Page 14 of The Book Reader
Settling into the seat, I lean back and close my eyes, growling low when Mark starts to speak. “My lord, isn’t it about time you stopped and found someone other than…”
I hold my hands up at his words. I know what he’s about to say, I’ve been looking for my Rose for a very long time, and he believes she has yet to be reborn. But I have this gut feeling that he’s wrong, and I know that the key to finding her is to track any trace of the book’s magic that I can see.
“Mark, look, I know I’m right. She’s somewhere in this world, and I will find her.” I have to; without her I know I’m not living. Mark reaches across to the seat next to his and passes me a yellow file.
“Then you will want to see this, my lord.”
Frowning, I take it from him. “What is this?” I say as I open the folder to see a photo of what looks like a family at the beach, sitting around a log fire. Below that are details on each person.
Mark clears his throat. “That, my lord, is the record of the last time a surge of power like the book was felt. The first picture isLilly Jay. She was a witch and was killed about sixty years ago by a fire of some kind.” I pick up the picture, and I almost drop it again—those amber eyes.
“The next photo is that of a warlock by the name of Lou Jay. He, from what I can tell, had the same kind of power… But no book has been found yet.” Again, the picture shocks me because he also has the same amber eyes that I look for everywhere I go.
Amber eyes are the only color that belongs to the witches of Westrey. The most powerful the underworld has ever seen.
I place the papers to one side and pick up the photo of a young child, who must be about ten years old.
“Mark? Who is the little girl?”
He grins at me. “My lord, that is Lou’s granddaughter… Arianna Jay. Lou was killed when she was about ten years old. A daemon attack, possibly they were after the book. The details are fuzzy, but we believe that the little girl saw it all.” I nod slowly, the amber eyes of the little girl drawing me in.
“How long ago was this?”
Mark pulls to a stop and turns to look at me. “From what we’ve found, that was about fifteen years ago. Arianna should now be twenty-five, we believe.” I’m still nodding my head when Mark continues, “We have only had surges of powerlikethe book, but nothing that matches it completely. We still can’t find it.”
Which means that she’s not taken possession of it yet. We have time. Could this little girl bemyRose? Could this Arianna be my lost love? The Book Reader?
I look up at Mark. “Where is she now?”
Mark grins at me as he gets out of the car. I frown until my door opens and I realize we’re at a private airport, and my jet is sitting on the tarmac.
“My lord, she’s in Sweetville.”
I pat Mark on the back as I get out of the car. “Are all the arrangements made for us to leave straightaway?”
“That is why we are here, my lord. The flight will be ready to take off in about thirty minutes.”
A thought comes to my mind, and I look up at him and frown. “How long have you had this information?” I ask him, trying to keep the annoyance from my voice.
He shrinks back a little, his voice taking on a nervous tone. “It came in just after I dropped you off at the club. You needed to feed, my lord, which is why I waited to tell you. I did not think you were going to be as long as you were,” he confesses.
I bite back my growl.
“Do not hold back information like this from me again. You have been with me for a long time, and you have been loyal. Which is why you still have your job. But do not mistake my kindness, Iwillkill you.” I know my eyes glow blue in warning, and my markings flash over my body, reminding him of who I am. He shrinks back before bowing his head.
“Yes my lord. Forgive me.”
Without another word, I board the plane and move to the back room. We’re in Elken, a dark and dingy part of topside that’s home to a heavy presence of mafia and gangs at the moment. It will only be a few hours before we land in Sweetville, enough time to shower and read over the files again.
I’m coming, my Rose.
Chapter 7
GAELAN
We’ve arrived in Sweetville.
A tiny Wiccan village in the southern part top-side, this area is filled with witches and warlocks.
