Read Rising Darkness (A Rylee Adamson Novel, Book 9) for Free Online Page B

he would soon enough. Peta sat on my lap, watching things go by the side window, her tail twitching now and again. We didn’t talk, and when we hit the bumpy, rutted road that led to the castle, his face tightened. Like he’d suddenly sucked on a dozen lemons all at once. My nerves got the better of me and I giggled. “Frank, that is an awful face.”
    “Pam, why are we here? We can’t cross the veil, you know that. And even if we could, the castle is still on fire.” He parked the car and turned the engine off. Pushing his glasses up his nose, and straightening his hair, he seemed to be nervous again.
    I took his hand. “We aren’t going to the castle, just the open plain.”
    “Not a whole lot better of a place since it seems to be where giants hang out.”
    “Blaz killed the last one,” I said.
    He shrugged. “And the last one killed the one before that. There could be another.”
    “I doubt it.” I opened my door and jumped out, then reached back in and grabbed my bag. Fear nipped at me, but I said what I had to say. “If you don’t want to come with me, I understand. I appreciate the ride out here. Come on, Peta.” She leapt out ahead of me and trotted down the path, as if she knew where she was going.
    I shut the door and walked around the front of the car, the headlights blinding me for a minute. Long enough to not see Frank get out of the car too.
    “I’m coming with you, Pam. Wherever you’re going, I’m going.” He grabbed his own bag, flicked off the car lights and shut the door with a slam. The sound echoed in the empty air.
    He grabbed my hand again and led the way into the forest. “When did you get so bold?”
    Frank laughed. “It’s easy. I’m trying to impress you.”
    I blushed, but didn’t let go of his hand, despite the fact we were both sweating and our skin was sticking to one another, neither of us let go.
    The forest was cooler than the city, but not by much. A breeze wafted through the trees, bringing us the scent of green things.
    “Who is this person who can train you? I thought the druids were the only ones left capable? I thought you were like the last witch alive or something like that.” Frank stepped into the imprint of a large foot. I followed him, not worried. It was an old print from months ago, its edges blurred and fuzzy from rain and wind.
    I thought about my answer for a good minute before giving it to him. “Another witch contacted me. Someone who understands what I’m going through.”
    That made Frank stop. “Going through? Who could possibly understand what we’re dealing with?”
    It was my turn to be confused. “Excuse me?”
    Frank gave a short sigh. “Look, who could understand what it is to be either of us, right now? We’ve seen and done things no other teens ever will, and on top of that, both of us are trying to learn how to control our own magic. There isn’t anyone out there who could possibly understand what we’re going through. And if they say they do, I’d call them a liar to their face.”
    We stared at each other, and for just a split second I thought he might be right. I pushed that away, though. “Okay, perhaps that is too much, but my point is, it’s someone who can train me better than Deanna can.”
    He shrugged and tugged me forward so we were walking side by side. “I’m trusting you, Pamela.”
    My heart warmed again and I thought about all the times I’d wanted Rylee to trust me. “Why do you think Rylee didn’t take all of us with her?”
    That seemed to slow him down. “I don’t know. I just know that if she didn’t, there was a reason.”
    “Like maybe she doesn’t trust us,” I snapped, unable to keep the bitterness from my voice.
    “Maybe she had cause to.”
    I sucked in a sharp gasp as if he’d slapped me. “You don’t think she should trust me?”
    “No, no, I meant—”
    I hit him, punching him in the arm as I yanked my fingers from his. “That is an awful thing to say!”
    “I didn’t mean