Possession of Souls Read Online Free Page A

for several long moments, reaching to stroke my hair before he finally spoke.  “I wish I could bottle your optimism and sell it to the world.  I’ve never met another person like you.  You’re stronger than anyone I’ve ever known.  I love you more than anything.  You know that, right?”
    “I know,” I replied with a nod.
    He leaned in again to kiss me passionately, and I tried to give in to it, attempting to let him sweep me away so I couldn’t hear the niggling doubts that tickled my mind—doubts that kept trying to remind me I had two opponents here, and they were both powerful demons, hell-bent on destroying things.
    This was going to be difficult.
    I forcibly shoved those thoughts away, putting my arms tightly around Vance, but not feeling like it was enough.  I wrapped one of my legs around his, trying to get closer, and he groaned.  I felt the wave of desire that flashed through him.
    “I want you,” he muttered against my skin.  “I need you,” he amended.
    “I need you too,” I whispered breathlessly against his lips before he reclaimed mine, moving his arm to run it down my side.  I arched my body in response, and another moan escaped him.
    “Well, isn’t this cozy,” Damien’s voice echoed through the space, and it was as if someone had thrown a bucket of ice cold water over both of us.
    I gasped, pushing myself to sit up, and Vance turned abruptly, casting a large fireball out towards Damien.
    Damien didn’t even move, letting it hit him, absorbing the energy completely without so much as a blink.  He lifted his ever present chalice, taking a large drink, his eyes never leaving us.
    “Isn’t it funny how this Awakening thing works?”  He smiled evilly when he lowered the cup.  “You’re absolutely no threat to me at all, son.”
    “I’m not your son,” Vance ground out, flexing his jaw.
    “Oh, but you are!  And that’s the beauty of it all,” Damien said, stepping toward us, and Vance immediately moved to take up a more protective stance over me.  Damien laughed at this.  “She’s stronger than you are now, you know that, right?”
    Vance shook his head.  “No, she’s not.  You’ve bound her powers with a serum.  I can taste it in her blood.”
    “Yes, that’s true, but I can’t kill her … at least not permanently.  You on the other hand …,” he let his voice trail off instead of stating the obvious.
    “Yeah, I know you can kill me, Dad ,” he said with a sneer.  “But know this—as long as there’s breath in my body I’ll do all in my power to defend her.  I don’t care who’s more powerful around here.”
    Damien looked Vance over once, then twice, and I thought I almost saw a flicker of something in his eyes, something like respect, before his mask slid into place again.
    “We’ll see about that,” he answered, lifting his shoulders in a slight shrug before turning to walk away.
    We both watched him warily, worried about his obvious show of nonchalance.
    “Oh,” he called out over his shoulder, like he had forgotten something.  “I thought you both might like to clean up.  There are facilities waiting for you through there.” He waved his hand in a direction beyond the bed, and we both watched in amazement as the stone dissolved away, and a door appeared there.
    We turned to look at each other in surprise before glancing back toward Damien, but he was gone again, having disappeared in those few moments.
    “Where are we?” I asked Vance in a whisper, swallowing at the lump in my throat, though I wasn’t sure why I suddenly felt the need to talk so quietly.  I glanced around, almost afraid the walls had ears.
    “I don’t know,” Vance replied with a slight shake of his head, his eyes darting over every surface.  “But I have a feeling things are not as they seem.”
    “Do you think it’s some type of … glamour?” I asked, searching for the right word.
    “I’m not sure.  Maybe.  But whatever is going on here, he’s