Read Online Dark Time by Phaedra M. Weldon - Free Book Online Page B

couldn't see through the windows who was now banging on the front door, until a bull horn cracked through the thrumming.  
    "This is the police! We know you're in there! Come out with your hands up!"  
    The police? Not the Society? Had Inanna triggered some kind of silent alarm to delay me? She hadn't bothered killing me—though I wasn't that sure she could.  
    What the fuck ever—I grabbed the warm soul, cut the fetters that bound it in place—Morgan's blood—released it—
    And collapsed backward.  
    Letting him go and not devouring him was the hardest thing I'd had to fight within myself for a long time. I was starved, robbed of power and strength. Had Inanna taken it? Had she somehow sabotaged me physically just to stop me from going after her?  
    Zoë…please help me…
    I heard my name.  
    Not from the bullhorn outside, but from inside. There in that room. I held my breath and listened again.  
    ….Zoë…
    Yes! It was faint but it held all the resonance of a First Born. I pushed myself up on my elbows and stared at Manuel's body. "Morgan?"  
    There was a rush of relief, kind of like the first cool breeze of Fall at the end of Summer. It cooled my skin and I hadn't realized I'd been sweating until that moment. I also hadn't noticed the blood covering my clothing. Again. Even my arm was scarlet red from my elbow to my hand…
    And in my hand I held…a heart…
    I screamed. Oh man it was the best old fashioned girlie scream I could give as I dropped the heart and scrambled away from it. I made scarlet brushing marks on the carpet as I pressed myself against the desk.  
    Whathefuckwhatthefuckwhatthefuck…
    Please Zoë…you must consume it…to save me…
    I swallowed down bile. "You…you want me to eat Manuel's heart?" My voice had a bit of a shriek to it.  
    A voice outside near the window said, "I heard someone inside!"  
    Eat…the heart? How…when the hell did I tear it out of his chest?!  
    You freed him, Zoë…he's gone. At peace…I will return to the well if you don't consume me.  
    "Consume… you ? You're in the heart?" Oh gross. Gross. Gross. Gross.  
    What is left of me. Please…Inanna must be stopped. I know where the wand is. You have to get to it before she…
    When Morgan didn't finish I sat up and leaned toward the bloody lump on the carpet. It quivered and I hiccuped.  
    This…this was just too much for me. I couldn't do this…not anymore. Oh dear God…what kind of world was I born into? I clasped my bloodied hands over my mouth to stifle a scream, but that didn't help because I could taste the coppery blood on my lips. That was a flavor I never wanted to experience again. Even when Inanna had fed the smell…the metallic tinge of blood…made me nauseous.  
    "Morgan?"  
    They were getting ready to hammer the door down.  
    She didn't answer.  
    Why…why did I have to eat the heart? Why couldn't she just step inside the way Inanna had?  
    Zoë!  
    The sound of Mephistopheles's voice in my head made me jump. He was here? Close by?  
    Zoë…you have to let them in. Is Inanna with you? Is Morgan here? Zoë, we can't sense them.  
    Oh God OH GOD! "Morgan…" I whispered. "I'm scared. I'm so….so scared…"  
    The heart quivered again. Was she so weak she couldn't talk to me anymore? Was it really possible a being as infinitesimal as a First Born could inhabit…a heart?  
    I don't know what possessed me, or why I did it. Maybe it was because I couldn't make up my mind. I crawled quickly to Manuel, closed his staring eyes and pulled what bit of life was left in the cells of his body. As I did I shifted and became the Wraith. I don't think I really needed the added power. I could tap the planes themselves if I wanted too. But I didn't want TC to see…I didn't want anyone to see…
    I stood as the door in the front came crashing in. I spread my wings as I knelt down, my knee pressing the blood into the carpet, and carefully scooped the heart into my hands. By the time I