The Spirit Seducer (The Echo Series Book 1) Read Online Free

her protection to both Sotuk and me.”
    “In Sotuk’s absence, Sussistanako has changed her position. And she’s given me permission to use your daughter. As I see fit.” He leaned in, nuzzling into my mom’s hair. “Ah, fear. My favorite perfume. I wonder if you’ll taste as good as you smell.”
    He licked her cheek with provoking slowness. “You do.”
    Revulsion cramped my insides, but his caress galvanized my mother. She drew up all one hundred pounds of her frame. She yanked a thin chain forward, showing Coyote a chunky piece of pottery that looked remarkably like the pendant she’d given to me this morning.
    I’d put it on because she’d asked me to. I’d planned to take it off, but I’d forgotten to after I suggested I move out and she’d gone too quiet, then off-the-charts loud.
    I gripped my necklace in my fist through the thin fabric of my top.
    The piece of clay in my hand grew warm. My mom’s gaze flicked over to me, seeing me holding my pendant. She smiled; a wry twist of her lips as her irises flashed darker. I’d always thought of that color as get-out-of-there-fast-before-she-spews-her-majorly-awesome-temper-all-over-you.
    “As Sotuk’s consort, in his absence, I claim his power,” she announced. Coyote snarled. “With that, I outrank both you and Sussistanako.”
    “No,” he growled. “Even he wouldn’t flaunt our laws.”
    My mother smiled, her teeth flashing with just as much sinister intent as Coyote’s had before. “He did. How do you think I managed to hide her so well?”
    “He wouldn’t weaken himself for you, Almira.”
    “He didn’t because I never would have asked him to. But he lives for his daughter,” my mother said, voice sly. “His beautiful Echo.”
    Coyote lifted his massive hand in front of her, and my mom paused. The winds whipped up, the ethereal bits spun lower, chewing up pieces of grass and flowers. The porch’s large support beams creaked as the winds moved nearer. The warriors bellowed and beat their chests, advancing in a solid line of muscle.
    Mom held up her pendant. I flinched as mine burned my palm. Coyote lurched back for a moment, yowling as though he’d been cut.
    “You will lose. We planned for this since Sotuk learned of his child,” my mother warned.
    I held my breath as Coyote studied her, his sly grin returning and building into an out-and-out leer.
    “I think not.”
    Layla whimpered and gripped me tighter, her nails dug deep into my skin. “Zeke. Get your ass here. Pronto.”

Chapter 3
    T he air around me crackled , like an oncoming thunderstorm. The energy built until my ears popped. The pressure plummeted. The air nearby shimmered like a heat wave. I pressed against Layla, who whispered a thank-you I barely heard.
    A man stepped from a black space. Out of nothing. That wasn’t possible. Somehow, I managed to close my lips and seal in the building hysteria. Nothing that had happened in the past ten minutes was possible. Not one thing.
    At least a foot taller than me, the man was dressed in armor that appeared to be mostly leather, a long sword sheathed at his side, the top of a spear visible over his shoulder. His profile was unyielding, his eyes narrowed under thick, dark brows. His aura was darker than any of the others—a rich ebony.
    My first instinct was to run to him and fling myself into his arms. Arms I knew would wrap tight around my waist. As if he’d done it before.
    But that wasn’t possible. I didn’t hug strangers.
    My head began to pound harder, and my brain nibbled at the edges of itself. This man looked familiar.
    He pulled his spear free—a long, wooden shaft topped with a wicked, dark blade.
    I gasped, my left hand dropping to my roiling stomach, my eyes devouring the weapon. I’d seen it before. Many times. In my dreams.
    “Thank the gods you heard,” Layla whispered. “We need to get Echo out of here.”
    The guy swiftly glanced over at us, his gaze taking in what had to be my pained