The Inner Circle (Return of the Ancients Book 3) by Carmen Caine, Madison Adler Read Free Book Online

me, Samantha brushed back her straight blonde hair and fixed her hawkish eyes at the door. “Here comes trouble with a capital ‘T’,” she said with a shriveling glare.
    I glanced up to see Jareth stalking forward amidst the sea of cyclists in their spandex outfits standing in line to get their morning lattes.
    He was dressed in full rocker regalia, spikes, chains and all, and his black hair was moussed to stand out in all directions. His eye was completely back to normal. Obviously, the Fae healthcare system was more advanced than ours.
    I was actually relieved to see him. I guess on some level, I’d been worried that he hadn’t responded to my calls.
    He cut to the front of the line.
    The customers didn’t seem to mind, though it was obvious that Samantha did. And as he leaned against the pastry case, she waved a newspaper in front of his face.
    “Missed another concert, did you, Jareth?” Samantha asked in a brisk tone. “You’ll ruin your brand if you continue to misbehave.”
    He gave her a cocky grin and snatched the paper out of her hand. “Misbehaving is my brand, dragon,” he said before scanning the headlines.
    The headline was printed in large, bold letters: “Another No-Show for Jareth. Are Drugs Involved?”
    He snorted and tossed the paper onto the counter.
    “Do you want your usual blueberry muffin?” I asked him, wanting him to sit down quickly so we could talk. “Just take a seat and I’ll bring it right out.”
    Samantha sighed. “Handle him for me, Sydney,” she said in a slightly weary tone and turned to her other customers.
    I didn’t need to be told twice.
    Putting a blueberry muffin onto a plate, I slipped out from behind the counter and, grabbing Jareth’s hand, pulled him to a corner table.
    “Where have you been?” I hissed, slamming the plate down onto the table. “I tried calling you several times!”
    Jareth raised a brow and looked surprised. Pulling out his trion, he looked at the slim silver weapon and murmured something. A spark of light shot out from the tip and disappeared into his hand.
    “So you did,” he said, clearly surprised. “Strange. I never received the message.”
    My frown deepened, but I forged ahead. “We’ve got to take control here. But first things first, I must make sure Al, Betty, and Grace are protected. Can you make them runes, too?”
    I pulled his protection rune from my pocket.
    He looked pleased at that. “So, you really do trust me now, do you?”
    “For now,” I said a bit acidly and then repeated, “Can you make them runes?”
    At that, he turned grim. “No,” he said shortly. “And I don’t even think the one you have is going to work.”
    Standing abruptly, he pushed his way past me and exited the coffee shop.
    I stared at him dumbfounded and then scowled. “Thanks, Jareth,” I muttered under my breath, collecting his uneaten muffin.
    Obviously, I couldn’t rely on him.
    Returning to the pastry case, I went back to work, shoving muffins, cookies, and scones into bags and onto plates as I planned my next move.
    Part of me did keep on the lookout for Rafael. But he didn’t show up. Either he hadn’t gotten my message or he hadn’t cared.
    But I wasn’t about to give up that easily. As soon as I got home, I was going to walk across the street and tell him that I wanted to help. I’d pretend that I thought he was playing the part of a spy. And maybe I’d learn a little something along the way.
    I’d stolen the mutant tulpa before. Maybe I could do it again. And maybe I could figure out a way to get rid of the thing. Though exactly how one might get rid of an evil tulpa was a bit beyond me. I knew it was going to be harder than simply flushing it down the toilet.
    But as I’d told Jareth, first things first.
    I had to protect everyone from the Mesmers.
    Samantha let me borrow the computer on my lunch break and I searched again for ways to prevent mind control but with little success. By the end of my lunch break, I’d