Read By the Horns for Free Online

his threats. Not a doubt in his mind, she was headed for the Matchmaker. She’d make it there before him. He glared at the dented phone on the floor. The lump of metal was like his pride. Defeated. He should find another phone, call Sheng, and beg the man to wait until Kassian arrived, but the other Chosen were against him. Not a single one on his side.
    Mei—Monkey’s host—would have been. His heart panged at the reminder of their youngest Chosen who’d been dragged to their enemy’s lair. Sheng’s brother, Delun—the new host of the Dragon—claimed she was fine, but how the hell could he be certain? Two months had passed, and Mei remained a prisoner.
    Not for much longer, though. If the order didn’t come from above to pull her out soon, Kassian would take matters into his own hands. Screw the consequences. He was already in deep shit for crossing the Matchmaker tonight.
    He ran a hand across his jaw. He shouldn’t care about Nat hosting the Snake. After everything she’d put him through, he should leave her to her doomed fate.
    When it came to Natalie, though, he’d long ago abandoned the virtues of sound logic.
    Kassian sighed in resignation as he stuffed his feet into his shoes, careful of the bandage on his left foot, and locked his apartment. He’d clean up the glass later. Nat hadn’t heeded his advice, going above him to get what she sought, but he could still do damage control. If Snake was evil, he’d ensure the spirit didn’t swallow Nat up.
    If any of them could challenge the sly Snake and win, it was the Ox.
    ***
    Kassian arrived at the Matchmaker’s secret hideout and paused at the door. Judging from the muffled sounds inside, everyone had gathered. He lifted his hand to knock, but the door opened.
    The Matchmaker’s glittering eye peered at him through the slit. She didn’t utter a word, regarding him with a raised, thin brow.
    He swallowed hard. By stealing Nat away, he’d directly disobeyed her.
    He blew a breath and raked one hand through his hair. Who the hell knew what nasty punishment she had in mind for him? “I…ah.”
    “You’re just in time.” Her cool, authoritative voice scraped down his spine. He winced. Oh yeah, this would be bad.
    The calmer she acted, the more pissed off she really was.
    The door opened wider, and he peeked inside. Lucy and Nat faced each other. Lucy’s hands rested on Nat’s shoulders. Using her gift of Shèhúnzéi —Spirit Thief—Lucy had the ability to snatch away any of their spirit animals. She could also deposit them into any person she chose.
    It was a hell of a gift, and one they kept under utmost secrecy—hence the private digs in KL instead of the Council Chambers in Penang, Malaysia. Lucy already had enough of a target on her back, what with her uncle being one of the crazy masterminds behind the plan to overthrow the world.
    Lucy tilted her head, and the spirit of the Snake withdrew from her in a vaporous blue mist, swirling and circling around Nat before slipping inside her.
    Her knees buckled. Kassian rushed forward and scooped Nat into his arms. He scanned her face as her eyelids fluttered.
    “Nat?” he called softly, but she didn’t respond.
    “She should sleep it off.” Lucy laid a gentle hand on his arm and smoothed the hair back from Nat’s face. “It’s quite a transformation, but she’ll be fine.” The forced smile Lucy sent his way did nothing to calm the turbulence churning his gut.
    Nat hadn’t been born with the Snake. What would it be like to be given a spirit? Each of the Chosen here had been bestowed theirs by the Jade Emperor at birth. Even Delun, whose Dragon spirit had been stolen from him as a child by Lucy’s father—also a Spirit Thief. The Dragon had been passed around quite a bit. From Lucy’s father to her uncle Xiaodan, then back again when her dad had disagreed with Xiaodan’s plans to overthrow the world. Lucy’s dad had hidden the Dragon inside Lucy, who’d realized its true host was