The Book Waitress (Book 1, The Book Waitress Series) by Deena Remiel Read Free Book Online Page B

t now. That blood could belong to children, Derek. Someone’s sons or daughters could have been slaughtered right on that makeshift altar .” She couldn’t speak further for the lump in her throat, and a sob escaped her mouth. Still holding a book , she leaned her forehead against the shelf in front of her and closed her eyes, let ting the tears fall freely . “Damn it.”
    A gentle yet solid hand cupped her shoulder and forced her to turn around. He dre w her to him and held her in a firm embrace , crushing the book between them . “It’s all right . I’m gonna find out who’s behind this, find the kid, and find out what happened to all the others. Camille, I will bring these people down. I promise.”
    “ Ow ,” she mumbled with her nose and mouth smashed against his chest .
    “ Oh, geez, ” he sa id . A blush crept up his neck and cheeks as he released her with the book still clamped in her hands.
    “Derek, do what you have to do.” She put the book down , rubbed her nose, and straightened her blouse. “Get the bad guys. But I’m not gonna be around. I’ve decided to leave this place as soon as possible. Too many bizarre happenings for my liking. I like my lif e organized and quiet, with an occasional bit of excitement. This kind of thrill is n’t what I had in mind. I simply miscalculated. ”
    “I get it. I really do. And I don’t blame you one bit. Thanks for all your help so far. If you still have work to do, I’d like to stay until you’re done and head back downstairs.”
    “I do. I have about another half hour to go before I’m finished. Have at it.” She smiled weakly and returned to her books, dismissing him.
    Without another word, he turned and left her. The first guy to actually be interested in her and she just gave him the shove-off. She sighed and went back to work. Socially awkward didn’t even begin to describe her. Socially inept with the members of the opposite sex would be more like it.
    Oh, those poor children! Her mind kept returning to the scene downstairs. Who on this island could be running a satanic cult? She wouldn’t be surprised if it was Nancy, evil woman. It’d be easy enough to get information on the internet about the cult that shut down years ago. G reat at making connections and linking facts together , for a moment, she contemplated doing the research . “No! I am not getting involved . This is too much for me . Dealing with mean bosses and ghosts is about all I can handle. Who am I, anyway? I’m just a book waitress . I need a bathroom break. Carry on without me.”
    As she headed to the lady’s room, she half expected to hear the books flying from the cart to the shelves or the floor , but they didn’t. When she returned, however, there was a new book on one of the tables. She walked over and found it to be one of the volumes of the Devil’s Handbook. Now what?
    It had been laid open to a particular page describing a ritual sacrifice. Curiosity getting the better of her, she sat down and began reading the passage. It described the ritualized sacrifice to Satan on specific days of the year and specific years in the millennia. Some were to be of animals, others were to be only blood. “On every sixth year of our Master’s sovereignty, a human boy child shall be sacrificed to honor H is reign . It shall be six years of age and bear the M ark o f the D amned. Its blood shall be drained from its body using Satan’s S aber and collected in the Demon’s Chalice. The Overlord or High Prie s tess s hall use the blood to draw Satan’s symbol on the arms of the sacrifice . They will drink from the chalice and pour the remaining blood into the sanctified pyre … . ”
    She hissed and slammed the book shut. It didn’t escape her notice that the b ook referred to the boy as “it,” and she wondered what kind of mark could be construed as the Mark of the Damned. Reluctantly, she followed the subtle nudging need to know and reopened the book to where she’d