Detached by Elicia Hyder

Author:Elicia Hyder [Hyder, Elicia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Inkwell & Quill LLC

Chapter Sixteen

“I don’t want to hurt you.”

The deep voice came from the silhouette backing slowly away from my bedside. In the moonlight from the window, I watched the man sit on the chair in the corner. Even in the shadows, his eyes were bright and topaz blue.

Something weighed on my chest. Looking down, I grabbed the handle of the heavy dagger laid between my breasts.

“It’s a shadow blade, one of the only weapons in existence that can kill me. Call it a gesture of goodwill.”

My spirit slowly sat up. “Goodwill exhibited by your choking me out the other day?”

“I didn’t choke you. I simply disrupted the neural transmissions in your cerebral cortex. You fainted.” Balancing his elbows on the armrests, he steepled his fingertips. “I only wanted to talk to you.”

“So talk. Start with a name.”

“You know my name.”

“Orion?”

He nodded.

“Do you want me dead?”

“What?” He sounded genuinely confused.

“It was your fault I was almost creamed by a Tesla.”

“That was an accident.”

“You almost got me killed.”

“Are you dead?”

I scowled.

“Then I didn’t almost do anything.” His eyes darkened. “If I’d wanted you dead, you would be.”

“I’m not afraid of you.”

“You don’t even know who I am. Or what I’m capable of.”

My eyes were still locked on his. “Neither do you.”

Amusement tugged at the corners of his lips. “Good thing we’re on the same side then.”

I relaxed a bit. “How did you make me faint?”

“Every scion has a nerve here.” He pressed two fingers between his clavicles. “It functions like an emergency off switch.” He pointed to my broken alarm clock on the nightstand. “It’s similar to the way I assume you shorted out your clock.”

“So you’ve just been hanging around my condo, waiting to short-circuit my brain?”

“Yes.”

I was surprised by his candor. “Who are you? Or what are you?”

“Human, same as you.”

My brow pinched.

“Well, at least I was human, once upon a time.” He stood and walked to the door, pulling something from his pocket. It was a black glove. He slipped it on and flipped the light switch.

Aside from the unearthly blue eyes, he looked human enough. Dark-brown crew cut, athletic build, strong and scruffy jaw. He wore dark blue jeans and a fitted white T-shirt. “Now I’m a guardian of the Boundary and Imera.”

“OK, but why are you in my bedroom?”

“Because your world is at risk. The hypnox, have you found its origin yet?” he asked.

“I’d hoped you could tell me.”

“Trust me. I wish I knew.”

“I don’t trust you.”

“You don’t have to trust me, but can we talk?”

I looked at my body open-mouth breathing on the bed. “Yes, but let’s go somewhere else. This is creepy.”

Using the glove, he opened my bedroom door. “Let’s go outside. There’s something I want to show you.”

“OK.” I took the dagger, just in case.

He followed me through the living room, and at the sliding-glass door, I reached for the handle. It didn’t move. Orion walked straight through the glass, fighting a smile at me as he went.

I groaned. This is going to take some getting used to.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.