The Devil's Soldier by Rachel McClellan Read Free Book Online Page A

only way to destroy Boaz was to have his powers returned to him, which meant he knew Eve would have to wear that cursed necklace again to turn her back into Alarica. She shook her head. It can't be true.
    Anne snorted again. "There's an ax in the garage. Say the word, and I'll cut your head off."
    Eve picked up the journal. "There has to be another way. Where do I find Boaz?"
    Anne shrugged, and the strap of her gown fell from her shoulder.
    "You must know something."
    "There's a club in New York City--Eclipse. Someone there might know. Now leave me. I'm tired."
    Eve stood up from the bed, taking the journal with her. She stopped at the door and turned back around. "Come with me. I can help you."
    "I don't want your help."
    "Then let someone else help you. There's a monastery in France—"
    "Get out."
    Eve left the room, colder than ever. The ghosts here were strong, one giant poltergeist that would never let go of their misery. Just like Anne.
    Despite what Anne had said, Eve would find a way to stop Boaz without giving him back his powers. There's no way she would ever willingly put that necklace around her neck again. If it came to that, she would take that ax and find a way to cut off her own head.

6
     
    "Again," Lucien said, sweat dripping from his face. He had fallen off his chair for the third time, unable to withstand Henry's mental attacks on his mind. The few motivational posters hanging on the conference room walls shifted downward and the lights dimmed. Lucien focused his vision. He couldn't lose consciousness.
    Henry shook his head. "We're going on five hours. You need to rest."
    Lucien crawled back into a sitting position, his back against the wall. "If I can sit up, then I still have strength. Again."
    Henry breathed in deeply through his nose. "Something is blocking you. Your magical abilities are far greater than I expected for such short training, but for some reason, you can't stop me from taking your magic. Why?"
    Lucien had been wondering the same thing. For the last two weeks, he had pushed himself hard to learn all that he could about magic, even speed reading through many of the spell books in the upstairs library. He understood it all, and he was surprised at how easy it came to him. So why couldn't he block Henry's attempts at taking his magic?
    He groaned and dropped his head back against the wall.
    "We will try again tomorrow morning," Henry said and stood. He extended a hand to Lucien.
    Lucien accepted and let Henry pull him up. He stumbled into the table, but managed to keep his legs beneath him.
    "There's blood in the fridge," Henry said. "I'll get you some."
    Lucien dropped into a nearby chair, his jaw locked tight. If he couldn't figure this out soon, then he would never be able to help Eve, wherever she was. Since his powers had grown, he thought for sure he would be able to find her in his dreams—the way they used to communicate whenever they were in danger—but he only ever encountered a heavy fog that held no mention of her, not even a memory. It was as if she had never existed.
    He tried not to get discouraged. He couldn't deny that he had heard her , but as more days passed, he considered that maybe the sound had been his own subconscious, a longing to hear her voice one last time.
    Henry returned and dropped a blood bag onto the table. Lucien tore into the small plastic tube at the top of the blood bag, desperate to gain back some energy.
    "There's been another death," Henry said.
    Lucien waited until half the blood was gone before he asked, "Where's this one?"
    "California. Another governor."
    "How?"
    "Plane crash. My guess is Charlie will find something supernatural about it just like all the other deaths."
    "What are humans saying?" Lucien asked before he returned to draining the bag.
    "They are starting to talk, in secret, of course. The DOD is investigating, and they've asked for our assistance. I've sent over a guy to try and steer them into a different direction for the time