Read Online Released (Eternal Balance) by Jus Accardo - Free Book Online Page A

intent, but at hurting me. It wanted me to pay for what I’d done to Malphi. “In the beginning, it was how he fed me. I preferred the anger, the violence, but Jax resisted. He didn’t want to harm people. Would you like details?” It moved a step closer to her, now just a few inches from her face. “Would you like to know how many there were? What their names are? The sounds they made as he—”
    I get it. You want to make me suffer. But can’t you see what you’re doing to her?
    Sam tried to keep her expression neutral, but the swirling colors above her couldn’t lie.
    At her pain, the demon sobered a little.
    Now that’s interesting.
    If the demon was more than ego and selfish desire—if it cared about someone other than itself—maybe I could find a way to gain the upper hand after all.
    “Were you with no one other than him?” it asked.
    “There was—there was one guy. Just once.”
    “And did you think of him while you were with this one guy?” the demon drawled. I felt it—the bastard genuinely thought he’d make her feel better by continuing. “Because he thought of you. Each and every time he—”
    STOP IT!
    Sam swallowed but kept her expression neutral. “You’re trying to skirt the issue, Azirak ,” she said, her voice soft. “But the truth is, he would stop you. He could .”
    Just for shits and giggles, I pushed for control. Nothing happened, but I could feel the smallest glint of concern from the demon.
    I did it once. You better believe I’ll fucking do it again.
    “He is…extraordinary. I know now that I must be extra vigilant. It will not happen again.”
    Sam wanted to argue. I could see it in her eyes, along with the pain the demon’s confession had caused. But she pushed it all aside, and instead sighed and pulled out the keys to Kelly’s truck. With a flick of her wrist, she said, “You’re leading this little expedition to crazy. What now?”
    “If you saw this girl again, do you think it would be possible to deduce the location of the bar?”
    Sam shrugged. “Who knows? I mean, if she’s not at the bar—assuming this thing works in real-time—then maybe a landmark or something might tell us which of the two it is.”
    Azi rounded the car and slipped into the passenger’s side seat as Sam slid behind the wheel. It dug into my pocket and pulled out the knife it’d used to cut my hand at the cabin. With a quick slice, a new trickle of red oozed from the surface. Without saying a word, it held out my hand to Sam.
    She hesitated. The struggle in her eyes made me hate myself. Sam hadn’t asked for any of this. Her life would never have been affected by the fact that she was a Pure. She would have lived and died and never been the wiser. Instead, I’d come back to town to see my uncle one last time before he died, and carved a path of death and destruction through everyone’s lives—the exact thing I’d left them to avoid.
    Irony was a bitch.
    With a sigh, Sam took my hand. And even though I was stuffed down, pushed to the brink of my own body, I still felt the warmth her skin gave off, still felt the spark that came just from being near her.
    Her eyes fluttered closed, and she inhaled sharply. A second later, a scream split the air.

Chapter Eight
    Sam
    It’s dark and I don’t see the axe swing down until it’s too late. I scream and trip sideways in an attempt to avoid it. Two things happen at once. First, I remember that I’m not really here. I’m just an observer, incorporeal and safe from whatever hell is playing out. And two, the axe doesn’t actually come down.
    A chorus of giggles and a flash of something—probably a camera—and I realize that the weapon is fake. Another flash of light and I catch a glimpse of our mystery girl. At least, I think it’s her. In dark, smeared makeup and a black robe, she’s standing to my right, a few feet ahead—and she has the axe in her hands.
    “This is the lamest thing I’ve ever seen,” another girl says from