Thorn Read Online Free Page A

had even come to think of himself as Amy’s “guardian demon,” borrowing the term from the nonexistent angelic variety. Thorn would miss how easily he could incite Amy to skip dinner when she saw a thin model on TV, fight with her drunken mother when the reckless woman came home from a night out, stress about the money she’d borrowed from Lexa for her tuition, or cry herself to sleep after a taxing shift at the restaurant job where she slaved away to keep herself afloat. Amy was as predictable as any asinine young girl, and to Thorn, predictable was comfortable.
    Thorn approached her in front of her mirror and moved his lips next to her ear. What should I say? This next whisper would be the first suggestion on the path to her suicide. He knew her so well that an idea came quickly. Yes. The perfect beginning of the end. Thorn opened his mouth to speak.
    “You ugly,” Shenzuul whispered.
    Thorn flinched and backed swiftly across the room. Wearing a faded old suit, Marcus’s associate drifted in the air by Amy’s other ear. He smirked at Thorn as he whispered to her again. “Boys never notice you. Maybe you’d be good for quick fuck but never nothing permanent.”
    No. Not Amy. They can’t take Amy from me. Anger rose inside Thorn.
    But Shenzuul continued. “Look at fat arms. You disgusting. And cruel to poor mother. And too shy, with weird interests. No one ever want you.”
    In spite of the strange accent, the whispered lies weren’t bad. Thorn could have done better, naturally. He eyed Shenzuul defensively as Amy slipped back into her shirt. The fool was short but powerfully built—Thorn was not sure he could take him in a direct fight. Thorn could always call his followers in to help, but at the risk of appearing weak and needy, which he couldn’t afford in his current wounded state. Not to mention that his followers avoided violence against their own kind, as many demons did, lest an accidental murder occur. So Thorn resorted to the same trait he’d relied upon to build his renown over the centuries: his cunning.
    “Lexa is much more attractive than you,” Thorn called across the room. “Maybe if you stay with her, boys will notice you too.” And if I show that you only listen to me, maybe Shenzuul will realize I’m his better.
    Shenzuul countered as Amy grabbed a textbook from her nightstand and plopped onto her bed. “Maybe you be prettier if you slit your wrists.”
    No, not violence. Never violence. She wouldn’t go for that. Shenzuul’s statement didn’t even make sense. It was just brute savagery. Predictably, Amy ignored him and began reading her book.
    A soft rattling came from the kitchen, which Shenzuul took as inspiration. He threw an arrogant grin at Thorn and said to Amy, “Mom in kitchen. You should go to her, tell her ’bout your problems. Maybe she understand.”
    What an idiot. No doubt he’d done some research on Amy and thought she would confront her mom as usual, but the mother was sometimes sober during the afternoon, and thus prone to occasional bouts of sympathy for her daughter. Thorn’s control over their relationship rested partially on the pair never having a chance to honestly express themselves to each other. So to appeal to Amy’s pride, Thorn said, “The only real pain is pain suffered alone.”
    But she did go to her mother, and they did talk, and Shenzuul thus began to pick away at Thorn’s livelihood. Had Shenzuul been just another demon, Thorn would have viciously fought back. But he remembered the sharp intelligence Marcus possessed, and feared a trap. Thorn was still too injured to fight anyway. He decided that his best course of action was to leave Amy be, for now. He would return to reclaim her once his wounds healed. His work on Amy ran deep enough that no important damage could be undone in a mere few days…
    •
    So this is Marcus’s plan , Thorn thought as he drifted down Lowery Boulevard in the heart of the Bankhead slums, toward Magnolia Park.