Read Online Hades by Alexandra Adornetto - Free Book Online Page A

happened next was a blur. I knew Xavier was
    somehow released from his immobility because I saw him
    sprint ful speed toward me. My arms too became free and I
    tried to wrestle myself off the bike but felt a searing pain in
    my head and realized that Jake was now holding a fistful of
    my hair. He was maneuvering the bike singlehanded. I
    ignored the scalding sensation and struggled harder, but
    my efforts were useless.
    “Gotcha,” he purred. It was the sound of a contented
    predator.
    Jake twisted the throttle hard and I heard the engine roar
    to life like an angry beast. The motorcycle bucked and
    lurched unsteadily forward. “Xavier!” I cried just as he
    reached us. We simultaneously outstretched our hands and
    our fingers nearly met. But Jake violently veered the bike so
    that it slammed into Xavier’s side. I heard a heavy thud as
    the metal slammed into his body. I screamed as Xavier
    was thrown backward and rol ed limply onto the side of the
    road. Then I couldn’t see him anymore. The bike sped past,
    leaving him lying in a cloud of dust. Out of the corner of my
    eye I could see people starting to make their way up to the
    road, attracted by the commotion. I only prayed they’d find
    Xavier in time to help him.
    The bike hurtled up the deserted highway that uncoiled
    before us like a black whip. Jake was driving at such
    breakneck speed that when we rounded a bend we found
    ourselves almost paral el with the ground. Every fiber in my
    body yearned to return to Xavier. My one true love. The light
    of my life. My chest constricted to the point where I couldn’t
    breathe when I thought of him lying motionless in the dust.
    My pain was so al consuming that I hardly cared where
    Jake was taking me to or what horrors awaited. I just
    needed to know that Xavier was okay. I tried not to al ow
    myself to consider the worst although the word dead rang in
    my ears, clear as a church bel . It took me a moment to
    realize that I was crying. My body convulsed with huge,
    wracking sobs, and my eyes burned from the scalding
    tears.
    There was nothing else to do but cal upon the Creator,
    praying, begging, pleading, bargaining—anything to make
    him protect Xavier. I couldn’t have him ripped away from
    me like that. I could survive emotional turmoil; I could
    survive the most intense physical torture. I could survive
    Armageddon and holy fire raining down upon the earth, but I
    could not survive without him. A strange thought entered my
    head: If Jake had kil ed Xavier, Jake would have to pay. I
    didn’t care what divine laws forbade it—I would seek
    retribution for my loss. I was wil ing to pardon any crime, but
    one against Xavier, and so help me, God, Jake would get
    his comeuppance. I wanted to scratch and tear at the body
    in front of me—to punish him for once again infecting my
    life with his black presence. I felt contaminated even being
    near him. I considered flinging my weight to the side and
    trying to topple the bike. I knew that at the speed we were
    traveling, we’d probably both end up smeared across the
    asphalt, but I was desperate.
    Before my thoughts could rage further out of control,
    something happened—something I could never have
    imagined, not even in my most twisted nightmares. It should
    have terrified me; the very idea of it should have knocked
    me into unconsciousness. It was so unfathomable that I felt
    nothing but a sickening feeling that seemed to come from
    my core and spread like poison through my body. The
    highway defied gravity and suddenly reared up in front of
    us. A deep, jagged crack appeared in its center. The
    highway was splitting open. The crack widened like a
    hungry cavernous mouth, waiting to swal ow us up. The
    wind that whipped my face grew warmer and steam rose
    from the broken asphalt. I knew instinctively what it was
    from the feeling of hol ow emptiness that emanated from it.
    We were heading straight toward a gateway to Hel .
    And then it was upon us.
    I screamed