The Man Who Walked in Darkness (Miles Franco #2) (Miles Franco Urban Fantasy) Read Online Free Page A

from the bottle. The expensive liquid splashed out as I upended the bottle over the coin. Silvery Kemia flowed into the grooves I’d carved into the coin. A new chaotic awareness pressed behind my eyes.
    Kemia was a catalyst. Making a Tunnel or a Pin Hole without one was like trying to cook a steak with a candle. But give your prepared circle a dash of the good stuff, and you had yourself a goddamn bonfire.
    I hummed as I ran, more out of habit than anything else, while I matched my thoughts to the chaos fighting for release. Tunneling worked by opening a link between this world and Heaven, a world where the only constant was change, where probability and instability controlled everything.
    I balled up my rage and fear and delivered it to the coin in a blow of energy. Chaos exploded inside my mind for a moment before I walled it off. A black spot appeared in the center of the coin and started expanding.
    Reality shimmered around me as I tapped into the madness of Heaven and let it expand into our world. Each Pin Hole is crafted for a specific purpose. A special delivery of controlled chaos. This one was new, something I’d only worked out a few months ago. It was powerful, and I’d be a wreck when I was done, but it was worth it. I turned the chaos inward and felt it change me into a reflection of what I could have been, had a few things in history been different.
    My ears popped, then I wasn’t me anymore. Still running, I dropped down on all fours, coiled the muscles in my arms and legs, and leaped.
    I reached the second floor fire escape platform in a single bound. Huge, simian hands had replaced mine. They snatched at the rusted iron handrail and swung me up. Animal strength surged through me, fueled by fear and adrenaline.
    Above me, I could feel the other chaos. I gritted my teeth and leaped again and again, platform to platform.
    I hit the ninth floor and wrenched open my bedroom window, nearly taking the thing out of its frame. Light flooded into my room from the living area. The sensation of unreality hit a crescendo.
    “Tania!” I yelled as I dived through the window. A scraping sound came from the other room. I released my Pin Hole, allowing my body to snap back to its normal, scrawny self. I staggered out into the living room.
    Tania sprang to her feet and nearly tripped over the couch as she backpedaled from me. My landlady’s daughter was a teenager, but she cowered like a toddler. Her hands slid quickly behind her back, but not quick enough.
    “The hell you think you’re doing?” I said. “Release the Pin Hole.”
    “But—”
    “Now, kid.”
    She narrowed her eyes and gave me one of her most practiced glares. I wasn’t buying it.
    “Release it,” I growled, “or I swear to God I’ll march you downstairs and tell your mother what you’ve been up to.”
    “You wouldn’t dare.” She took a step toward me, ponytail bouncing behind her. “Mom would crucify you.”
    “Try me.”
    The staring contest lasted nearly a minute. She was a petite thing, dressed in a V-neck T-shirt and a pair of shorts, but I’ll be damned if she didn’t look like a beat cop about to administer some street justice.
    The sensation of chaos wavered. “You’re losing concentration,” I said. “Drop it.”
    Her scowl deepened, and the chaos stabilized for an instant before starting to wobble like a spinning top.
    “Kid,” I said.
    She huffed and hurled something to the ground. A circular piece of wood not much bigger than a bottle cap rolled away along the carpet, leaving a trail of silvery Kemia behind it. A bouquet of wildflowers hit the ground as well, scattering leaves and petals across the floor. An instant later they disappeared, replaced by a scattering of plant seeds.
    “I had it under control until you came barging in,” she said. She put her hands on her narrow hips. “I’m not stupid, you know.”
    “Of course you are.” I picked up the wooden circle and waved it under her nose. “You’re