Read Online Claimed by Light by Reese Monroe - Free Book Online Page B

other hand as she passed Halena. It was small. Black.
    A man’s wallet. Halena pried into the girl’s mind and saw images of her sneaking that off the giant demon. A sense of panic and confusion, not to mention a ton of fear, rammed into Halena as well.
    “Whatcha got there, little miss pickpocket?” Halena snatched the wallet.
    “Hey!” Addison’s voice cracked.
    “Relax. I’m not a cop.” She manhandled Addison to the fainting lounge in the small sitting area near the vanity.
    She flopped onto the chair. “I—”
    Halena held up a hand, shushing the miscreant, and opened her mind. No one was approaching from what she could tell, but she still needed to be quick. “Look. I’m a…friend of Slade’s. I’m—”
    Addison jumped up. “Slade? You know my brother?”
    “Quiet!” Halena pointed at the tiny ingrate. “And quiet your mind. You’re giving me a headache.” She held up the wallet. “You’re stealing from your date?”
    Addison’s eyes went wide. “He’s not my date, he’s a— No. I just—”
    The word “demon” screamed through Halena’s mind. Addison knew that jackass out there was a demon? Halena bit her tongue. She needed to find out more about this little pocket picker.
    She flipped open the wallet and found a driver’s license, gym membership card, even the standard credit card plastic. All in Jace Conroy’s name. Boy. This demon really played the part of a human.
    “What are you doing with that loser?”
    “Where’s Slade? Who are you?” Addison planted her fists on her hips.
    Brave little thing standing up to Halena like that, but she had no idea how far in over her head she was. Even if she knew Jace was a demon.
    “Slade asked me to check on you.” More like save you. “Looks like he was smart to do so.”
    “You’re French. Is he still over in France? Why’d he send you to me? Where is he? Is he okay? Why—?”
    Halena held up her hand. “Whoa, whoa, whoa.” She rubbed her throbbing temples. This place was giving her a headache. “First things first. Let’s get out of here.”
    “No way. Give me that.” She reached for the wallet. “I want to see what’s in there.”
    Halena held it out of the girl’s reach. “Please, what are you, like twelve? You have—”
    “I’m sixteen and a half!”
    “Oh, and that half really makes a difference. You’re coming with me. Either on your own volition…” She ducked into Addison’s line of sight. “Or I’ll just make you.”
    The girl froze. “What’s happening?”
    Halena held her gaze a bit longer. “Just making you a little more compliant.”
    “Stop. It’s hurting my brain.” She clutched her temples.
    Well, that was new. No one had ever resisted a trance.
    “What are you?” Halena asked, reaching for Addison’s arm. “You—” A mental vibe tickled the base of Halena’s skull. “Someone’s coming.”
    “How do you know that?”
    “Trust me.” She shoved the wallet in her back pocket and fluffed up her hair. “Just follow my lead, and I’ll get you out of here.”
    “No. I can’t go. I need to find out more information.”
    “Trust me, Jace doesn’t have it. If you want to see your brother again, you’ll do exactly as I say.”
    “Prove you know him.”
    “He has brown eyes and brown hair.”
    “You can get that from a picture.”
    The door swung open, and two women sauntered in. They paused, then hurried toward the stalls, talking about how they had to pee so badly. There were two more on their way.
    “Fine. He calls you Addster.”
    “Oh my God.”
    “There. Now shut up and follow my lead.”
    Addison stepped back and motioned Halena in front of her. “Lead on…”
    “Halena,” she said as she strode through the doorway.
    The hallway outside the women’s room was dark. Too bad Halena didn’t have Theo’s splicing ability. She could mentally reach him and have him take them both back to his compound.
    No. She needed to figure this out on her own.
    Halena reached back,