The Lightning Prophecy (The Lightning Witch Trilogy Book 1) by Emily Cyr Read Free Book Online Page B

for my liking. I did not spend years taming and caging this animal inside to have some little witch undo me. I could not afford to let her undo me. I took a deep breath and got out of the car.
    “Del-”
    “Wait, before you say anything. You need to understand something. Sierra was all I had. I mean, she was everything. I can’t just sit and wait for the things that go bump in the night to come find me. I need, Reid, NEED to do this. I won’t talk, I’ll do what you say, but I will not be left behind.”
    Had she really cut me off? This female was indeed undoing me. If she were a wolf I would certainly put her in her place. But, she was right. This girl was all she had. Her eyes were filled with pain, hurt, and regret. If it were me, ugh, I mentally groaned. Sometimes I wanted to throttle my inner sensical voice.
    I cleared my throat and spoke, “Delaney, yes you can come, but please, please don’t say anything unless I ask it of you. We shouldn't be here long. I am just picking up the files and getting any notes and thoughts they have. They are humans and you know how humans feel about witches.”
    A genially bright and grateful smile lit up her face. And in that moment I knew I wanted to be the one who could cause such a beautiful reaction. I think I was being undone whether I liked it or not. I had to remind myself that, no matter what happened with Delaney, I could not let the wolf gain the upper hand. I was more than the animal I kept chained up inside of me. It took me years to figure that out and countless losses along the way.
    The building was all brick with a green awning. From outside, the building seemed to be less than state of the art, but hey, who was I to judge? As a private investigator I had made a name for myself, but not a fat wallet.  I tended to not work well with others, so the money I made was all on me. All of this tended to isolate me, and as a lone wolf, that was how I prefer it.
    When I walked in the door, a gust of wind surrounded me and pushed the scents of the area around. There was the scent of heated pavement, trees, Spanish moss, stale office, and then there was Delaney’s scent. She smelled of ozone and gardenias. Her scent alone stirred things in me that should be left dormant in this situation. Reid, the case .
    The lobby was fairly minimalistic, with a few chairs and closed doors. There was a receptionist’s window with a female officer glancing my way. I gave her my best I should be trusted smile and said, “Hello, my name is Reid Jamison. I have an appointment with Lieutenant Shaun Harris.”
    The African-American woman looked at something on the computer and said with a broad smile, “I’ll let him know you and um, your partner, are here, honey.”
    We went to sit down in two of the chairs facing all of the doors, putting our backs to the wall with the door we walked in.
    Delaney leaned over and whispered in my ear, causing a brief wash of heat to head southbound. “Why didn't you tell her you were from the Coven?”
    “Delaney, sometimes I forget just how young you are. You have lived among humans and away from the Coven your whole life. Humans have a prejudice against witches. They would just as soon ship you all somewhere else and not have to deal with you. This is the main reason my people haven’t come out as of yet. At least you can live a halfway normal life. We wouldn't have that ability. We would be lucky to live as second-class citizens.” She sat staring at me, looking as if what I said had not occurred to her.
    “I am well aware of the prejudice from both the humans and the Coven. I have run from all of them my whole life. My parents died when I was little and my great aunt raised me and we had to live outside the Coven for fear they would use me. Had we gone to the Coven, we would have to register and live on a reservation and struggle for every bit of life we would want to live. My whole life has been a half-life.”
    Before I could form more than a