Read Frostbite (Modern Knights Book 1) for Free Online Page B

“Seriously?”
    “Yeah, what about you? You’re clearly not human.”
    I didn’t know how to answer. “As far as I know, yeah, I am. I have been studying magic ever since...”
    “Totally human, absolutely. Nothing to see here, move along.”
    When I didn’t finish, she picked up where I left off. “Since when? I’ve met a few wizards and most of them are as easy to read as anyone else. Fakers and shakers.”
    “Since…you asked me if I ever killed someone. I haven’t. At least I don’t think so. I had this fiancée in college, Sarai. I loved her like crazy. She worked in a bookstore off campus. I must have bought a hundred extra books just as an excuse to see her. It took a while, but she gave in. We had a year together. One wonderful year…and then she was gone. She had spent the night in my apartment. We stayed up late reading spooky stories and munching popcorn. When morning came, she had simply disappeared. I…it changed everything.”
    Duchess rubbed her hand on top of mine. “Let me guess. You spent all your time looking for her instead of going to class. You saw her everywhere, but it was never really her. Losing a love sucks, believe me, I know. But you didn’t kill her. And how did it get you into magic?”
    “Maybe I did kill her. I have trouble remembering that night. And…the door was still chain-locked in the morning. Either she jumped out of a fourth-floor window, walked through a wall, or she never left the apartment.”
    “You ate her. Every last drop.”
    Duchess leaned back and closed her eyes. She tightened her face in an effort of concentration. “I believe you, Colin. I’m going to tell him that you didn’t kill any of his employees. I’m also going to tell him to hire you. If he offers you a job, any job, I suggest you take it.”
    “Is that why he sprung me out of jail? A job offer?”
    Her smile was melancholy. “No. He wanted you free so he could torture and kill you himself. He’s not happy that someone is picking off his employees. And when he’s not happy...” Duchess shuddered all over.

6
    I called home to Uncle James and Aunt Celia that night before going to bed. It was awkward and difficult.
    My sleep was restless for the rest of the night. I blamed it on the soft mattress at the hotel. I had gotten so used to sleeping in the car or under the stars that a real, honest-to-goodness bed gave me bad dreams. Thinking about murder all day might have had something to do with it as well.
    In my mind’s eye, I could see Sarai, curled up into a ball at the end of that hideous paisley couch I had back in college. Her feet were tucked underneath her, her arms wrapped around her knees, her teeth absentmindedly digging into her lower lip. I’m reading a story from the book, that cursed, vile tome I threw into the fire years ago. Every word terrifies her, tantalizes her, the fear and the passion all tangled up together inside of her. Sarai loved to be scared.
    In the dark recesses of that ancient cavern,
    I could hear the mad priest still chanting,
    His deathless voice repeating the forbidden words,
    Fast and frantic, an insane jumble of ranting;
    Yog-Shoggoth Abishai Nostaru Nofar Immi-shoggoth.
    Yog-Shoggoth Abishai Nostaru Nofar Immi-shoggoth.
    Then, she is next to me, her face nuzzled up against mine. She kisses me, her lips seeking deep purchase in mine. Her taste is salty, metallic…bloody from where she bit her lip. She pulls back from me with a mischievous grin. “Blood of a virgin. Better be careful.”
    “You know we could fix that. No mad priest could use you for a sacrifice if you weren’t a virgin.”
    “Mmm. I suppose you’d chant over me as we made love.”
    “Only if you wanted me to.”
    She pulls back into her story-time position. “Finish the story. If I like the way it ends, maybe you’ll get lucky.”
    “Let’s see, where was I …?”
    Yog-Shoggoth Abishai Nostaru Nofar Immi-shoggoth.
    Yog-Shoggoth Abishai Nostaru Nofar Immi-shoggoth.
    Each