Read Online Return to Celio by Sasha Cain - Free Book Online

whore.”
    “I...I...”
    Unfortunately, I had no comeback. That scene popped up in my head and words failed me. My face flushed. I looked away. Darrios snickered and started walking again.
    “Guess I'll have to wait and see for myself,” he muttered.
    I gasped at his arrogance, but told myself not to say anything. How dare he assume I would sleep with him? I did not want to argue nor have my words twisted, so I bit my tongue. I kept silent until I heard Darrios say under his breath, “Okay, Burgess...be there buddy.”
    “Who’s Burgess?” I asked.
    “He’s sort of the gatekeeper. He’s the one who lets us in and keeps the monsters out. Bernie introduced us. Burgess is another one who fell in. Bernie saved him too. He showed him around, helped him get settled, and even got him this job.”
    “I guess he really is a fairy godmother,” I said.
    “Apparently, Burgess had some crappy, demeaning freakshow job where he was being totally exploited by his boss before he got here. Now he’s well respected, admired even. People depend on him. He takes that very seriously. He runs a tight ship. We’ve been friends ever since I got here. See there?”
    He pointed up ahead, but I didn’t see anything that stood out.
    “That’s the entrance. Once we get through there, our worries are over!”
    “And you’ll get me to Avascon,” I added.
    Wrinkling his brow, he looked at me and chuckled. “You sure have a one track mind all of a sudden,” he commented.
    “I’m sorry, I’m just anxious to get home.”
    “To Gregg,” Darrios said dryly.
    I did not feel like going another round about Gregg.
    “That should make you happy. Once I’m gone, you can get back to your life,” I reminded him.
    He sighed. “Yeah, you’re right,” he agreed somewhat sardonically. “It’ll be so great to get back to normal.”
    ****
    As we got closer, I could see the spot where Darrios had been pointing. Heavy shrubbery, several lush, thick, leafy vines, and a couple of large rocks formed a natural tunnel. I targeted my sight onto the area between the rocks and the spot we were headed toward.
    Darrios ran past me, hurrying over to what looked like a raised-up manhole cover. He crouched down, opened a small trap door on the side of it and shouted into it. “Burgess, where are you? C’mon, it’s me, Darrios. Open up!”
    I stood behind Darrios waiting for something to happen, but I didn’t know what. The manhole cover made a strange clicking sound. Then it popped open. Darrios turned to me, and then his expression turned from triumphant to terrified in a split second.
    The next thing I knew, I heard that whipping sound again. Then I felt the creature’s breath on the back of my neck. I froze with fear. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t speak, let alone scream.
    Darrios stood only about three feet away, facing me, but that moment, it felt like miles. Barely above a whisper, Darrios said, “Maggie, don’t make any sudden moves. Very, very slowly, start moving toward me.”
    I edged, ever so carefully, toward him, watching his face for any indication of my impending demise. When I had inched about a foot closer, Darrios’ hand shot out, shoving the beast.
    It took a swipe with its clawed hand, catching the back of my neck. White-hot pain seared through me as my flesh was torn away from my body. I finally found my voice.
    I screamed at the same instant Darrios pulled out his knife and plunged it into the viocomen, fatally wounding it. I fell to my knees. My vision blurred. He stabbed the creature two more times and then I heard his panicked voice.
    “Oh God, Maggie, your neck, let me see how bad it is.”
    Darrios dropped down next to me, gently moving my hair out of the way so he could examine my injury. I couldn’t help but notice that his breath on my neck felt much nicer than the viocomen’s.
    He dropped his fur and peeled his shirt off, exposing his perfectly chiseled chest again. He wadded his shirt up, placing it over my