Read Online Shades of Amber by Morgan Smith - Free Book Online

I took full advantage of the designated 40 miles per
hour.
    I’d spent so long trying
to forget about him, and now he was back? How was I supposed to
process this?
    My keys were still in the
door when my friends dashed onto the porch.
    “ Wow! You guys must have
broken a record somewhere.”
    Amelia groaned from the
physical exertion. “Hey, it sounded like an emergency.”
    “ Oh, it is,” I said as
they followed me to my square dining table.
    Mariah exhaled. “So what’s
up?”
    I zoned out, unable to
resist the memory of our rendezvous in the dark. If Troy knew how
much I still wanted him, he would never leave me alone.
    My shoulders slumped.
“Troy is back and he’s—different.”
    Faith choked on her gum.
“Your Troy?”
    “ Do we know any other
handsome, slightly obsessive guys named Troy?” Mariah asked. “But
Jade, did you hit your head or something? He’s been dead for over a
year.”
    My brain conjures a
scathing retort, but I settle for saying, “My head is fine. He
caught up with me in the library a few weeks ago, then he started
calling me, and today, he ambushed me outside of my
class.”
    Amelia shook her head.
“How is he different, though?”
    “ Troy is really back?”
Faith shook her head. “I thought you were dreaming. I’m sorry,
Jade.”
    “ I didn’t want to believe
it either.” I took a deep breath. “Troy is flesh and bone. I just
don’t think he’s human.”
    Mariah rubbed her
shoulder. “Since when has Troy ever been human? Sexy, yes, but that
boy has fewer morals than—well I’m not sure, but he was never a
saint.”
    “ That’s not nice,” Amelia
hissed.
    “ What the heck? She just
said he’s back, so it’s not like I’m speaking ill of the
dead!”
    “ I want my life back.” I
rolled my eyes. “Now, I kind of wish he was a ghost, at least he
wouldn’t be able to physically come after me.”
    Faith’s usual smile was
nonexistent. “If he’s not a ghost, then what else can he
be?”
    Mariah
shrugged.
    “ I’m afraid to find out.”
Amelia massaged her temples with her fingers. “What can we
do?”
    I stared at the ceiling.
“Faith, aren’t you in a class about urban myths?”
    “ Yeah, but what does that
have to do with anything?”
    “ Have they talked about
things that don’t cast reflections?”
    A charged silence filled
the air.
    Faith paled slightly, so I
gripped the edge of my chair as the other girls leaned
forward.
    When she didn’t speak, I
waved my hand in her face. “What?”
    “ Dear God.” She withdrew
the rosary from her blouse. “If this real, I don’t know what we can
do to protect you.”
    My lips pressed into a
thin line. “The situation is real, but how can I protect myself
when I don’t know what I’m up against.”
    “ He can’t be this. It’s
impossible.” Faith drummed her fingers on the table. “He faked his
death to toy with you or something.”
    “ No. He is stronger,
faster, and scarier. Now spill.”
    “ There was an entire
chapter on Vlad Tepes.”
    “ Dracula?” I rubbed my
forehead. “Come on, Faith. Am I supposed to hang garlic and—I’ve
seen him at school—during the day.”
    “ My professor says it’s
not impossible that vampires exist because most legends start with
reality.”
    There were no words. We
just stared at her until the knocking started.
    Would the day get
any—nope, I would not finish that thought.
    I made my way to the door
as thunder interrupted the fourth knock. Looking out the window, I
turned back to them and shrugged. There was nothing but the dreary
sky. After a few seconds, I headed toward the table, practically
shedding my skin when the pounding started again.
    My fists balled as I
hurried toward it. I jerked the door open, realizing too late that
my only protection was the locked screen.
    Troy stood there in all of
his dark grandeur, looking as dry and crisp as when he accosted me
at the school.
    I looked past him to the
stormy sky. “What do you want?”
    He gripped