Read Online Chosen at Nightfall (A Shadow Falls Novel) by C. C. Hunter - Free Book Online Page B

Felt it from the inside out. And felt it was ready to pounce.
    She saw the front gates of the cemetery. Her heart pounded against her breastbone and if she was running out of steam, Derek surely couldn’t go much farther.
    “Wait!” Derek stopped and reached for her.
    “Why … are we … going to the cemetery?” His breath came out in gulps.
    “I have friends there,” she said.
    “Dead friends,” he said, not happy.
    “Let’s not be choosy right now.”
    He shot a glance at the rusty gates. “We should head to Shadow Falls. We’re close.”
    “We won’t make it,” Kylie said, and something inside her said she was right. Something inside her said the thing that followed them wasn’t playing around. Something inside her said it was Mario. Dear God, she hoped she was wrong.
    She grabbed Derek by the arm and started running again. Unfortunately, they didn’t make the gate before the man made himself visible. Mario—the super-powerful rogue who wanted Kylie dead—stood only a few feet from them. The same rogue who’d hurt Helen, killed Ellie, murdered his own grandson, and didn’t mind taking the life of any innocent being who got in his way.
    The man’s dark eyes shined with nothing but evil. His skin looked aged and leathery, and he wore a dark robe as if he considered himself some sort of royalty.
    Memories of this man sending bolts of lightning through his grandson had Kylie’s fury and protective nature raging full strength in a fraction of a second. Grabbing Derek by the arm, she pushed him behind her.

 
    Chapter Seven
    “We meet again,” Mario said, a hot, dark breeze stirring the bottom of his robe. The sky seemed to grow darker. Even the moon and stars seemed to cringe in his presence.
    “Very unfortunate,” Kylie said, and breathed in. The night air tasted of his wickedness. She felt her blood fizzing in her veins and the sense of danger nearly sucked the oxygen right out of the air.
    Derek shifted behind her and Kylie reached back and caught him, holding him in one spot.
    Protect him. Protect him. The words repeated in her soul like a litany.
    Mario chuckled as if he could read her mind. “Do not worry, child. I want nothing to do with your boy toy. He is in no danger from me.”
    The old man smiled. His teeth—thin and slightly yellowed with age—appeared below his lip. The creepiness of the moment sent a shiver crawling down her backbone.
    “You can calm that protective side of yours down,” Mario said, as if he sensed her defensive side surging to life. “It will do you no good. For you see, the only one I’m after here is you. I mean the weakling no harm.”
    Derek yanked free and went barreling into the freakish old rogue. Kylie took a protective step forward to intervene. Mario turned invisible and Derek crashed to the ground.
    Mario reappeared a few feet away. “How cute,” he mocked. “The little man wants to protect you.”
    Derek didn’t hesitate to go at him again. But, like before, Mario disappeared into thin air and reappeared again a few feet from Derek.
    “Stop it,” Kylie said to Derek.
    He ignored her and stared daggers at Mario. “I’m not the one who’s disappearing, you bastard. Fight me like a man.”
    Mario laughed, and the evilness of his tone raked over Kylie’s nerves like broken glass. “You want me to fight so your girlfriend can protect you. I am no fool, child.”
    As much as she resented it, Mario was right; if he didn’t harm Derek, she couldn’t draw upon her powers to fight him. Fear settled in her gut.
    “Leave,” Kylie insisted, and right then, she saw the spirits gathering at the gates, their mutterings filled with concern for her.
    “Not without you,” Mario demanded, but his confidence seemed slightly lessened when he cut his eyes toward the graveyard gate. Could he sense the spirits, too? He took a step closer to her—or was it just a step away from the graveyard gate?
    She took a step back. In the corner of her eye, she saw