Dark Perceptions (Mystic's Carnival Collective) Read Online Free Page A

him, I could understand why. She was a mantrap, for sure. Exotic and sensual, sex oozed from every fiber of her being. Even the way she flicked her finger across her shoulder made me want to succumb to her every desire. Heat stirred an unsatisfied hunger below my belt and I shifted uncomfortably. It wasn’t right. She wasn’t right. Like the rest of this place.

I took a step back and held Matt’s arm tight . The woman’s eyes shone bright on mine. Yellow eyes, cold and calculating like a serpent’s. As much as she made me want her, I also hated her. Hated her with every ounce of moral fiber flowing within me. Hated her for making me desire her and fear her all at once. But mostly for making me want her.  
    A snake, dark as the darkest night, slithered around her midsection. Its long body wound around her torso and up to her shoulders, wrapping until its beady red eyes rested in the nape of her neck, the flicker of its tongue in constant motion. Had to be some kind of crazy trick of the eye—the snake appeared to be slipping straight out of her belly button. I shook my head. A gargantuan serpent, built to crush large dogs or small horses, and the ease in which the woman caressed the reptile was a show of power.  
    Matt moved closer, his eyes fixed on her. “I’m sorry, did you say something?”
    Her lips widened, curving up to the starry night, showing a fine set of pearly, sharp choppers. “Eli, honey. You were talking about Big Eli.”
    Matt said nothing. Drool would have dripped from his lip if he were any less civil. Completely captivated by the flashes of red she twirled teasingly in her hand, he stared at the glossy apple as if he hadn’t eaten in days. She held it just above her breast. I pulled on his arm, yet he didn’t budge. My frustration ratcheted up several notches.  
    It was the apple. The damn red apple. Like Eve tempted Adam, so was this serpent woman attempting to lure Matt. I didn’t like it. Pushing between them, I snatched away the wretched apple and tossed it out into the crowd of the darkened midway.  
    With a hiss and a rattle of its tail, the snake snapped at me. I tripped backwards into Matt’s arms, avoiding the strike.  
    The woman before us, covered in glimmering snake scales in all the right places, snickered and praised her slithering beast with long, slow strokes. “Now Nahash, that wasn’t nice. That’s not how we treat our guests.” Her gaze turned on me, and an undistinguishable look glinted across her features. “Any guest at all.” Her hand lifted to her lips, a new apple caged between her fingers, and she took a bite, then offered it to Matt.  
    Yanking with all my strength, I attempted to pull him back to me, away from her. “Come on, let’s go!”  
    Matt’s eyes were vacant. His arm swung across my chest, knocking me away. I tumbled sideways and slammed into a body in the crowd. “So sorry,” I stammered, picking myself up, before stumbling again.  
    The man I’d fallen into reached out to steady me, but I pulled away. His thick, dark cloak and hood frightened me. Even with all the shadows the hood cast upon his features, I could tell his face was covered in skeletal paint, partially worn or rubbed away, and that made it all the more disturbing. His mere presence sent an unequivocal chill up my spine.  
    He grabbed my wrist and his touch was neither warm nor cold. It was almost nonexistent. “I didn’t mean to scare you. You bumped into me. Remember?” He lifted two fingers to his left temple and closed his eyes. “Besides, something tells me you’re in need of a fortune.”
    I yanked my hand away. That was the lamest sales pitch I had ever heard. I wouldn’t get my fortune read by a skeleton-painted come-on artist. “Later!!” I spit out, then spun around and hightailed it toward Matt to save him from the lady-snake-bitch.  
    “Was it the cloak? It’s too much for you, isn’t it?” The painted fortuneteller appeared at my side, swinging