The Crossing (Immortals) by Joy Nash Read Free Book Online

was wolfish, and it didn't reach his eyes.
Artemis felt herself responding to it, anyway. The effects
of the rebounded spell were still raging at full force.
When his gaze drifted down her body, igniting a slow trail
of fire, she nearly groaned out loud.
    She wanted to touch him. Taste him. Instead, she
crossed her arms over her breasts like a shield. Lust spells
were self-limiting; the sensations racketing through her
body would fade in a few minutes. She could hang on to
her sanity until then. She hoped.
    But could she escape him? She wasn't sure what kind of magic would be most effective against him. The shield he
had on his power made it impossible to figure him out. How
could she fight him if she didn't even know what he was?

    "Look." She hoped like hell her desperation didn't
show. "Just leave inc alone. I'm outta here, anyway. You'll
never see me again."
    "And what a shame that would be. We'd never have a
chance to discuss that exceedingly odd spell you cast on
the faeries."
    Her jaw dropped. "You felt that? But how... I thought
I'd..." She trailed off, biting her lip.
    "Thought you'd covered your tracks, did you? Not
quite well enough, love."
    "No one could have tracked that spell. No one." Except
that, apparently, he had. "Who are you?"
    "Who are you?" he countered. He reached out and
plucked the pack from her lap. The clasp opened so easily
she was sure he'd used magic to unfasten it.
    "Hey! Give that back!"
    He blocked her grab neatly with his left elbow and
tugged open the zipper. She watched, stomach churning,
as he tossed her driver's license and passport into the backseat without so much as a glance.
    "I thought you wanted to know who I am," she said.
    "I wasn't talking about your name, love."
    "I am not," she muttered, "your love."
    He pulled out her map. She held her breath as he gave it
a fleeting look and started to toss it after the passport.
Then, to her horror, he brought it back into his line of vision, frowning slightly.
    He sent her a sidelong look. "What's this, then?"
    "What does it look like? A map. I got it at the airport in
Glasgow."
    "No doubt you did, love," he said, shaking out the folds
and setting it on the steering wheel.
    "Lost?" Artemis taunted.

    "No more than you," he replied, passing his palm over
the map.
    Artemis's head fell back against the headrest as the telltale glowing lines spread across the page. Goddess. How
the hell had he guessed? She was screwed now. Big time.
    His jaw hardened. He didn't speak as his sharp gaze
took in the ley lines and the marks denoting the faerie villages she'd skimmed. The notes scrawled beside them
tracked her progress from Glasgow into the Highlands.
Names, dates, village population estimates. The numbers
denoting the value of the life energy she'd stolen were
particularly damning. She'd used demon notation, since
demons were the only beings who objectively quantified
such resources.
    Damn her for her obsessive need for clarity and organization. Stupid, stupid, stupid. She should never have kept
notes.
    His ominous silence dragged on as he read each and
every word and number she'd written. She waited, barely
breathing, fighting an unholy urge to squirm. Instead, she
concentrated on identifying a spell likely to best him.
Since he was so angry on behalf of the faeries, it was likely
he was a life-magic creature. Was it best to fight him with
a light or dark spell? Should she cast something here in the
car? Or wait until they were out in the open?
    She was so intent on her plotting that when he did
speak, she jumped.
    "Explain yourself."
    She met his gaze. "No."
    His jaw went rigid, his eyes darkening to forest green.
Anger pulsed in the space between them, hot enough to
burn.
    Artemis half turned, pressing her back against the passenger door, her body poised for defense. Breathe, she told
herself. Breathe.
    In. Out. In. Out. Balance. That was the key. It always was.

    Too bad this stranger had tipped her