Huntress, Black Dawn, Witchlight Read Online Free

so,” Jez told it softly. She could feel a dangerous smile settling on her face. She reached into her right boot and pulled out the dagger.
    “What did you say?” Claire shouted from the other side of the door.
    “Nothing, Claire. Just getting out my homework.” Jez jumped onto the bed. The ghoul was very big—she needed all the height she could get.
    The ghoul turned to face her, its lackluster bug-eyes on the dagger. It made a little hissing sound around its swollen tongue. Fortunately that was all the noise it could make.
    Claire was rattling the door. “Did you lock this? What are you doing in there?”
    “Just studying, Claire. Go away.” Jez snapped a foot toward the ghoul, catching it under the chin. She needed to stun it and stake it fast. Ghouls weren’t smart, but like the Energizer Bunny they kept going and going. This one could eat the entire Goddard family tonight and still be hungry at dawn.
    The ghoul hit the wall opposite the bed. Jez jumped down, putting herself between it and the boy on the floor.
    “What was that noise ?” Claire yelled.
    “I dropped a book.”
    The ghoul swung. Jez ducked. There were giant blisters on its arms, the brownish color of old blood.
    It rushed her, trying to slam her against the chest of drawers. Jez flung herself backward, but she didn’t have much room tomaneuver. It caught her in the stomach with an elbow, a jarring blow.
    Jez wouldn’t let herself double over. She twisted and helped the ghoul in the direction it was already going, giving it impetus with her foot. It smacked into the window seat, facedown.
    “What is going on in there?”
    “Just looking for something.” Jez moved before the ghoul could recover, jumping to straddle its legs. She grabbed its hair—not a good idea; it came off in clumps in her hand. Kneeling on it to keep it still, she raised the slim bamboo knife high and brought it down hard.
    There was a puncturing sound and a terrible smell. The knife had penetrated just under the shoulder blade, six inches into the heart.
    The ghoul convulsed once and stopped moving.
    Claire’s voice came piercingly from behind the closed door. “Mom! She’s doing something in there!”
    Then Aunt Nan’s voice: “Jez, are you all right?”
    Jez stood, pulling her bamboo dagger out, wiping it on the ghoul’s shirt. “I’m just having a little trouble finding a ruler….” The ghoul was in a perfect position. She put her arms around its waist, ignoring the feeling of skin slipping loose under her fingers, and heaved it up onto the window seat. There weren’t many human girls who could have picked up almost two hundred pounds of dead weight, and even Jez ended up a little breathless. She gave the ghoul a shove, rolling it over until itreached the open window, then she stuffed and maneuvered it out. It fell heavily into a bed of impatiens, squashing the flowers.
    Good. She’d haul it away later tonight and dispose of it.
    Jez caught her breath, brushed off her hands, and closed the window. She drew the curtains shut, then turned. The fair-haired boy was lying perfectly still. Jez touched his back gently, saw that he was breathing.
    The door rattled and Claire’s voice rose hysterically. “Mom, do you smell that smell ?”
    Aunt Nan called, “Jez!”
    “Coming!” Jez glanced around the room. She needed something…there. The bed.
    Grabbing a handful of material near the head of the bed, she flipped comforter, blankets and sheets over so they trailed off the foot, completely covering the boy. She tossed a couple of pillows on top of the pile for good measure, then grabbed a ruler off the desk. Then she opened the door, leaned against the door frame casually, and summoned her brightest smile.
    “Sorry about that,” she said. “What can I do for you?”
    Claire and Aunt Nan just stared at her.
    Claire looked like a rumpled, angry kitten. The fine dark hair that framed her face was ruffled; she was breathing hard, and her almond-shaped eyes were