Read Online A Demon's Wrath: Part II (Peachville High Demons) by Sarra Cannon - Free Book Online
Authors: Sarra Cannon
Tags: Horror, Magic, young adult fantasy, witch, sorcery, young adult romance, teen series, Young Adult Paranormal
Ads: Link
Aerden?”
“He’ll be right there by our side,”
she said.
I placed my hand on top of hers, trying to imagine
the life she saw so clearly for us. Was there any hope of it?
Even if we could somehow save my brother and bring
him back here, I knew he wouldn’t be able to live in the city
alongside us, watching our happy lives unfold in front of him. That
was the whole reason he’d left in the first place.
No, if he ever came back, I swore right then and
there that I would tell Lea the truth about the heart stone. I would
do what I should have done right from the beginning. I would do
whatever it took to make her see that the love she deserved had been
right there in front of her all along and that she and Aerden
belonged together.
I stepped out of her embrace.
“It’s late,” I said. “You
should get some rest.”
Disappointment flooded her eyes. She dropped her
hands to her side and looked toward the fire.
“Aren’t you coming to bed?” she
asked.
I followed her gaze and stared into the flames.
She wanted my love for her to burn like that fire, but it never
would. It was cruel to draw her in and push her away like this, over
and over.
It wasn’t fair to her. The future she hoped
for did not exist. Not for me.
Eventually she turned away, disappearing into the
hut we shared at the edge of the village. My heart ached for her, but
it could be no other way.
As time wore on, Lea stopped talking about the
future altogether.
Abandoned
For fifteen years we continued on like this.
Our skills in battle became stronger and more
refined. Our numbers grew as others learned about our work to restore
the villages that had been hit the hardest.
But none of that was enough.
I tried to act patient, but at night after Lea had
fallen asleep, I often stayed up and read through the notes Andros
had taken about the Order of Shadows. I learned everything I could
about them and how their magic worked. I spent a lot of time drawing
pictures of the portal rituals, trying to make sense of what was
happening. I looked for any kind of clue that might show a weakness
or an opportunity to defeat them. I became obsessed.
What was the significance of the circle of black
roses? How were the demons summoned to the portal? Were they marked
and chosen beforehand? Or did the hunter only need to know their name
in order to summon them?
And why was it different when Aerden was taken?
Was he still alive somewhere? Would I ever see him
again?
The questions in my head haunted me at night when
I let them rule my mind. Some nights I felt like my head would split
apart from all the unanswered questions inside. I just wanted to know
the truth. I needed answers.
Answers that weren’t coming fast enough.
We studied the portals, the stones, the roses. We
listened to those who would talk.
But I wanted more.
In my mind, I had started to formulate a plan. If
I could just find the portal Aerden was taken through, maybe I could
go through long enough to find him and bring him home.
Only, finding the specific blue portal he’d
been taken through was harder than it sounded. Some days I felt like
I was going to lose my mind if we didn’t find it soon.
Then, one day when we were rebuilding some of the
houses in Sapuran, we got our first real breakthrough in a decade.
Lea and I were working on the roof of one of the
homes when the commotion began. We exchanged worried glances, then
got down and rushed to the other side of the village where a group of
demons had gathered around Andros and Ourelia.
We pushed through the crowd of worried faces.
“What is it?” I asked.
He looked at me with such intensity, my heart
nearly stopped. “A new portal has been found,” he said.
“What color stones?” I asked, barely
able to breathe.
“Blue.”
“Show me.”
The demon who had found the blue portal took us to
a location deep inside the caves of Muro, carved into the side of the
Black Cliffs. My heart sank when he brought us to the mouth of
“He’ll be right there by our side,”
she said.
I placed my hand on top of hers, trying to imagine
the life she saw so clearly for us. Was there any hope of it?
Even if we could somehow save my brother and bring
him back here, I knew he wouldn’t be able to live in the city
alongside us, watching our happy lives unfold in front of him. That
was the whole reason he’d left in the first place.
No, if he ever came back, I swore right then and
there that I would tell Lea the truth about the heart stone. I would
do what I should have done right from the beginning. I would do
whatever it took to make her see that the love she deserved had been
right there in front of her all along and that she and Aerden
belonged together.
I stepped out of her embrace.
“It’s late,” I said. “You
should get some rest.”
Disappointment flooded her eyes. She dropped her
hands to her side and looked toward the fire.
“Aren’t you coming to bed?” she
asked.
I followed her gaze and stared into the flames.
She wanted my love for her to burn like that fire, but it never
would. It was cruel to draw her in and push her away like this, over
and over.
It wasn’t fair to her. The future she hoped
for did not exist. Not for me.
Eventually she turned away, disappearing into the
hut we shared at the edge of the village. My heart ached for her, but
it could be no other way.
As time wore on, Lea stopped talking about the
future altogether.
Abandoned
For fifteen years we continued on like this.
Our skills in battle became stronger and more
refined. Our numbers grew as others learned about our work to restore
the villages that had been hit the hardest.
But none of that was enough.
I tried to act patient, but at night after Lea had
fallen asleep, I often stayed up and read through the notes Andros
had taken about the Order of Shadows. I learned everything I could
about them and how their magic worked. I spent a lot of time drawing
pictures of the portal rituals, trying to make sense of what was
happening. I looked for any kind of clue that might show a weakness
or an opportunity to defeat them. I became obsessed.
What was the significance of the circle of black
roses? How were the demons summoned to the portal? Were they marked
and chosen beforehand? Or did the hunter only need to know their name
in order to summon them?
And why was it different when Aerden was taken?
Was he still alive somewhere? Would I ever see him
again?
The questions in my head haunted me at night when
I let them rule my mind. Some nights I felt like my head would split
apart from all the unanswered questions inside. I just wanted to know
the truth. I needed answers.
Answers that weren’t coming fast enough.
We studied the portals, the stones, the roses. We
listened to those who would talk.
But I wanted more.
In my mind, I had started to formulate a plan. If
I could just find the portal Aerden was taken through, maybe I could
go through long enough to find him and bring him home.
Only, finding the specific blue portal he’d
been taken through was harder than it sounded. Some days I felt like
I was going to lose my mind if we didn’t find it soon.
Then, one day when we were rebuilding some of the
houses in Sapuran, we got our first real breakthrough in a decade.
Lea and I were working on the roof of one of the
homes when the commotion began. We exchanged worried glances, then
got down and rushed to the other side of the village where a group of
demons had gathered around Andros and Ourelia.
We pushed through the crowd of worried faces.
“What is it?” I asked.
He looked at me with such intensity, my heart
nearly stopped. “A new portal has been found,” he said.
“What color stones?” I asked, barely
able to breathe.
“Blue.”
“Show me.”
The demon who had found the blue portal took us to
a location deep inside the caves of Muro, carved into the side of the
Black Cliffs. My heart sank when he brought us to the mouth of
Similar Books
