Sacrificed in Shadow Read Online Free Page A

missing thirty-three-year-old man. No mention of Lucinde.
    “I want to visit a friend,” she said, tossing the newspaper onto the counter.
    “I didn’t see your car pull up.”
    Elise stared at Brick, letting him feel the full weight of her black-irised gaze. His mind crackled with stubbornness and prejudice, bending under the weight of her presence. But he couldn’t win a staring contest with Elise. His eyes dropped first.
    Brick grabbed a map off the stand, unfolding it across the counter. “Lemme see.”
    She tilted her head to study the unfamiliar region. A river ran northeast-southwest, breaking into a fork midway down the county. A town called Northgate was nestled in the junction.
    “We’re here,” he said, pointing at a dot on the north end of the river. “GCSD’s main station’s in Northgate…here. Want the map?”
    “No.”
    “Want churros? Got a deal on ‘em. Three for two dollars.”
    It had been a long time since Elise bothered eating food. “No.” She watched Brick fold the map and return it to the plastic rack. A subtle tremble touched his fingers, and she didn’t think that it had anything to do with sickness. The green haze of fear tinted his mind. “Are you open all night, Brick?”
    He started at the sound of his name. “We close at eleven, and we’re not open on Sundays.”
    So it was one of those towns.
    “Thanks for your help,” she said flatly.
    Brick barely waited for the door to shut behind her before picking up the phone. Elise’s curiosity was piqued. Who was he calling—the sheriff?
    She stood outside the door, back to the window, and listened. Her hearing was excellent. Through the single-paned windows, she could hear Brick moving as clearly as though she stood behind him. Plastic creaked. A finger pounded the rubber numbers on a phone.
    When the ringing cut off, he said, “She’s here. She’s going to Northgate.”
    He hung up without waiting for a response.
    Elise slunk around the back of the gas station, stalking Brick through the grimy windows. He locked the front door first. Then he turned the “open” sign off. And then he stepped into the back room and started playing with something that looked like a security system.
    Through the window, she could see a clock that said it was only nine forty-five.
    “Closing shop early, aren’t you?” Elise said softly.
    She let herself bleed into the darkness. It welcomed her with open arms. No matter where Elise went, no matter how different from her usual home base in Nevada, the night was a familiar companion.
    Her hair bled into the shadows behind her. Her skin faded.
    Elise ghosted along the line of autumn-bare trees, far beyond the last line of gas pumps, and waited for Brick.
    He emerged minutes later.
    Brick hugged a padded manila envelope to his chest. He limped toward the only car in sight—a red Chevy pickup. The fog of fear chased him, sour on the night air.
    Elise met him at the driver’s side door and grabbed his wrist. His sallow face grayed with shock. As far as his dull human senses would know, Elise had appeared from nothingness.
    “Christ!” he gasped.
    She ripped the envelope from his hand and tore it open with her teeth. A plastic VHS tape spilled out. “What are you doing with this?” Elise asked, scooping it off of the ground without releasing him. “Who told you to look out for me?”
    “I don’t know anything, lady,” he said. “All I know is, your picture’s been sent around to gas stations and convenience stores, and—and I don’t know, other local businesses. It was forwarded through email. Lots of people are on the lookout, and there’s a reward for sighting you. I get two grand for this tape.”
    “Where does the tape go?”
    “Jesus, woman—”
    Elise used his wrist to jerk his body forward. His knees buckled. He sank to the pavement in front of her. “Where does the tape go, Brick?”
    “Grove County Sheriff’s Department,” he said.
    Her eyebrows lifted. “Is that who