Read Online Wake of Darkness by Meg Winkler - Free Book Online Page B

it.
    *
    “I’m ready to go,” Sophie told Jim early
the next morning.
     
    She left her dorm room for the last
time, and followed Jim silently back to his truck, looking around nervously.
     
    You’ve got nothing to worry
about, little sis. We’ll take care of you, he told her silently.
     
    She smiled at him, relieved to be
trusted with his thoughts. She let him put his arm around her shoulders, and
was glad for the protective gesture. She was nearly as tall as he was, but he
was easily twice her size, and she felt instantly safe in his presence.
     
    When they walked through the door
of the house just a few minutes later, a further sense of security enveloped
her. All of the tension seemed to melt away from her. Jim chuckled again under
his breath as he walked up the stairs, her bags over his arms, leaving her in
the vast entryway below.
     
    Why does he keep doing that? She thought, watching him ascend the stairs.
     
    Something caught her attention from
out of the corner of her eye and she looked to her right to see Laney, awake
earlier than any teenager had a right to, perched precariously on the arm of
one of the sofas holding her hands up in front of her face. Sophie edged
quietly around the end of the sofa to get a better look at what she was doing. Between
Laney’s hands was a silver spoon, floating in the air.
     
    What the hell?!
     
    “Hi Sophie!” Laney said
immediately, making the spoon spin in mid-air and then letting it fall into her
hand.
     
    Sophie laughed in amazement, which
edged toward hysteria. “That's crazy,” Sophie whispered.
     
    “Oh pah- lease !” Laney
exclaimed. “After everything you’ve heard? And seen ? This freaks you out?” She skipped out of the room, her pretty laugh floating after
her as she went.
     
    Sophie exhaled and gaped after her.
She shook her head. Laney had a point, but she couldn’t help it if she felt
like she’d stepped through the rabbit’s hole yesterday.
     
    Something caught her attention from
the opposite corner. Her eyes darted to where Alexander sat staring at her. He
was seated in one of the many chairs spread about the front room, an anciently
bound book lying lazily across his lap. Her eyes met his and she suddenly
couldn’t breathe. She felt a strange, magnetic-like attraction that seemed to
be emanating from him.  
     
    But unlike what she'd felt the day
before when she'd been close to attacking Dante, this force didn’t compel her
to stop. It didn’t push her back, and it didn’t serve as a warning. It
beckoned. And she wanted to follow it.
     
    You're kidding me, she
thought.
     
    His eyes narrowed at her a bit,
scrutinizing her. He made no move to stand. He simply stared at her with the
penetrating gaze that seemed to see everything.
     
    “Welcome home, Sophie,” Catherina
called from the large stairway.
     
    The greeting wasn’t a warm one; it
was more a statement of fact. It took all of Sophie’s effort to force her eyes
from Alexander’s, but another part of her brain told her that Catherina probably
wanted her to follow her.
     
    Sophie turned slowly, suddenly conscious
of her every move as she walked to Catherina. She could still feel Alexander's
stoic eyes on her back. Catherina’s mouth curved into a small smile. Sophie
shot a quick look back over her shoulder to where Alexander had been sitting. He
was gone.
     
    “I hope you like the room we have
prepared for you,” Catherina said, pulling her attention away from the now
empty room. Sophie wondered if Catherina really cared if she liked the room at
all, or if she was just trying to be cordial.
     
    Catherina frowned at her but didn't
say anything.
     
    It took them a while to climb the
massive staircase together; Catherina moved slower than Sophie was used to
walking. The first floor was comfortable and modern in a generic sort of way,
but the second floor’s rooms were decorated in a varied array of themes.
     
    They passed a room that must have
been Laney's and