Lost Girl: Hidden Book One Read Online Free Page B

wasn’t following you. I went home. It was on the news,” he said, his voice low and annoyingly reasonable. “If you don’t let me in I’m going to call an ambulance.”
    “Don’t,” I warned.
    “Then let me in,” he said.
    “You are a pain in the ass,” I said, unlocking the storm door and pushing it open.He followed me inside and closed the door. We walked through the living room, into the kitchen. I reached the kitchen sink and turned around, crossed my arms, looked at him.
    “Let me see,” he said. I swore the floor vibrated with his voice.
    I pointed at my leg. My jeans were soaked in blood, and a hole was on my upper thigh. Another pair of pants, ruined.
    “That doesn’t help. Let me actually see it,” he said, irritation lacing his voice.
    I sighed. “You don’t need to. It’s already closed up.”
    He met my eyes, and I felt a spike of surprise. “You’re telling me you can heal yourself?”
    I looked down, avoiding his eyes. He saw too much. “I can juggle, too. Best circus freak, ever.” Then I looked up at him, waiting for him to leave. He just stood there, watching me.
    I started cleaning up from making my sandwich, just to have something to do.
    “Four women. Not a bad night’s work,” Nain said, leaning against the wall.
    I shrugged. “It’s not enough.”
    “To those four families, it’s everything.”
    “And to all those girls out there who are still lost, it’s nothing,” I said.
    I wondered when he would leave, already. He didn’t seem to be in any hurry. I sighed and walked over to the fridge, grabbed a pitcher and a plate of fruit. I put it all on the table, then grabbed two glasses and set them down as well.
    “You’re here. Might as well take a load off,” I said, sitting down in one of the vinyl-covered chairs.
    He did. “Thanks.” We sat in silence for a bit, sipping iced tea. “I can tell that you want to Hulk-smash me.”
    I sighed. “Yeah. I like my privacy. For obvious reasons. I keep contact with people to a minimum. It’s exhausting to be around others too much, all these thoughts coming at me, feelings surrounding me, and I can’t get away.” I grabbed a strawberry, bit into it. I noticed Nain watching me, and felt something like dread in the pit of my stomach.
    “If you learned to shield yourself…”
    I waved his comment away. “I know. I know. You want me to join your team. What are you, like the Avengers or something?”
    He smiled. It did nothing to comfort me, a show of white teeth, a snarl as much as anything else. “Maybe. I find people like you, like me, who can do things. People who are already trying to use their abilities for good. And we pool our resources and work together. Some of them don’t function well in society, some have nowhere to go, so they live downtown in a loft, with me.”
    “Superhero complex. And I’m the one with something to prove,” I muttered.
    “I don’t have a superhero complex. Look, if you’re good with people, you go into teaching, or nursing, or something. If you’re good with math, you go into engineering or whatever, right? We’re good at other things. Why not use it?”
    “I’m already using it,” I reminded him. “And despite what you seem to think, I’m not in any danger of misusing it.” I leaned forward, resting my elbows on the table, and looked at him. “What are you?”
    I sensed discomfort from him. “What do you mean?”
    “You’re not human.” I didn’t know how I knew it. He looked completely human. He was something different. And I was confused by the way my power responded to him, almost as if it recognized and welcomed his power. It irritated me. A lot.
    “You already knew that,” he reminded me.
    “Right. So, what are you, really?”
    He just stared at me. I met his eyes, held. He shook his head.
    “Well?” I asked.
    “Demon,” he said, voice quiet. Chills went up my spine.
    “A demon.” I looked at the ceiling, took a deep breath. “If you are a demon,