Mathieu Read Online Free

you’re bound.”
    Mathieu looked at the line of salt. “To what purpose?”
    The blonde man glanced to the woman, who nodded before he answered. “You have power, and you will use that power to serve us. We bind you.”
    “In other words, you are no better than Gadreel. You wish to enslave me and use me for your own devices with not a care for my wishes. This proposition is not enticing in the least.”
    “It’s not a proposition; it’s an order.” The blond man shifted, and his foot brushed the edge of the salt circle, marring the design. Amateur, thought Mathieu absently. “Besides, you’ve already helped us. You’re already on our side.”
    That jarred Mathieu into speech. “Your side? No, I’m not on anyone’s side.”
    “If you aren’t, then why did you kill your master? Why did you help us by destroying Gadreel?” the woman asked.
    As if in response to its former master’s name, the dark power under Mathieu’s skin writhed and tried to reach out for the injured people on the far side of the room. He gritted his teeth and forced it back down, down deep into the depths of his corrupted soul.
    “Speak, spirit,” she prompted him, unaware of the battle waged a few feet from her, unaware of the danger they were all in.
    “I hated it. I hated what it had done to me, and I hated what it had forced me to become. It tore me away from my life and my death and God, and forced me to exist for nothing but its own twisted pleasure. It hurt me.” He paused. “And it was hurting you. I couldn’t let it hurt you. I could never let anything happen to you.”
    She returned his gaze boldly. “That means we have some kind of bond.” She sprinkled more salt on the ground. “On that, I bind you, spirit. I bind you to our purpose and our goals. I bind you to my word, to my will, to my voice. I bind you.”
    For the briefest moment, he was tempted to let it happen just so he could be close to her once again. There would be no free will, no questions, nothing but the sense of belonging. No decisions to be made, just obedience. No fear, no freedom, nothing to hurt him, nothing to feel but what she told him to feel. But the very thought turned his stomach.
    “No.” He touched the burns on his neck. “You cannot and will not bind me. I refuse you, I reject you. I will never be a slave again, not even yours.” As he finished speaking, he leaned forward and ran his fingers across the line of salt, rubbing the grains into the earth.
    Her eyes widened in fear. “You’re not supposed to be able to cross the circle. Marcus…” She glanced up to the blonde man and then back to Mathieu. “You weren’t compelled? At all?”
    Her lower lip quivered as she realized that she’d been played. Oh, so very familiar. “Only by my sense of chivalry and fair play, dear lady.”
    “Jenn.” She let her name pass her lips like a pearl of knowledge. Marcus hissed in dismay.
    “Jenn.” Mathieu smiled as he rolled her name around on his tongue. It was very different than the name he’d once called her, but it seemed to fit the body she wore now. “Jenn. No, what you built could not compel me in any way. Your circle was flawed before it was completed. I am shocked that Gadreel kept to it at all, unless it was just toying with you.” Mathieu half shrugged. “Most likely that, actually. It fed upon pain and fear, and the longer the scene was drawn out, the richer the meal.” He turned his attention to his hands and rubbed at an invisible speck of dirt. “I do thank you, Jenn and Marcus. If you had not called me back, I would be still serving that monster.”
    Jenn leaned forward and whispered intently, “You owe me a debt, then. Come with us.” She spoke slowly, weighing each and every word carefully. “We belong to a group of people—we call it The Foundation—who have devoted their lives for centuries to studying the occult and creatures like that thing, like you. If you come with us, maybe we can help you.”
    “Help