Read Online Jericho Junction by Marie Harte - Free Book Online Page B

to the next tower and held tight to the girder. She was here; he could feel her cloying presence. He cocked his head and listened. Movement directly below. He hopped down onto the joints holding the beams together and resisted his urge to squawk in disgust. Pieces of bone stuck out from the wood. A true house of horror.
    From far below, he heard her voice. He couldn’t see much past the floor below him, just a few pieces of furniture. So he eased out into the air again and floated down to the next landing. He stood on a stone ledge and peered inside. There. Serena paced over the cobbled floor, having a long conversation with several undead humans and two athmae. Or at least men that looked athmae. They were both black and had white hair, despite the daylight hours.
    “I want him dead. But not before he watches me bleed out his brother.” She squeezed a fist, and droplets of blood trailed on the ground behind her. From each drop, another hound grew.
    Nasty fuckers.
    “Yes, my queen.” The athmae bowed. “The price of a beloved’s passing is a hard one to bear.”
    “Price my ass. That bitch deserved to die. But I should have been the one doing the killing.” The contrast of such an innocent-looking face and evil intent was strangely fascinating. “All her power seeped back into the earth instead of into me. She was my sister, my blood. Mine.” She turned and wiped a stray tear from her eye, her gaze fierce.
    Jericho wanted to call her cold, but he could feel the swell of her despair. Though Serena was evil to the core, some part of her had actually cared for her sister.
    The athmae with her bowed their heads.
    The taller of the two spoke. “Well do we know the price of power. We serve, great lady, for that very reason. To learn from you, that you might help us defeat our enemies.”
    “Yes, yes. I know all that.” She waved a hand, dismissing them. “Your king and that nasty little mage. Master Fel. I’m more interested in making Fenris scream while Anson watches. Tomorrow we’ll strike. At twilight, when my power will be at its strongest. Bring the prince and Anson to me, then we’ll march on their Great Forest and raze it to the ground.” Her gaze narrowed. “You know, killing two werewolves and the sorcerers with him will fill me up. Enough to help you with your king right away, if you like.”
    “It will be an honour.”
    She smiled prettily. “How much of an honour?”
    She lifted her skirt, and the athmae bowed before her. One knelt and shoved his face into her pussy while the other moved behind her and tugged at his trousers. He shifted and bunched her skirt up around her waist. And then he bit her hard on her shoulder.
    Jericho knew what came next, and he didn’t want to watch any longer. He had until twilight tomorrow. The sun had already set behind him. It didn’t leave him and his mates—companions, he thought to ease the stress—much time to work. But they’d make do. They had to.

Chapter Seven
    Jericho returned, still basking in the rush of the air over his body. Such intensity, such sheer power as he rode the currents in the sky. His eyesight sharpened and he spotted Seino and Anya by a small fire. Anya looked asleep while Seino paced back and forth. Interesting. In the short span of time Jericho had known him, he’d rarely seen the Kin jittery.
    He landed by Anya and released the form of the bird. His limbs felt heavy and his heart thundered as he balanced on human legs once more.
    “Damn. That was fun.” He’d taken the straightest route home, though he’d still circled high above a few foxes and rabbits. The thought of sinking his claws in and jerking prey from the ground had appealed to him more than he’d liked. Hell, his buddy Gibson was a fox. What if he accidentally tagged a friend for dinner?
    “Where were you?” Seino asked, his voice cold.
    “I was up there.” He jerked a thumb at the sky. “As ordered by you—Lord Demanding.”
    Seino didn’t smile. “You