Demon Day Read Online Free Page B

this before ?”
    His shoulders lifted and fell. “You
would not break an oath lightly.” His eyes darted to the shadowed
mound to the side of us then back to me. “You’re
finished?”
    I grunted my disagreement, and stepped
away from him wanting to get this next part over with
quickly.
    The thing I turned to was a living
crypt of trees and leaves. The great oak trunks had twisted down
and their roots had reached up to entwine together tightly. It was
stunning and I could not believe I had connected my power to that
of the fairy Wyld and created this.
    Breandan said it was because on this
sacred ground my power was absolute. I rubbed my chest to soothe
the ache the thought brought to my heart. Had I known that mere
hours ago, so much might have happened differently.
    I had left my vampire-boy, Tomas,
slumbering in this earthen tomb I had made to keep him safe. He was
dead, and would not rise until sunset. I was pleased, because it
meant I could focus on the grimoire and Devlin. From the moment I
had met him, Tomas had been a complicated being I could not
understand. Always he was there on the fringes of my attention, but
never the focus. When he had made me stop – by searing me with a
kiss to leave me shaken and dazed – he had snapped into focus. It
had been enough to sway my loyalty when faced with the choice of
losing him or risking Breandan’s affection.
    Thinking of my vampire always made me
confused and wary. He had a numbing, drug like affect on my senses
I was beginning to equally love and hate. I needed to be sharp and
definite not fuzzy and indecisive. I snorted at myself. I would
think on my blood tie with Tomas, and my promise to help him later.
I didn’t even know what it meant … and if I did know what
difference would it make? Could I break it? I knew my bond with
Breandan was thrown into doubt because of my tie with Tomas. Devlin
had made that perfectly clear when he had tried to claim
me.
    I glanced overhead, past the dense
tree canopy, and saw we had nine hours of sunlight at best. When
night fell he would come after me. I knew this like I knew the
hammering of my heart when he was near was taboo.
    Tomas was no fool, and so I knew not
to worry too much about what would happen when he woke.
    He would have to spend most of the
night catching us up, and even if he did manage to gain on us – and
catch us before the sun rose – he would hang back. He was wary of
Breandan, and for good reason. Breandan would tear him apart the
moment he had a chance.
    Distance from Tomas was good. I would
have time to decide what was best for him and me. Please, gods, let
me find an answer.
    As I had lain beside him in the
earthen tomb, I’d wrapped my arms around him and wallowed, slipped
deeper into despair until my heart had called for its other half.
My heart, despite its anguish, had told me what to do and who could
help me. And he had been there waiting for me when I crawled out.
Breandan’s touch was as soothing as the sun’s virgin light on my
skin. He had held me in his arms – when I would let him – and let
me wander around the fairy Wyld when I had needed space to
move.
    In my heart, I knew who was right for
me despite the fact I craved the love of another.
    Crouching, I rested my temple on a
root and dragged my fingers, tipped with talons, along the bumpy
surface.
    “ I have to go. I know
you’ll follow me when you wake, so be careful. Just … don’t do
anything foolish, okay?” I knew Tomas couldn’t hear me, but saying
the words out loud made me feel better. “I will help you, Tomas.
Give me time and I’ll find away to help you and your
Nest.”
    Breandan came up behind me and pressed
his legs into my back. “We must go if we are to have any chance of
catching Devlin.”
    Standing, I patted the tomb once
before turning my back on it. “Conall?”
    “ I am here, little
sister.”
    My brother stepped into the clearing,
geared up and ready. He glowed, brighter than any other I had