Alive at Sunset (Rituals of the Night Series Book 2) Read Free

was risky with the ear shattering scream, but he reached out and grasped the item, trying desperately to see if whatever it was (person or object) could help him.
    Pain shot up his arm, and he found that the harder he tried to pull his hand away, the more attached to the item it was. It was nearly paralyzing, struggling between life and death, knowing he needed to stay conscious, but not sure how much longer he could do so. The pain was everywhere at once, alerting him to places in his body that he wasn’t even sure had existed before that moment.
    The pain flooded in his veins (his chest pain long forgotten), and he struggled to stay awake. Every heartbeat made the pain excruciating. Every minute seemed to drag into eternity as the slow torture took over him. He could feel it in his bones, his tendons, his muscles…even his blood seemed to be rioting with the feeling. It was the worst torture someone could endure. He almost wished it would kill him. The logic in his brain knew that there was no plausible explanation for why he felt so bad.
    The heavy white haze around him slowly began to recede, but he didn’t notice it. The pain was immense enough to send him into temporary shock. He wondered when it was going to kill him or if he would suffer for a while longer first. He was growing weaker and weaker, the life being drained from him. 
    When he was about to give in and let the place take the last of his life away, the pain and the fog vanished all at once as if it had been a staged performance. Finally, he could see his surroundings. See the strange place that he had somehow ended up inside.
    Beneath the haze, the sky was black. The ice disappeared from the grass as it melted, and the shrunken blades suddenly grew luscious and long.  He realized that beneath his hand he clutched a bone with a heavy, beautiful, long-stemmed rose wrapped around it. He knew that without seeing it. Suddenly, everything made sense to him.
    He had known that place all along. He had spent hours of his time there every day. He could navigate it with precision and ease. He knew everything.
    With the haze gone, he knew who he was once again.
     
     
     

                                          Chapter Three
     
    A manda sat down across from Luna after she distributed the food from the wide black tray. Luna sipped at the ice tea and was surprised by the sweet taste of it. She had expected a much more bitter taste for a restaurant drink. Amanda was eating her salad, picking at it tentatively with her white plastic fork.
    Luna glanced past her friend to the busy street beyond. She narrowed her eyes against the sun’s glare. It was a nice spring day. Flashes of light from the metal cars were the only regrets. Luna picked up her plastic fork and took another tentative bite of her salad. The flavor wasn’t as good as her tea. She pushed a few pieces of lettuce around the plastic container, picking a moment for her next bite.
    “The food’s pretty good,” Amanda remarked.
    Luna nodded.
    “I’m thinkin’ that I might make this a regular spot after all,” Amanda said, nearly giddy as she took another bite of her salad.
    “I just can’t wait to relax at the apartment and not the college. I feel like I lived on campus all semester.” Luna sighed. “I hardly remember what color my walls are.”
    “That must’ve been tough,” Amanda said. “I don’t know how you do it.”
    Luna nodded. Her friend had had two less classes than her. She didn’t know the meaning of living out of home since she still at least had time to sleep. Amanda went back to picking at her food, and Luna closed her eyes, feeling the warmth of the sun sink into her skin.
    The restaurant they were at was new. It was a cute café with tables both inside and out. Luna enjoyed the feeling of the breeze on her skin, glad to be outside for a change.
    “How do you think you did on your final?” Luna asked.
    “I did okay, I think. I bet