Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 83353 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83353 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
“Oh!” she exclaimed and pulled the ragged parts of the dress together. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to, uh, flash you.”
“I’m not offended,” Wraith assured her. “I also want to make something clear—when I accidentally woke you earlier tonight, I wasn’t, er, trying to take advantage of you. I was trying to get a better look at the runes on your forehead.”
“Runes?” Her fingertips went to the burning lines that still glowed just above her eyebrows. “My Aunt Luna said they might be ancient Assyrian.”
“They’re runic symbols and they have the energy of evil,” Wraith said grimly. “The demon that is after you has marked you most powerfully.”
“I wish I could get them off!” She rubbed at her forehead fiercely, but the glowing symbols remained. “He—the Dark Entity—seems to think they’ll make me lust after him.” Her face screwed up in an expression of disgust. “He said they’ll make me beg him to…to take me. And once he does, then he can drag me down to Hell with him—or wherever it is he came from.”
“The Demonic Realms, I imagine,” Wraith said. “It’s one of the Seven Hells.”
“Do you really think the curse he put on me will work, though? I mean it can’t—can it?” She looked up at him pleadingly.
“I don’t know,” Wraith said honestly. “Do you feel any different?”
She made a face.
“I don’t exactly feel, er, ‘amorous’ as my aunt puts it, if that’s what you’re asking. Probably because I was scared to death, but also because that thing is disgusting.”
“Let me look at them again.” Wraith swept her hair aside with one hand and leaned in, getting a good look once more at the glowing symbols. After a moment, he shook his head. “The runes he carved in your flesh are strong ones—they speak of ownership and possession—of lust and hunger and greed to devour.”
Hanna shivered and pressed closer to his side.
“You seem to know a lot about them. Do you know of any way to get rid of them?”
“The demon that put them there must be killed or driven back to the Pit,” Wraith told her. He frowned. “Since they still glow so brightly, I’m afraid it’s clear the creature still lives. I only wounded him.”
“I should have let you go after him,” Hanna said, bowing her head. “I was just so terrified it might come back for me the minute you left.”
“Hey…of course you were frightened. It’s not your fault.” Wraith lifted her chin gently, marveling at how soft her skin was as he did. When Hanna met his eyes he cupped her cheek and swiped at the tear tracks on her face with his thumb. “None of this is your fault.”
“It must be.” She looked away. “Why else would he be after me?”
“You clearly have an extremely powerful gift,” Wraith told her. “Your kin—your Aunt Luna has one as well and you tell me your sister does too. But Hanna, each of them have a single candle—you have a star that’s gone nova inside you! Now that I’m close to you, I can feel it. It’s like a tingling current of energy running through you.”
“Oh, am I, er, shocking you?” She started to move away but Wraith pulled her back gently.
“Even if you were, I wouldn’t want you to leave,” he told her. “But you’re not—it’s just something I can feel. Maybe because I’m a ghost.”
“Well, you’re the most solid looking ghost I’ve ever seen,” Hanna told him. “I’ve never seen a ghost that looked so, well, so alive.”
“I didn’t feel alive until I met you,” Wraith told her. “Do you know how long it’s been since I touched someone? Since I held a beautiful woman in my arms?”
“Oh, er…thank you.” Her cheeks went pink.
“I didn’t mean to embarrass you,” Wraith said. “But you are, you know—beautiful. I hope it doesn’t make you uncomfortable for me to say that but I noticed your beauty when you first came from that shuttle in the Docking Bay.”
“I, uh, noticed you too,” she admitted, looking down at her hands. She glanced up at him for a moment. “Especially your eyes. What kind of Kindred are you?”
“A Hybrid—half Blood Kindred and half Beast.” He grinned briefly, showing the short, sharp fangs that proclaimed the Blood Kindred part of his heritage. “That’s why I have one blue eye and one gold,” he added.
“Oh—I wondered.” She nodded and then yawned.
The yawn seemed to catch her by surprise because she clapped a hand over her mouth and her eyes went wide.
“Oh, I’m so sorry—that was rude! I’m not bored or anything, I’m just suddenly so…so…” She yawned again, hiding it with her hand. “So tired.”
“Of course you are—it’s the middle of the night,” Wraith said reasonably. “You need to sleep.”
“I’m afraid to.” Her lovely eyes went wide. “What…what if he comes back?”
“I don’t think the demon will return tonight,” Wraith assured her. “I wounded him pretty badly. But if it will make you feel better, I’ll stand at the end of your bed with my sword drawn all night, guarding your sleep.”