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

world on end.
    Slowly, carefully, he refolded the road map. Then, with
a single, brutal motion, he ripped it in half.
    She jumped.
    Watching her closely, he stacked the halves and ripped
them again. A flick of his finger ignited the paper. Artemis
gasped. The map burned to dust in his palm and he didn't
even flinch. Four months of painstaking magical detective
work, gone in a heartbeat.
    She went deathly still. She wanted to cry. She wanted to
smash her fist into his face. From the look in his eyes, he
knew it. She bit back the curse on her lips.
    "So. You've been stealing life essence since the summer
solstice. From no less than twenty-seven faerie villages."
    "Twenty-six," she muttered. "The last one doesn't count."
    "Demonwhore?"
    She bristled, even though it was a fair assumption.
Demons thrived on life essence. Their human slaves often
went to great lengths to secure it for their masters.
    "No," she said.
    He regarded her thoughtfully, then nodded once. "I
think I believe that. Your aura doesn't have that sick gray
tinge. Not a whore, then. But a puzzle, even for me.
You're not, I think, entirely human."
    "I don't know what that has to do with-"
    She broke off, startled, when his fingertips brushed her
cheek.
    He was still angry, but his touch was incredibly gentle.
The contrast left her trembling. He traced her cheekbone,
her jaw. The line of her neck. The sensation sent a tingle
through her senses, faintly sexual in nature, though her
misfired spell had faded almost entirely by now. She'd
never felt anything like it before, but after a moment or
two she understood what he was doing.
    He was reading her magic.
    She shrank back against the passenger door, but there was no place to go. He moved with her, his big hand cupping her
head, cushioning the smack of her head against the window
glass. His thumb brushed over her lips, warm and firm.

    She stared up at him. He was far too close, and what he
was doing... she could feel him, inside, brushing the
edges of her psyche. It was far, far too intimate a touch.
    "Stop it." She hated how her voice trembled.
    "Hush, love."
    His green eyes gazed at her. Or more accurately, gazed
through her. Seeing, she was sure, things she did not want
to reveal. She tried to make herself very small. He prevented it, with nothing more than a brush of his fingers on
her cheek. She felt as though she were caught in some
bizarre dream.
    She closed her eyes and concentrated on drawing her
next breath. Oxygen didn't come easily. Gods. What was he
doing to her?
    Finally, finally, he drew back, breaking the contact. By
that time, she'd slid so far down the seat she was practically lying down. He slammed the driver's door shut, closing her in with him. Hastily, she shoved herself upright,
gathering her shredded dignity as best she could.
    He regarded her with open curiosity. "You're mostly
human. But there's quite a bit more. A bit of naiad, perhaps? Or something similar?"
    There was no point in lying. "My great-grandmother
on my mother's side was a mami wata. An African water
spirit."
    "Ah. Water magic. Explains the ease with which you cast
that lust spell."
    "Yes."
    "And do you have a dryad somewhere in your family
tree?"
    "Sort of. My great-grandmother on my father's side was
a Norse giantess from the Iron Wood."
    "Earth magic. And... sprite for air magic?"

    She sighed. "No. My air magic is much stronger than a
sprite's. There's a Native American shaman somewhere on
my mother's side. At least four generations back, as far as I
know. A shape-shifter who received his magic from a
thunderbird spirit."
    "Do you have fire as well?"
    "Yes. One of my ancestors from India was an atharvavedic priest."
    His brows arched. "Quite the cultural mix you are. Born
in America, then?"
    "Yes. Hawaii. But I've lived all over the world. Army
brat," she added at his questioning gaze.
    His gaze flicked to her jacket. "Followed your parents
into the service, did you?"
    "Yes,"