Sin's Dark Caress by Tracey O'Hara Read Free Book Online

that bit deep and sharp as the finger moved down, extending the split in her skin. Then the muscle and flesh split, exposing her insides.
    The fiery pain ripped through her, a pain so unbearable she longed for the oblivion of unconsciousness, yet she remained totally aware. A scream silently tore from her lungs, as if her very voice had been stolen. Then the child—her child—slipped free of the gaping wound with a sucking pop and a shower of warmth down her legs. Her daughter’s large eyes squinted, blinked, and opened—appearing black in the strangely muted full moon light as the babe floated in the air between Tiffany and the dark magic wielder.
    The tiny girl blinked again and looked around before her little face screwed up, filling the night air with a newborn cry. The stranger plucked the floating child out of the air before severing the umbilical cord and wrapping her within the folds of its robe.
    The figure slashed the finger sideways opening a cross cut and the law of gravity suddenly reinforced itself. Tiffany’s viscera dropped from the gaping abdominal wound with a wet splat and she fell to the filthy alley into a pool of quickly cooling blood, intestines, and amniotic fluid.
    She couldn’t make her eyes focus no matter how much she tried. The cold numbness of her extremities crawled toward the center of her chest; even the pain of her eviscerated stomach had dulled to an icy nothingness. With one last ditch effort she reached out to catch the bottom of the robe with bloody fingers, but they just slipped through the incorporeal mist.
    The last thing Tiffany saw were Greg’s cold dead eyes staring at her as the stranger floated back into the fog, crooning a multivoice lullaby to the newborn snuffle of her baby daughter.
    Then even Greg’s face dulled as the final vestiges of life bled from her body.

7
    Babes in the Wilderness
    B ianca gripped the steering wheel and accelerated as the light changed from red to green. All she wanted was to get home and check on the little dragon. The creature had been playing on her mind all day. And it’d been a very long day.
    The tinkling ring tone of her phone ripped her out of autopilot, and she glanced at the caller ID before answering on her hands-free. “Hey McManus, what’s up?”
    â€œWhere are you?” The detective’s voice had a familiar urgency.
    â€œOn my way home,” she replied, looking around to get her bearings. “Is there another one?”
    â€œCould be. Meet me at the Langford Plaza on East 53rd.” There was a pause. “Officer Jones rang me direct and hasn’t even called in yet. How soon can you get there?”
    She glanced in her rearview mirror for traffic. “I’m not that far. I’ll see you in a few minutes.” She hit the end button and merged right to find somewhere to turn the car around.
    B ianca pulled into the drive of the ritzy hotel. The valet in a Langford Hotel staff vest approached, and McManus stepped forward, holding up his badge as he opened her door. The valet turned to help a beautiful young woman climb from a flashy black sports car instead.
    â€œSo where’s the body?” Bianca asked in a low voice. No use starting a panic.
    â€œThis way,” he said solemnly.
    â€œLet me grab my case first.” She popped her trunk and took out her forensic thaumaturgy bag.
    He took her past the hotel to an alley where a squad car was parked, blocking any entry.
    â€œThanks for letting me know first,” McManus said to Adam Barnes, who stood beside the black and white car. “Have you called it in yet?”
    â€œNot yet.” Barnes crossed his arms, leaned against the squad car and nodded over his shoulder. “Jones is waiting for you with the kid who found the bodies.”
    â€œThanks,” McManus said, slapping the uniform on the shoulder as he passed. “You call it in now while we take a look.”
    â€œYou got