Read Online Lord of Shadows by Alix Rickloff - Free Book Online Page B

mattress creaking as she rolled over. “He’s got the devil’s own looks and watches you with that possessive midnight stare of his. Have you never sensed desire before?”
    Sabrina squirmed beneath her blankets, her body awake to sensations she couldn’t put a name to. “It’s more than that. He breaches all my barriers. No matter what I do, I can’t keep him out. And twice now, there’s been more. I caught a glimpse of something. A vision. But it vanished so quickly I couldn’t tell you what I saw or if I even really saw it. It was Daigh, but it wasn’t. He was dressed oddly. From another time. Another age. And then tonight—”
    “So you woke me up to tell me you may or may not have seen something or nothing.”
    “Well, when you put it like that . . .”
    “You’re tired, Sabrina. You work too much and sleep too little. It’s no wonder you’re hallucinating. Sleep. You’ll feel better in the morning.”
    Practical, sensible Jane, the gods love her. “And his insistence in thinking he knows me? That he’s met me before?”
    A grumble that had nothing complimentary about it and then another heavy sigh. “He was pulled from the ocean full of seawater and with no pulse. I’d not trust anything he contends.”
    “So you think he’s mistaken?”
    “Have you met him before?”
    “No.”
    “Ever laid eyes on him at all?”
    “I don’t think so.”
    “There. Now sleep. You and I have to be up at dawn. Good night, Sabrina.”
    She lay back, hands behind her head. Stared up into the ceiling, a nagging annoyance tickling the edge of her consciousness before snapping into place. “Of course,” she exclaimed. “His eyes. That was the difference. His eyes were green, not black.”
    “Green, black, or polka dots, go to sleep already,” Jane moaned.
    Teresa’s grouchy voice interrupted from the last bed in the row. “I’ll just be happy when Daigh MacLir leaves, and we can all go back to normal.”
    Sabrina shut her mouth, forcing herself to lie still. Even absent, Daigh played havoc on her senses. What was happening to her? Why was she feeling this way? And why did a return to normal now seem like the last thing she wanted?

Sabrina hitched up her skirts. Hiked her bag higher on her shoulder. Placed one booted foot upon the fallen log. Wobbled, arms swinging out to balance herself.
    Beneath her, the stream churned against its banks, sending a muddy spill of water racing under the log. Upstream, broken tree limbs piled against an exposed root, caught in a growing dam of branches.
    “Aren’t we past these juvenile games?” Jane asked.
    “Enough out of you, Sister Brigh. Being a grown woman does not necessarily equal being a moldy old bore.”
    “Very well. But your grown self is going to end up soaked to the skin if you aren’t careful,” Jane warned.
    “But I’m being careful. And so will you.” She glanced back over her shoulder where Jane stood, arms folded, disapproval stamped upon her freckled features. “Come. You’re not a full sister yet.”
    Tapping her foot, Jane rendered a skeptical grimace.
    “Just.” With surefooted agility, Sabrina picked her wayacross the slick, knobby log. “Like.” Dropped back to the path, sweeping her friend a deep bow. “That.”
    Heaving a long-suffering sigh, Jane stepped onto the log. “You’re completely incorrigible.”
    Sabrina shot her a grin. “That’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me.”
    Rolling her eyes as she bobbled her unsteady way across the log, Jane joined her friend on the path. “It’s getting late.” She darted a nervous glance at the encroaching wood. “I wish you hadn’t taken so long with Mrs. O’Brian. We should have been home by now.”
    Dusk filtered gray and purple through the trees. Drew long shadows in the spaces between. Branches scraped in the rising wind, clouds flattening low and angry across the sky. Rain and the damp, moldy pungency of earth scenting the air.
    “Babies don’t exactly wear