Read Online House of Slide Hybrid by Juliann Whicker - Free Book Online
Authors: Juliann Whicker
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that I managed to hear in spite of the fact that my scream still hurtled through the night.
I gasped, ready to scream again as I turned to find a figure wrapped in darkness beside me on the seat. I sat with my mouth hanging open as I stared at the shadow that had materialized out of thin air, the shadow that smelled rich, dark and deep, like autumn, like death, like everything I’d craved when I had Lewis’ Hotblood soul. I wasn’t sure if I should keep screaming, or give up since the creature had apparently found a way past Satan’s runes and there was nothing I could do to stop it from whatever the Nether thing was going to do.
“Don’t stop on my account, by all means. You’re certainly not safer with me in this car.”
I scowled at him, disliking his tone, the way his words were condescending. “I know that being with you is not safer. What are you doing here?” I demanded, glad I’d gone from hysterical screaming to speaking almost rationally. My heart still pounded in my chest but hopefully he didn’t notice. “And what is that?” I asked, pointing out at the creature where it sat, jaws extended hovering just above the glass.
He said a word that I didn’t understand, something full of hisses and rumbles that were familiar to me, taking me back to the woods when I’d first seen the creature and it had spoken in that language with my father.
“Oh, that’s helpful,” I muttered.
“I don’t know why you’d leap to the assumption that I’m here to be helpful. You just said that you know I am not safe.”
I sighed, finding it impossible to be too freaked out by the monster outside my window when the Nether was so irritating. “I did, didn’t I? What are you doing here, O Creature of the Night? Don’t you have some children to frighten somewhere else?”
“Oh, I think you’re fright is as interesting as any other innocent child’s would be. Speaking of innocence, your soul looks healthy. Good.”
“Why good? What are you doing here? Checking out my soul?” I wasn’t sure if I should be creeped out by that or what.
“Your fright feeds it,” he said, waving a dark hand towards the window where I knew the fangs hung. “If you can calm down, you won’t attract so many interesting creatures. Of course, what would be the fun of that?”
“Isn’t it fun though,” I said through clenched teeth. “Wouldn’t a monster like that be worried that you’d attack it, or is it more powerful than you?”
He was quiet for some time, seeming to study me. I shifted nervously as I tried not to look over my shoulder at the monster. “It considers you to be my prey, and it feeds on your fear if it cannot get your flesh. No doubt it would be glad to have whatever bits of you were left over after I was finished.”
I cringed and closed my eyes, clenching my fists as I tried to ignore the smell of him and the smell that was slowly seeping through the window on the other side of me, the smell of rotting meat and sulfur mixing with the smell of leather and cigars. A thump came from the roof again, but this time I didn’t open my eyes to see if it was a pinecone or something else. I tried to visualize something, a field with a happy pony chasing butterflies, but as it was prancing a monster lunged out of the tall grass and… I opened my eyes and turned to the darkness cloaked creature.
“How can I stop being afraid? Do you have any ideas?”
“I could do something to distract you, but I doubt you’d like it.” His voice was amused, dark. I felt tired suddenly and ridiculously close to tears.
I swallowed hard, trying to keep a grip on my emotions. I was tough, strong, powerful, at least alternative reality me was. I should be using this opportunity to find out something, to dig up clues in my quest to find out why Devlin took my soul.
“Did you know my brother?” It was a good enough place to start, and thinking about my brother should make me angry.
“Your brother, the famous foreteller
I gasped, ready to scream again as I turned to find a figure wrapped in darkness beside me on the seat. I sat with my mouth hanging open as I stared at the shadow that had materialized out of thin air, the shadow that smelled rich, dark and deep, like autumn, like death, like everything I’d craved when I had Lewis’ Hotblood soul. I wasn’t sure if I should keep screaming, or give up since the creature had apparently found a way past Satan’s runes and there was nothing I could do to stop it from whatever the Nether thing was going to do.
“Don’t stop on my account, by all means. You’re certainly not safer with me in this car.”
I scowled at him, disliking his tone, the way his words were condescending. “I know that being with you is not safer. What are you doing here?” I demanded, glad I’d gone from hysterical screaming to speaking almost rationally. My heart still pounded in my chest but hopefully he didn’t notice. “And what is that?” I asked, pointing out at the creature where it sat, jaws extended hovering just above the glass.
He said a word that I didn’t understand, something full of hisses and rumbles that were familiar to me, taking me back to the woods when I’d first seen the creature and it had spoken in that language with my father.
“Oh, that’s helpful,” I muttered.
“I don’t know why you’d leap to the assumption that I’m here to be helpful. You just said that you know I am not safe.”
I sighed, finding it impossible to be too freaked out by the monster outside my window when the Nether was so irritating. “I did, didn’t I? What are you doing here, O Creature of the Night? Don’t you have some children to frighten somewhere else?”
“Oh, I think you’re fright is as interesting as any other innocent child’s would be. Speaking of innocence, your soul looks healthy. Good.”
“Why good? What are you doing here? Checking out my soul?” I wasn’t sure if I should be creeped out by that or what.
“Your fright feeds it,” he said, waving a dark hand towards the window where I knew the fangs hung. “If you can calm down, you won’t attract so many interesting creatures. Of course, what would be the fun of that?”
“Isn’t it fun though,” I said through clenched teeth. “Wouldn’t a monster like that be worried that you’d attack it, or is it more powerful than you?”
He was quiet for some time, seeming to study me. I shifted nervously as I tried not to look over my shoulder at the monster. “It considers you to be my prey, and it feeds on your fear if it cannot get your flesh. No doubt it would be glad to have whatever bits of you were left over after I was finished.”
I cringed and closed my eyes, clenching my fists as I tried to ignore the smell of him and the smell that was slowly seeping through the window on the other side of me, the smell of rotting meat and sulfur mixing with the smell of leather and cigars. A thump came from the roof again, but this time I didn’t open my eyes to see if it was a pinecone or something else. I tried to visualize something, a field with a happy pony chasing butterflies, but as it was prancing a monster lunged out of the tall grass and… I opened my eyes and turned to the darkness cloaked creature.
“How can I stop being afraid? Do you have any ideas?”
“I could do something to distract you, but I doubt you’d like it.” His voice was amused, dark. I felt tired suddenly and ridiculously close to tears.
I swallowed hard, trying to keep a grip on my emotions. I was tough, strong, powerful, at least alternative reality me was. I should be using this opportunity to find out something, to dig up clues in my quest to find out why Devlin took my soul.
“Did you know my brother?” It was a good enough place to start, and thinking about my brother should make me angry.
“Your brother, the famous foreteller
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