Read Online Chasing Shadows by Rebbeca Stoddard - Free Book Online

down with the kitten on the floor after giving it food and water. He was beautiful. Black spots and stripes covered his body, and his belly was white. A short, stubby tail wagged in excitement, and his yellow eyes glowed with happiness. The longer I looked at the cat, the more I saw a shy personality with a strong sense of protection and friendship. Smiling, I realized I knew what his name was going to be. Helios. Tired after a long day, I picked up my new pet and snuggled him to my chest as I crawled under the blankets. He seemed content and went to sleep right away.
    My sleep was dreamless and restful. Helios, my new kitten, woke me up by licking my face. Scratching his ears to applaud his efforts, I stretched and yawned. I was in a lazy mood, so I threw my hair into a messy bun on top of my head and covered my legs in baggy blue sweats. My white T-shirt hung loosely from my torso. I scooped up my cat and headed to Clamora’s office so we could continue yesterday’s talk.
    Clamora’s slender frame sat in the oversized desk chair. Her raven-black hair was pulled into a frazzled ponytail that hung limply at the nape of her neck. A tired look clouded her gorgeous eyes, but she tried to perk up when she noticed I was standing in the doorway. I put Helios onto my lap as I sat down in a chair. Energy called to me, and as I listened carefully, I realized it was Clamora’s. Tilting my head, I listened closely to figure out what it was telling me. The Native American woman sitting in front of me needed rest, and lots of it. She was exhausting her body and her energy to the point of death. Carefully, I reached out with my silver glow and pushed at the energy. It wobbled immediately, then I pushed at it one more time and it fell completely. When I looked up at Clamora, her head was on the desk, eyes closed, mouth open, soft snores escaping her. Sighing, I stood up and walked to the kitchen with an unhappy Helios following at my heels.
    A smoky smell filled my nostrils. I picked up my pace and heard pops and sizzles coming from the kitchen. Rayne was making bacon, eggs, hash browns, and sausage. Futilely, Helios tried jumping on the counter to reach the delicious smell, but his small legs couldn’t make the jump and he clattered to the floor in a flailing heap. He shook himself off and walked figure eights around my legs as if to ask for some food. Some bacon was ready, so I grabbed a piece and gave half to the small Savannah. When Rayne finally turned around, I smiled sheepishly and laughed. Her eyes were glowing with happiness, her hair was a mess, and there were grease stains on the white apron that was wrapped around her tiny waist. She motioned for me to take a seat at the large table. As I sat down, she brought over plates of food and glasses of juice. Smiling, she even gave Helios a small plate of cut-up sausage and bacon. His hungry meow was ferocious, and he immediately dug into the warm meat on his plate. Eventually, when Rayne was satisfied, she took a seat next me and started eating.
    After breakfast I helped her clean up and thanked her for the meal. Rayne was more than happy that I enjoyed it, and that someone was finally around to taste her cooking. When I excused myself, I wandered up to Clamora’s office to see if she was awake. With my first step into her office, I realized it had been a mistake to push her energy to sleep. Her face was furious, and her eyes glared when they landed on me. I could tell she wasn’t really angry, just frustrated that she had lost time. I understood. There never seemed to be enough time in the days anymore. My apologetic smile made her face soften. She knew I had done it for her own good. A white chair seemed to call my name, so I sat with my legs tucked to my hip and waited for her to finish yesterday’s conversation.
    “Thank you. I really needed rest, although I would rather you not do that. I understand you felt it necessary. So thank you, AubrieAnna.” Clamora spoke with