Take Me To Your Reader: An Otherworld Anthology Read Online Free Page B

Take Me To Your Reader: An Otherworld Anthology
Book: Take Me To Your Reader: An Otherworld Anthology Read Online Free
Author: Amy A. Bartol, Tiffany King, Raine Thomas, Tammy Blackwell, Sarah M. Ross, Heather Hildenbrand, Amanda Havard, C.A. Kunz
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doubt where the stone that comprises the house had been quarried.
    SOA stops the truck in front of the slate gray steps that lead to the turret-like entryway. I stare at the two enormous double doors.
    "This is it?" I ask SOA, already knowing the answer.
    " It is."
    " Okay," I exhale the word, "wish me luck."
    " Why?"
    " Never mind," I mutter.
    I unbuckle the seatbelt from around Mattie 's urn next to me. Lifting it in my arms, I hold it close. I feel the heavy coldness of the smooth metal through my t-shirt; it chills my skin. Slowly, I emerge from the car and face the house. It's beautiful and watchful; it studies me. A shiver of fear runs through me as I walk up the stone steps to the imposing carved doors. The wood is textured to resemble the scaly skin of an alligator, while large, cast-iron doorknockers in the shape of trident-wielding Poseidons stare back at me menacingly.
    Fumbling for the black key in my pocket, I push it into the lock. The eyes of Poseidon light up with green fire. In a flash, a green beam infuses me, scanning my entire body. A second later, it extinguishes and one of the doors opens for me to enter.
    "Holy. Freaking. Crap!" I breathe and try to recover.
    " You may come in," Mattie says from inside the house.
    " Mattie!" I squeak his name, stumbling past the threshold beneath the sparkling crystal chandelier in the foyer. I rush into the main room of the house that has a breathtaking view of the lake through an almost seamless wall of windows. I turn in circles looking for him, but he's nowhere.
    I 'm alive for the first time in months only to die again within seconds when he says, "I am not Matteyo Dillinger. I am Source One Alpha." His tone is curious, like he cannot figure out why I keep making the same mistake.
    I nearly choke as my throat squeezes tight. I try to ignore it and ask, "How did you leave the car, So-wah?"
    The windows in the house begin to darken, shutting out the increasingly overcast sky outside. What I thought to be mounted track lighting on the elegant, barrel-vaulted ceiling above turns out to be high-powered laser-like lights that manifest and stitch together a holographic image of Mattie...or in this instance, SOA. His image walks on air toward me as he says, "I maintain security for all of Matteyo's former residences—your residences."
    I can hardly breathe with him in front of me; it 's like looking at a smoky version of my fiancé. His black hair is short in the back with longer bangs in the front, accentuating his masculine jawline. He looks at me with eyes the color of which I've never seen on anyone else; they're midnight blue. His height is exactly that of Mattie's. The top of my head barely reaches his chin.
    I try to touch his strong chest. My fingertips slip through air, and are bathed in SOA 's projected light. To cover my disappointment, I mutter, "You're doing a masterful job of keeping people out of the penthouse. Maybelle & Co. just trashed it."
    SOA smiles at my sarcasm. "I wasn't trying to keep her out. I'm keeping track of her. If I know where she is, I can protect you. Your possessions can be replaced. You cannot."
    " You think she'll try to hurt me?" I ask.
    " The probability is not in your favor. You have what she desires most."
    I clutch Mattie 's urn tighter. "She's not getting any part of him," I promise with a shake of my head.
    " I will protect you, Violet."
    I turn away from SOA and drag my eyes to the view of the lake outside. My stomach clenches. I forget everything as I walk toward the window with Mattie 's urn pressed to my chest. The glass slides open revealing itself to be a door. I glance over my shoulder at SOA.
    " It's automatic," he states by way of an explanation. "It senses your intention."
    Unnerved by the automation embedded in the house, I step outside onto the stone porch. Black clouds hang above the lake, rolling off the peak of a cliff face that shelters the lake on three sides. Mist, like smoke, rises from the black, glassy

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