna squatted down beside