Shadowborn by Jocelyn Adams Read Free Book Online Page B

“He won’t hurt you.”
    The girl shook her head, sat up and clung to me like a drowning swimmer.
    “Wait for me in the hall, Gallagher.” I stroked my hand over her matted hair, hating the utter sense of helplessness filling me with a need to save her from the monsters of the world.
    My aide stared at me as if I’d conjured a dragon out of my ass, mouth agape, a flare behind his eyes that might have been anger, but in my peripheral vision, I couldn’t tell. “No. I should—”
    “She’s afraid of you.” I nodded toward the exit. “I’ve got this.”
    He stood but continued to hover. His murky eyes passed between the girl and me. A huff burst out of him. “Very well.” Shoes whispering across the tile, he exited, and the door clicked shut.
    “He’s gone.” I pried the girl’s arms off my waist. “Can you tell me your name?”
    “J-Juliet.” She sniffled and scanned the room as if she expected a predator to crawl out from under her bed.
    Although my instincts wanted to drill her for the information I needed, her fragile state suggested I needed to tread lightly—which was not my strong suit. I took a deep breath and summoned the few shreds of patience I owned.
    “Why have you been pretending to be asleep?” They mustn’t have scanned her brain activity, only assumed she was like the others.
    “He told me I needed to wait for someone special to come, that if I shut my eyes, nobody would ask me questions.”
    I rubbed her spindly arm. “Who told you, Juliet?”
    “Alastair. He was in the dark.”
    “Like in a shadow?”
    “Yeah. A shadow but also a man. Sort of.”
    “Did you actually see his shape, like a man standing in a shadow, or the shadow spoke like a man?”
    “I saw …” Her gaze sprang to the door, and she gasped. She gripped my arm tight. “I can’t.”
    I found nothing in the room but five comatose bodies and stark white paint.
    “I won’t let anything happen to you, Juliet.” I gave her a moment to calm herself and continued, “You said someone special would come. Do you know who he meant?”
    A shake of her head sent night-black tresses across her oval face. “Not at first. But I think it’s you.”
    Me? “Why?”
    Her fingers curled into the white sheet. “I just knew when you came in. My skin got all prickly, and my neck hairs stood up. And your skin glows like gold. I’ve never seen anybody’s skin glow before.”
    O—kay. Had she sensed my power and seen through my glamour?Didn’t she see the same from Gallagher? I’d have to mention that one to him, unsure if that was a good or a bad thing.“What’s the message?”
    Juliet turned inward as if reading a script from her thoughts. “He said the Shadowborn have been given a new prize. Try to stop me if you dare or something like that.”
    “Dammit!”
    A squeal burst from Juliet as she recoiled from me.
    I held out my hand. “Sorry, it’s just—that doesn’t tell me anything.” At least we had confirmation the Shadowborn were involved.
    “Please, say you won’t look for him. They’ll kill you.” Her eyes glossed over, and a tear dripped from the end of her nose. “Please, stay away. They’re bad and not like us bad. Like in the movies bad.”
    “Don’t worry about me. I need to go now. I’ll let the doctor know you’re awake, and hopefully, he’ll call your parents to take you home.”
    She clung to my hand when I stood.
    The absolute trust in her eyes and utter fear in her posture sank claws into my chest. “It’ll be okay, Juliet. I promise. I’ll … I’ll make this right somehow.” I winced, knowing I might have given a promise I couldn’t keep.
    After glancing at the woman in the bed next to the door, Juliet turned back to me, hope radiating from her. “She’s my mom. Can you make her better?”
    Oh, hell. My heart ached to tell her anything that would remove the agony from her eyes, but I wouldn’t lie to her. “I don’t know if it’s possible, but I promise, I’ll try.”
    A