The Banshee's Embrace Read Online Free

her.
                  "I'm sorry," she whimpered. "I'm just worn out I guess. And drunk."
                  "You're fine," he said. "Everything will be okay."
                  "No. You don't understand. Something's wrong with me."
                  "Jacqueline, I promise that there is nothing wrong with you."
                  "You don't get it, Toby. I'm weird. I do odd things, things I can't control."
                  "That's just part of the change," he said, patting her back. "Eventually, it won't be so bad."
                  "What change?" She looked up at him, confused.
                  Oh hell. Was it his place to tell her what was going on? Ever since the damn Brotherhood had paid him a visit and said to keep an eye on her, he'd worried about how to explain what was happening to Jacqueline. Dreaded it, actually. He wasn't fit to be the guardian that the Brotherhood wanted him to be. Drunks and fighters--that was his specialty. Not women with supernatural powers and emotional problems. He wasn't even sure she was ready to know what she really was.
                  How to back pedal out of this potential disaster?
                  "The change. You know, the change in life." He immediately regretted the words at her look of outrage.
                  "The change in life? Do you think I'm old enough to be going through menopause?" Jacqueline stood up.
                  "Well, you must be pushing at least…forty?" He shrugged, hoping the fire he saw in her eyes wouldn't turn physical.
                  "Forty? You think I'm forty? I'll have you know, asshole," Jacqueline jabbed at his chest. "I am only thirty one."
                  "My mistake."
                  "I think I should be going," she said. "Thanks again for letting me rest for a few minutes."
                  "Anytime."
                  "Forty…." She stomped out the room, swiping at the tears left on her face.
                  He heard her muttering as she walked through the bar and grinned. Well, at least he hadn't needed to explain what was really happening to her. True, telling her that she was going through menopause may not have been the best idea. But hey, crying damsels in distress weren't really his bag either. They were just so…teary. And sad. And needy. Though he had to admit, holding her hadn't been terrible. It had been a long time since he'd done that for any woman.
                  A scream of terror cut through his reverie. Toby ran into the dark bar, already muttering a defensive spell. Jacqueline stood in the center of the room, her gaze fixed on the window. He sucked in his breath at seeing what floated on the other side.
                  It was an old woman, what the old books would have called a hag. Her thin, stringy hair rose and fell in the breeze outside. The skin on her face was weathered and wrinkled, and as he looked closer, Toby could see that some it was rotting. Actual bone peeked out in some places. A green glow illuminated her body which was covered in a torn and tattered black robe.  The hag raised her arms, revealing more twisted and warped skin. Long, black fingernails scratched on the window, sending shivers down his spine. The hag's deep green eyes searched through the pane, looking into the darkness of the bar. Her jaw worked anxiously, opening and closing as if hungry.
                  "Jacqueline, don’t move," Toby whispered.
                  Her body stiffened, but she didn't turn away from the disturbing sight.
                  "Be still. I'll take care of this." Toby moved closer, hoping that his dark black shirt would help cloak him from the hag's powerful gaze.
                  "Toby, what the hell is that?" Her voice shook with fear. "Do you think someone