Dark Beauty (Seeker) Read Online Free

let me stay and appointed a stand-in until I returned.”
    “I’m sorry,” Isabelle said. “I didn’t know.” She had the feeling he didn’t want to discuss his cousin’s death any further. She’d never been great in these situations, so she changed the tone of the conversation. “Well, he’s dead. So you can go back now.” Her words came out harsher then she intended.
    “And leave you…not a chance. You’re stuck with me now.” Abram smiled, not seeming to care about her insensitive response – probably because he knew his presence would annoy the crap out of her.
    Jared’s cell rang. He held up his hand and excused himself from the conversation.
    “For your first Daychild kill, you did well. I especially liked the Hulk Hogan move you pulled out at the end.”
    Isabelle laughed. She remembered thinking the same thing when she used her elbow and tiny body to slam Emanuel to the ground. Maybe Abram wasn’t that bad. Only slightly irritating. “Thanks.” She glanced over to the spot where Emanuel had disappeared. “So, they just turn into a sticky mess and disappear?”
    “Yup.” Without Jared as a buffer to dispel their tension, their interaction was uncomfortable, to say the least.
    Isabelle decided to keep the conversation moving. She figured she might learn something from Abram. Maybe. “So, tell me, how did you learn so much about this new hybrid vamp?”
    He smiled. “I’d like to say I read it in a book or that my mentor told me, but it was pretty much trial and error. Two Daychildren, Emanuel and Ricky, showed up one night when I was seeking. I was confused because they looked human – well, other than their black eyes and horrible smell. It’s enough to make your eyes water.”
    They both chuckled. Isabelle noticed how cute he looked when he laughed. He wasn’t just handsome, but he had a baby face, one that promised no matter how much he aged, he would still look youthful.
    “As you can imagine, the first thing I tried was staking them through the heart.”
    “Ha—I’m guessing that didn’t work so well.”
    “The dude ripped the stake out of his chest and threw it at me.”
     “He threw it at you?” Isabelle doubled over, not sure why she was laughing so hard. It wasn’t funny. Actually, it was downright scary.
     “Anyway—” Abram composed himself. “That’s when the fun really began. Emanuel threw a brick at me, only he didn’t use his hands. That’s when I realized we were dealing with something other than the standard vampire.”
    Isabelle’s eyes widened. “Did it hit you?”
    Abram lifted the sleeve of his tee and pointed to a three-inch scar on his bicep. “It cut me wide open.”
    “Looks painful. How about the other one, what could he do?”
    “Who, Ricky? His ability was worse.”
    Isabelle wondered what ability could be worse than telekinesis.
    Jared entered the warehouse, shaking his head, a frustrated scowl across his face. “Just got off the phone with the Chapter,” he said. “It looks like the other one just attacked a student—she’s dead. Definitely a Daychild – he drained her of blood and even ate a few of her organs.”
    Isabelle’s gag reflex kicked in. Sure, vamps drained humans of blood, but eating organs, that was just nasty. “Are they sure it was him—?”
    “Ricky,” Abram said.
    “Yeah, this happened less than an hour ago. I’m betting our Emanuel didn’t do it.” Jared turned to Abram. “You said you followed them both down here, so most likely Ricky’s still here, right?”
    “I would think. I haven’t heard anything from the Seeker in my city. I guess Ricky could have moved on to another city, but I doubt it. There aren’t many. They probably stick together.”
    Jared snapped into mentor mode. He scratched the scruff along his jaw line, contemplating their plan. “Isabelle, go with Abram. I want you both to patrol the area around campus. There shouldn’t be many students around. They canceled classes and put the