Read Online The Devil's Soldier by Rachel McClellan - Free Book Online
Authors: Rachel McClellan
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other side of the room, his gaze locked with a pair of sea-green eyes. He'd know them anywhere.
Eve.
And then, just like that, she was gone. He whirled around, searching everywhere for her. The club was packed with people all dancing in time to a beat that hurt his head. The constant buzzing, moving swarms made him feel like an intruder to an extensive beehive. But at the same time, there was power in this place he could relate to. The whole building reeked of it, yet Lucien saw only humans.
Lucien yanked Charlie out from the swarm of girls, and said loudly, "Eve is here!"
The blood drained from Charlie's face. "Where?"
"At the bar. Let's go." Lucien squeezed his way through the hive until he was spat out where he last saw Eve, but she wasn't there now. "She was just here!"
"Are you sure?"
Lucien thought hard, hoping he hadn't been wrong. "Her hair was black and cut short, but it was her, I swear it."
Charlie pointed at the top of the bar. "You're right. She was here."
Lucien picked up one of the twisted strands of napkin that formed a side wall of a miniature cabin. Definitely Eve. Then it was true. She really was alive. She wasn't a ghost. She wasn't some much-wanted figment of his imagination. She had been in the same room with him. His chest swelled with heavy emotion. It was a feeling he thought he'd never experience again.
"Where did she go?" Charlie asked.
"I don't know. She was here one second and gone the next."
"Did she see you?"
Lucien nodded and searched the crowd. She had to be here somewhere!
"Do you think she's deliberately avoiding you?"
"I don't think so. It looked like she was about to say something just before she disappeared. I think she's in trouble."
"Let's split up," Charlie said. "I'll see what I can pick up, and you go somewhere quiet and try to do that weird connection thing you have with her."
"I told you that wasn't working. Something changed."
"But that was before you saw Eve alive. Maybe you weren't trying hard enough before because a part of you really thought Eve was dead."
Lucien continued to search the crowd. "One way to find out. I'll meet up with you later."
"Stay alert," Charlie said just before Lucien was swallowed up in the hive again.
He pushed his way to the back of the club, away from the DJ and large speakers. Off to his left, he discovered a short hallway and, at the end of it, a door. He turned the knob and glanced within. A custodial closet. He slipped inside next to a bucket and mop and closed the door. The loud music became a dull, repetitive thump that rattled his nerves.
This better work.
Lucien leaned into the wall and closed his eyes. He had seen Eve! Only a few feet had separated them. He smiled, the first real smile since Eve's supposed death. His whole body pulsed with a familiar warmth that only Eve gave him. The warmth in his stomach swirled to sickness when he realized the danger Eve must be in. If Boaz knew she was alive… What was she doing here? And where has she been all of this time?
He inhaled deeply. Find her first, ask questions later.
He concentrated and expanded his mind, focusing only on Eve. On her face, skin the color of an Akoya pearl, her eyes that seemed to know the secret to the universe, her long neck, the way she smiled sometimes for no reason of all. He imagined tracing his fingers up the length of her arm and to the hollow of her neck He imagined his lips against hers.
Suddenly, his consciousness appeared somewhere else. He was in a small room with bare, white walls and tan carpet. Eve was lying in the middle of the room, stretched out on a massage table. Her hands, feet, and neck were tied to the table. Other than being bound, she didn't appear to be hurt.
"Eve?" Lucien went to her, but his hands passed right through her. "Can you hear me?"
Her eyes fluttered open, and she smiled. "You're here, aren't you? Oh, Lucien. I've missed you so much!"
"Eve?"
"You probably have a million questions," she said, obviously not
Eve.
And then, just like that, she was gone. He whirled around, searching everywhere for her. The club was packed with people all dancing in time to a beat that hurt his head. The constant buzzing, moving swarms made him feel like an intruder to an extensive beehive. But at the same time, there was power in this place he could relate to. The whole building reeked of it, yet Lucien saw only humans.
Lucien yanked Charlie out from the swarm of girls, and said loudly, "Eve is here!"
The blood drained from Charlie's face. "Where?"
"At the bar. Let's go." Lucien squeezed his way through the hive until he was spat out where he last saw Eve, but she wasn't there now. "She was just here!"
"Are you sure?"
Lucien thought hard, hoping he hadn't been wrong. "Her hair was black and cut short, but it was her, I swear it."
Charlie pointed at the top of the bar. "You're right. She was here."
Lucien picked up one of the twisted strands of napkin that formed a side wall of a miniature cabin. Definitely Eve. Then it was true. She really was alive. She wasn't a ghost. She wasn't some much-wanted figment of his imagination. She had been in the same room with him. His chest swelled with heavy emotion. It was a feeling he thought he'd never experience again.
"Where did she go?" Charlie asked.
"I don't know. She was here one second and gone the next."
"Did she see you?"
Lucien nodded and searched the crowd. She had to be here somewhere!
"Do you think she's deliberately avoiding you?"
"I don't think so. It looked like she was about to say something just before she disappeared. I think she's in trouble."
"Let's split up," Charlie said. "I'll see what I can pick up, and you go somewhere quiet and try to do that weird connection thing you have with her."
"I told you that wasn't working. Something changed."
"But that was before you saw Eve alive. Maybe you weren't trying hard enough before because a part of you really thought Eve was dead."
Lucien continued to search the crowd. "One way to find out. I'll meet up with you later."
"Stay alert," Charlie said just before Lucien was swallowed up in the hive again.
He pushed his way to the back of the club, away from the DJ and large speakers. Off to his left, he discovered a short hallway and, at the end of it, a door. He turned the knob and glanced within. A custodial closet. He slipped inside next to a bucket and mop and closed the door. The loud music became a dull, repetitive thump that rattled his nerves.
This better work.
Lucien leaned into the wall and closed his eyes. He had seen Eve! Only a few feet had separated them. He smiled, the first real smile since Eve's supposed death. His whole body pulsed with a familiar warmth that only Eve gave him. The warmth in his stomach swirled to sickness when he realized the danger Eve must be in. If Boaz knew she was alive… What was she doing here? And where has she been all of this time?
He inhaled deeply. Find her first, ask questions later.
He concentrated and expanded his mind, focusing only on Eve. On her face, skin the color of an Akoya pearl, her eyes that seemed to know the secret to the universe, her long neck, the way she smiled sometimes for no reason of all. He imagined tracing his fingers up the length of her arm and to the hollow of her neck He imagined his lips against hers.
Suddenly, his consciousness appeared somewhere else. He was in a small room with bare, white walls and tan carpet. Eve was lying in the middle of the room, stretched out on a massage table. Her hands, feet, and neck were tied to the table. Other than being bound, she didn't appear to be hurt.
"Eve?" Lucien went to her, but his hands passed right through her. "Can you hear me?"
Her eyes fluttered open, and she smiled. "You're here, aren't you? Oh, Lucien. I've missed you so much!"
"Eve?"
"You probably have a million questions," she said, obviously not
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