The Compass by Cindy Charity Read Free Book Online Page B

victory over Agrona, he gained the scrolls.
    The scrolls of the ancients held the secrets to the Star, and had been hidden well. Possessing them would allow him to unlock the full potential of the Star. One scroll represented one Fragment. His preference of course, would be to gain all the women now. In his current state however, there was only so much he could accomplish. Though his strength was returning, it was not happening as fast as he desired.
    Mortals brushed passed him, and each time it happened, he read their minds, took energy from those with strength, and ignored the ones who were lacking. When he came across the few that possessed abilities, he marked them, sending their information to James. They would be needed later. In regards to his dilemma, he knew exactly what he needed. He needed chaos.

 
    Chapter Five
     
    Sitting at a bar on a Friday night served two purposes in her opinion, and one of them, Ali didn’t need to qualify because it had been ages since she had gone out on a date. She was here for the one thing a noisy bar could do—help her drown her sorrows. Tossing back the rest of her drink, she knocked on the bar top to signal for another. New York on a Friday night was no joke. Besides, after the pain meds had worn off and she had successfully closed her mind off to the illusions, she had had nothing to do but mull. She hated mulling. Well, unless it involved work in which case she didn’t mull, but rather dissected.
    Oh, if her mother could see her now. She could just picture it, in a flurry of silks and suffocating perfume, her mother would have her whole life packed up in a tiny box before the count of three. Better yet, Ali was sure her mother would just trash everything in her apartment. Groaning over it, Ali waited for her refill. It wasn’t just her mother that had brought her tonight. Her ordeal at the precinct, and the events it had triggered, a.k.a. the returning voice, played a huge role. She still couldn’t wrap her head around what had happened. Being called in for one thing, and then being totally blindsided with another. It just didn’t make sense. Why could her life just be simple?
    When it came to her work, she was a champ at staying focused. The outside world ceased to exist and she could pretend, for the duration of the case, that she was just a regular person. One who had rent to pay, food to buy—bills. There was no thought of her childhood, or the years she had spent being scrutinized by Dr. Ward and her mother. Now, because of her interrogation—of the emotional upheaval it had caused, her carefully crafted bubble was about to be popped.
    She was fooling herself if she believed the detective would forget about her. He may not do so right away, adhering to his superior’s orders, but he would keep her in the forefront of his mind. Her drink was placed before her. Ali eyed it thoughtfully; she would have to stretch this one out. Paying for it with thanks, she took a nip, and then put it down.
    Detective Ballen had known exactly what buttons to push without even knowing he was. He had been looking to break a crime ring, correction, what he thought , was a crime ring. She couldn’t fault him for that. He was just doing his job. However, could she stay in New York, constantly looking over her shoulder, waiting for him to pop up somewhere? The case was an active one. He hadn’t believed her when she had told him she didn’t know the man in the picture. Then there was the whole weird, personal attack. His eyes had gone all cloudy; talk about creepy to the tenth degree.
    A man sat down next to her, bumping her elbow. On purpose she was sure. Giving him a smile in response to his apology and wink, Ali shifted her body on the stool. The hope of it being enough of a signal was dashed as the man enquired her drink of choice. The pickup line wasn’t original, neither was his cologne. She had a hard time sitting still through his blatant inspection of her person. It went with