Celtic Evil: A Fitzgerald Brother Novel: Roarke Read Online Free Page B

bad thing and Ryan knew it but he wanted the image away but
before he could cast the spell in his mind, an invisible fist
slammed into his stomach and knocked him down hard.
    “Yeah, that’s right. Can’t
use a girl as a weapon, so go for the magic fist?” he sneered, not
positive what he was facing and not caring even as he could hear
other things in his head.
    Another hard blow took his
breath and he felt his vision blur and his nose bleed as the power
sought to hurt until his temper finally got his feet under him
again.
    His hand shot out to send a
wave of electric energy from his fingers in a burst like the ones
he hadn’t had to use in years.
    “Yeah, that was
productive,” he chastised himself sourly, trying to get to his feet
but feeling too weak.
    “You do have your father’s temper don’t you,
Ryan Shawn Alaister Fitzgerald?”
    Giving up trying to stand, Ryan just slumped
back against a pole to see who was speaking and sneered again at
the silver haired well-dressed man.
    “So I’ve been told by many
a person,” he replied, shifting a look, and he wasn’t surprised to
see that the parking lot was still. “So, is this happening in real
time or my mind?”
    Pleased by the boy’s
alertness, Sebastian smiled. “Let us say that none of the mortals
wasting their lives inside will know of these events.
    “Do you know who I am, Ryan?” he asked
curiously.
    The migraine was building so he had a bad
hunch he did know but he’d never been one to show his hand that
easily.
    “Well, it’s too early to be
the Easter Bunny.” He saw the man’s eyes flash in annoyance as he
grinned through the growing pain. “So I’m guessing a man of your
age, the silver hair, and the well-bred voice could only be Mrs.
Santa Claus.”
    Sebastian’s eyes flashed
red but before he could react, Ryan showed he wasn’t quite as
defeated as had been thought as a light shove sent the older
warlock back a step.
    “You may have gained
Toryn’s temper but you inherited Brenna’s caustic wit, I see,” he
nodded, almost pleased by the defiance. “You loved this girl once,
didn’t you?”
    “You picked a bad subject,”
Ryan warned lowly, refusing to remember how much he had loved Annie
and how much it had hurt him when someone had killed her while
after him.
    “You have much of your
father in you, Ryan. Toryn and I were bitter rivals but I respect
the way you’ve handled yourself here.” Sebastian watched the boy
closely to see he had his attention. “I offered your father a
choice long ago. A choice that had he accepted your family wouldn’t
have been torn asunder like it has been.”
    That caused Ryan to look
closer and he missed the warlock’s look. “I can offer you the same
choice and by accepting I can give you back your lost love,”
Sebastian motioned to the now still image of Annie Cleary. “She
died in your arms didn’t she? It was after some self-styled boy who
fancied himself a witch attempted an attack on your life. I can
return her to you, whole and like she was.”
    The night sky had darkened and the calm
winds had suddenly began blowing harder but Ryan was only hearing
that the only woman in his life that he’d let himself love could be
his again.
    However, as much as that
appealed to him, Ryan had been a gambler since he’d been thirteen
years old and knew that such an appealing offer always had a
catch.
    “What’s the offer?” he
asked casually, feeling the weight on the Trinity medal he wore
actually heat against his skin.
    Confident of his win,
Sebastian smiled easily. “Just join my cause, Ryan Fitzgerald,” he
held up a smooth hand to help his would-be apprentice to his feet.
“Accept the offer your father so stupidly spurned that day on the
island when he could have saved your mother and his self by letting
fate have its day and all that you wish can be yours.”
    Looking fully at the figure
of his almost fiancée for a long time, it took a couple minutes for
those last words to break