Read Online Welcome to the Darkness (Darkness Trilogy) by L. M. Justus - Free Book Online

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    Sarah grabbed the ginormous handbag from the back seat. It drooped heavily and she snagged it on the car mi rror. There was a slight tearing sound as she yanked the bag to her side, but it didn’t fall apart.
    “So, this is it,” she said, joining me on the sidewalk.
    “This is it.”
    “Well, we might as well get this over with.” She marched up the front walk toward the door.
    I caught her by the arm, stopping her in her tracks. She turned to look at me.
    “You don’t have to do this,” I said. “It’s not too late to back out. You could run away. It’s broad daylight, so you’d have a good head start because they can’t come out during the day.”
    Her beautiful green and hazel eyes searched my own. “I’m going in there, with or without you, and I’m going to resolve this once and for all. Of course, I’d prefer to have you with me.”
    I let out a sigh. “All right. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
    I stepped ahead of her to unlock the door and ushered her inside. The main floor was abandoned, as per usual during daylight hours, so we went directly to the stairwell leading downstairs. As we entered the lower hallway, a door opened and Dominic stepped out.
    He sniffed and his gaze moved to Sarah before coming back to rest on me. “You brought the human female. Very good. The Queen awaits you. This way please,” he said, indicating the door at the end of the hall that led into the Queen’s chamber. I wondered if the Queen normally sat around on her throne all day, or if they somehow knew we were coming.
    W e stepped into the large chamber and Sarah took in our surroundings with a look of awe. “Wow,” she breathed.
    The Queen regarded us as we approached. Her usual entourage stood on the stage behind her throne. Sarah and I stopped at the same time, as though we’d choreographed our movements.
    “Greetings,” the Queen said, bowing her head.
    “Hello,” Sarah replied, bowing her head to mirror the Queen’s motion. “I don’t think there’s any reason to beat around the bush, so let’s get right to it. I believe that you’re interested in my ability to read minds, and I thought that maybe we could come to an arrangement that would be mutually beneficial. I don’t see why we can’t discuss things openly, so I’m here, of my free will, to share whatever information I can. I hope that you’ll be willing to do the same.”
    I remained quiet , hoping that the Queen would appreciate Sarah getting right down to business.
    The Queen’s cool gaze rested on Sarah. “Indeed. That would be most desirable. I am certain that we have much to offer one another.” She smiled, which seemed more creepy than reassuring.
    Suddenly, there was a tearing sound and I spun to look at Sarah. She grabbed her handbag, clutching at it to hold it together, but with another loud rip the entire contents crashed to the floor, scattering around us. I sucked in a breath as I watched the can of hairspray roll across the floor, coming to rest against the stage at the Queen’s feet. “Oh, crap,” Sarah said, looking sheepish rather than alarmed like I felt. “They sure don’t make things like they used to,” she muttered, kneeling to gather everything up.
    “Constance,” the Queen barked and snapped her fingers. “Fetch this young woman a new bag for her . . . numerous beauty items.” Constance hurried off to carry out the Queen’s bidding and the Queen leaned over to retrieve the can of hairspray from the floor. She turned it in her hands, regarding it carefully.
    “Do you find this product useful?” the Queen addressed Sarah with seemingly genuine curiosity.
    Sarah stopped scooping up her belongings to answer. “Um . . . yes, it works quite well.”
    “Perhaps I should try it,” the Queen replied, setting the can down on the arm of her throne. “My hair can be so unruly at times.”
    I tried not to look panicked, but not knowing how the can of “hairspray” actually worked, I had no clue