Soul Thief (Dark Souls) by Anne Hope Read Free Book Online Page A

own son down like some rabid animal. To reveal the truth to him now seemed almost a cruelty. But Angie’s safety depended on it.
    “I haven’t been entirely honest with you.” Adrian was well aware that once Marcus learned the truth, the Watchers would stop at nothing to recruit him. The last thing he needed was Cal and his faithful brethren hounding him endlessly to join their crusade, but he’d run out of options. Marcus would never agree to help him unless he knew everything.
    Adrian drew a mouthful of polluted air into his lungs. Air that felt thick and grimy and was peppered with the bitter taste of neglect. “My soul still lives, and I’ve found it.”
    The shock that glazed Marcus’s features was almost worth the risk of fatal injury. Marcus wasn’t usually one to miss these things. He was at the helm of Cal’s recruitment program. It was his job to identify Hybrids and have them join the Watchers before they gave in to their dark nature and went rogue. The fact that he’d failed to identify his own son as a potential recruit must have dealt a serious blow to his ego. The Watchers needed all the soldiers they could get in their fight to eradicate the Kleptopsychs and the Rogues.
    “You’re lying. Kyros stole your soul. I was there when it happened.”
    “Really?” Adrian challenged. “Did you actually witness the act or hear about it secondhand?”
    The color leached from Marcus’s face. “Kyros bragged about it. I thought—”
    “You didn’t think,” Adrian spat back. “You assumed.”
    The battle raging within Marcus was evident. As much as he wanted to believe his son wasn’t a total lost cause, another part of him had trouble shaking the misconceptions he’d harbored since the day of Adrian’s birth. “How?”
    “My soul escaped him. It was too powerful. Kyros couldn’t hold on to it. That’s why he’s been hunting me. I’m a living, breathing reminder of his greatest failure.”
    Marcus ran his wide palm over his face. He shook his head, even as he accepted what Adrian had just told him as truth. “This changes everything. You can come back with me, join the Watchers—”
    “That’s never going to happen.” Adrian had no intention of joining his father’s cause. He fought for no one, took orders from no one. “There’s too much water under the bridge. You know that.”
    “People can change.” Marcus pinned him with a meaningful stare. “You can change, like I did.”
    “I don’t want to change. I like my life just fine. All I have is my freedom, and I intend to keep it.”
    Disappointment could cut as deep as any blade, and Marcus’s broken expression was undeniable proof that he had fallen victim to it. “So why did you bring me here, if you don’t want to become one of us?”
    “I need Cal to cloak someone, a woman. Kyros is after her.”
    “Why?”
    “Because she’s the carrier.” Adrian’s hands fisted at his sides. The thought of Kyros hurting Angie tore angry strips in his gut. “My old soul lives within her, and all Kyros has ever wanted is to see it destroyed.”
    The overpowering desire to protect one’s errant soul was something Marcus understood well. Without a soul to anchor him, a Hybrid was no better than those of pure Nephilim blood—creatures with no conscience, who fed at will and spread corruption as easily as they breathed.
    Marcus’s interest was fully engaged now. “Who is she, the carrier?”
    “Her name is Angelica Paxton.” Adrian handed Marcus a piece of paper, upon which he’d scribbled her address. “She lives on the Upper East Side.” Marcus cocked a sardonic brow, and Adrian shrugged. “Don’t look so surprised. The rich have souls, too.” This was as close to friendly banter as he’d ever come with his father.
    Marcus pocketed the paper. “You know the best way to ensure Cal’s cooperation is for you to join our ranks.”
    “I can’t do that.”
    The Watcher leveled an assessing stare on him. “Not even to save