Dark City (The Order of Shadows Book 1) Read Online Free Page B

It was painted."
    "Painted?"
    "Yes, white, like a corpse. And he wore a red scarf around his neck, like it was there to hide something. There was sadness, and emptiness in his eyes. And destruction. I didn't like him at all..." Lyra shook her head, and then gave me a weak smile. "Damn cats and their damned nonsense."
    I had no idea who the man was, but everything she mentioned harkened back to my hallucination of the asylum. I wanted to press her further, but I could see she was getting agitated and it was late. "Well, you can sleep safe, now. I'm back, I've locked the door and-"
    "They don't need doors. They were in the television earlier, if you please."
    I reached out and took her thin hand in mine and gave it a gentle squeeze. "You look tired, Lyra. Get some sleep and try not to worry. I've got everything under control."
    She searched my eyes. "If you're sure?"
    "Totally sure."
    Lyra nodded and stepped back through her door. She closed it softly behind her, plunging the hallway in shadows.
    I continued up the stairs to my apartment and opened the psychic locks that sealed the place shut. Usually these kinds of charms only last a couple of hours, but the other great thing about this house is the reservoir of magic that surrounds it. There's a Kabbalist two doors down, a Satanist over the road and a Wiccan in the basement apartment. Which means I can tap into their energy and set a spell that pretty much stays charged all day.
    I looked down as I stepped through the door, eager to make sure none of my guests escape down the stairs. If they did, the jig would be up.
    There were only five in the apartment tonight. A Persian on the sofa next to the two Siamese sisters, a Bombay on my turntable, and Alfred, a British Shorthair who liked to sleep on my shoes.
    None of the cats were mine, they'd just adopted my apartment as their second home. A place for them to go to when they feel like slumming it or having an extra meal.
    Their eyes glinted as I lit the candles. "Evening, ladies and gents." Even though I was battered, bruised and totally unnerved, I was glad for their company. Having them around helped take the edge off.
    They glanced up with their green, blue and topaz eyes as I made my way through my threadbare apartment and lit the two candles on either side of the framed photograph of Willow. She gazed back, frozen in time, her long brown hair whipped around her in the wind, her hazel eyes mocking me, just as they had when I'd asked her to pose for the picture. And the ghost of that ever-wicked smile forever dancing on her lips.
    A smile I'd never see again.
    I kissed my fingers and touched the photograph, then I pulled a bottle of whiskey from the shelf and poured two fingers into a glass. "If I'm going to get maudlin, I might as well go for the good stuff."
    Liquid heat stung my throat as I took a long deep swallow and toasted Willow. "To you, my witchy love. Thanks for the birthday." I emptied the glass and filled it with another generous measure, before heading to the kitchen.
    Ten glowing eyes grew wide with anticipation as they scampered to the floor and followed me. I opened a couple of cans of tuna and mashed the contents onto a dinner plate. Even though the brand I buy was nothing like the premium stuff they're probably used to, they still seem to enjoy it well enough. I set the plate down and they formed a circle of thrashing tails
    I slumped onto the sofa.
    The television screen stared blankly at me, but there was nothing I wanted to watch. I thought about putting some music on but then the rain began to patter against the roof. I raised my glass toward the ceiling, made a toast and took another long sip.
    My phone buzzed with a message; some friends were out in a bar celebrating my birthday for me. I'd planned to be there too but then the intel on Mr. Tudor had come through and diverted me.
    As I thought of Tudor, his words came back to me. The city's going to hell and the ones who have stayed in the shadows are