Demon Lord 4: White Jade Reaper Read Online Free

floated up to the ceiling, not stopping there, but ghosting through it like a, well, ghost.  The girl was pulled through.  They vanished, then returned, settling slowly through the air.  The girl bent her legs and jumped on her own.  She went up a wall, through the wall, and into the yoga room.  Hand in hand, Grace went with her.  I tried walking through the wall and found I could do it too, at a cost of a small amount of energy.  Inside the room, Grace and the girl danced, spinning around each other, laughing. 
    I watched them cavort a while, then cleared my throat.  “The girl’s parents will probably come looking for her soon.  Let’s not get mistaken for kidnappers or Persons of Interest, okay?”
    “Okay.”  Grace smiled at the girl.  “You got to be a ballerina.  Study hard and you might make it on your own next time.”
    The girl squealed.  “I will, I will!”
    Grace let go of the girl’s hand.  Nothing seemed to happen, except the girl spun around, looking everywhere.  Her lips moved as she called out, but we couldn’t hear her from the ghost realm.  After a moment, the girl ran from the room with a fantastic tale she might, or might not tell.
    I pulled in my energy, quieting the radiance of my raw magic.  And color returned to the world. 
    Gravity amped up to its normal level.  I was out of the ghost realm.  A moment later, Grace faded in beside me.
    Grace said, “Well, I guess I got my workout.”
    “Good.  I want to hit the road.”
    “I still haven’t said I’m coming.”
    I gave her my cold, dead stare and applied a little emotional blackmail.  “When you needed a diversion, I started a barroom brawl for you in that Texas nightclub, remember?  You’re saying you’re not going to help me out in return?  I thought you were better than that, oh, heroine of love and justice.”
    “It’s just that I have to get Van Helsing’s permission first, and he probably won’t let me go alone.”
    “Who’s alone?  You got that over-grown Chia Pet of yours.”
    “I have a lot of school work, too.  What do you need me for anyway?”
    “I’ve read the PRT file on you.”
    “That’s supposed to be classified.”
    “Well, your mom left a copy laying around in one of her safe houses.  It says you’re an expert on ghostly phenomenon.  I’m great at stomping most supernaturals, but ghosts aren’t really my thing.  And the reports say you can deal with them on their own turf.  Now that I’ve seen exactly what that means, I want you on this Santa Fe job as a consultant even more.”
    “Santa Fe, that’s the desert, right?  Sorry, not interested.  Getting involved with ghosts has never worked out particularly well for me.”
    “You’re a ghost whisperer, right?”
    “More like ghost puncher,” she said.  “I’m more hands-on when it comes to problems.”
    “Did I mention there’s ten-thousand dollars in it for you?  And all the Rice Chex trail mix your monster can eat.”  I, of course, am getting a helluva lot more cash.
    “Tukka?”  Grace looked surprised.  “Where is he?”
    Hearing the sound of broken glass, we ran back to the hallway.  A vending machine had accidentally fallen over.  The glass face had been kicked in, and half the snacks were gone.  Tukka sprawled on the floor as if bludgeoned into submission.  He groaned loudly as we dropped beside him.  He tossed his head, indicating down the hall.  Hurry, thief get away.  Stop … him…  Tukka dropped his head to the carpet, having done his best to alert us to the escaping snack thief.
    Grace glared at him.  “We know it was you, Tukka.  There are crumbs on your face, and other stuff poking out from underneath you.”
    Tukka released a piteous moan.
    I summoned my demon sword.  It materialized in hand.  I raised the blade above my head, poised to bring the edge crashing down so the demon blade could drink his soul.  The blade shimmered with red energy, its hunger roaring through me