Read Counting Shadows (Duplicity) for Free Online Page A

knife.
    “How did you get in—”
    He quickly cuts me off. “No questions. How many times do I have to tell you? If you haven’t already figured out the answer, you don’t deserve to hear it.”
    I look up to the clouded sky and let out a long breath. “Yes, Jackal.”
    He grunts. “Well, what do you know, you
do
remember my name, eh?” A moment of silence passes, and then he hops on the railing, swinging his legs off the side and sitting next to me. He turns and glares, his red eyes boring into me. “Funny, because you don’t seem to remember a single thing I taught you.”
    I think of smiling and trying to pass his words off as a joke. But Jackal sees through my smiles every time, so I just bite at my lip and stare out into the ocean, glowering at the churning waves.
    “You’ve been leaving a trail, Faye,” Jackal says, his voice low. “Sketchy informants, too much money, and badly-concealed trips away from the castle. It’s a bad mix, and you know it.”
    I roll my eyes, turning my head so he doesn’t see. It’s useless. I feel a sharp slap strike the back of my head, and I hold back another yelp.
    I reach up and rub the back of my head ruefully. “That ‘bad mix’ is necessary.”
    “No, it’s not.”
    “Says you.”
    “Yes, says me. The commander of the Iris guard, your mentor, and a Council member.”
    “
Former
commander,
former
mentor,
former
Council member.”
    Another slap hits my head. I glare at him, looking straight at him for the first time in months.
    Jackal is one of the few Vampire-human hybrids in the world, and an unusual mix of lithe muscle and broad shoulders. His face is perpetually turned down into a bored expression, but his eyes tell the real story: They constantly flit around, assessing his surroundings, searching for danger.
    Years ago, Jackal was the royal bodyguard—or Guardian—for one of my aunts. Like most Guardians, he fell in love with his charge, only to have her ripped away when she was assassinated. Since then, Jackal has devoted his life to the Iris Guard, where he eventually became the commander of the mercenary Vampires.
    It’s not good news for most people. Everyone and everything is a threat, in Jackal’s mind. Most demon hybrids go crazy sometime in their life, and Jackal is no exception. After he publicly threatened to gut Jolik a few months ago, Father decided that his craziness had gone too far, and banned him from the castle and his duties as the Iris Guard commander.
    “That hurt,” I complain, going back to rubbing my head.
    “That was the point.”
    I sigh. “What are you doing here, Jackal?”
    His gaze flicks around, searching the balcony for other ears. When he finds no one, he looks me straight in the eye. “You’re in danger, Faye. Someone has noticed you. They’ll be coming for you soon.”
    I bite my lip and take a deep breath, quelling the anxiety rising in my chest. This sounds like one of Jackal’s usual delusions: Mysterious, dangerous people coming after someone. Frightening, but not actually harmful to anyone.
    “Okay,” I say, keeping my voice serious. “I’ll be careful.”
    He reaches out and grabs my arm in a vice-like grip. “Don’t brush me off like that, Faye.
Listen to me.
” He shakes me a little to hammer the words home, and I grip the railing tighter. “Someone is after you. You
need
to be on alert.”
    I grit my teeth. “Who is this someone, Jackal?”
    “I don’t know his name.”
    “Then what does he look like?”
    “I don’t know that, either.”
    I rip my arm out of his grasp. “Look, Jackal, I appreciate the warning. But I don’t think I have much to worry about.”
    His hand whips out and grabs my throat. He doesn’t squeeze, but just keeps his fingers clenched around my delicate skin. “You’re not
listening
.”
    “Let go of me, Jackal.”
    He grips a little tighter. “Faye, you—”
    “Jackal!”
    Farren’s voice cuts into our conversation. Jackal curses and whirls around. Farren