In the Light of the Moon (Dark War Chronicles) Read Free

When it didn’t work she
rushed to her feet and stumbled over the cold gray floor into the white bathroom.
The cool tile felt good against her skin as she fell in front of the toilet.
She bowed her head just in time for her stomach to empty its contents. Kass
closed her eyes and leaned her head against the freezing porcelain, taking deep
breaths. She tried to recall the night before, but her memory would only pull
up flashes of bloody flesh.
    She opened her eyes and saw the mass of red and stringy peach colored
globs in the bowl and her stomach lurched again. Another kill. She had lost
count of how many times she had murdered for Lucius, but the guilt in her never
seemed to go away like he promised. Kass groaned as she felt the beast push
inside her. The feelings stronger than the night before, making her double over
in an effort to keep it from taking over. After fighting for control her
vomiting turned to painful dry heaves and she wrapped her arms around her
stomach while the pain spiked through her.
    The pounding of her heart still echoed in her head as she pulled
herself together and rose from the floor. Shakes racked her body as the world
turned blurry when she made her way back out of the room. Food and rest would
shake the after effects of the rough night off, but she felt that if her body
rejected the unnatural food it would reject real food right now. A new scent
filled her nose and a figure moved out of the corner of her eyes, causing Kass
to pause. She took a deep breath catching the smell of fast food burgers. Her
stomach rumbled a little.   “Vision
is dodgy, had a rough shift last night.”
    “Sit.”
    Kass looked up and saw just a vague outline that belonged to the
familiar voice. “Mae? Josh’s Mae?” Anger tried to push through her exhaustion
as she leaned against the wall and used it to slide down to the floor. She laid
her head on her knees and waited for her vision to clear.
    “Not anymore.” The regret rang clear in Mae’s voice as she squatted in
front of Kass.
    Kass paused as she realized the faint smell of blood and death now
surrounding the once human woman. “Lucius changed you.” She clenched her fists,
not wanting to deal with another blood sucker.
    “Right before he killed Josh.”
    Grief swept through Kass, her blood ran cold and her breath caught at
the confirmation of the news. A snarl escaped her lips. “You got him killed.”
Her heart dropped as different scenarios passed through her mind on how Josh
died at Lucius’ hand, how Mae led him to his death.
    Mae sighed, “I didn’t plan on getting him killed.”
    She heard the bag crinkle and let out an audible groan.
    “I know you need to eat after you shift, so I brought you food. ” Mae
put the bag next to Kass’ hand so that it brushed against her arm.
    Kass glanced at the bag, her vision able to make out the brown bag and
the shapes of blurry letters now. “I killed again.”
    “You remember?”
    Kass snorted and dug in the bag for a burger. “No, but my stomach
does.” She unwrapped the paper from the sandwich and bit in. Hoping that the
food stayed where it was supposed to, she let the first bite settle for a
moment. “It’s only a matter of time.”
    “Until?”
    “Someone else comes after me.” Kass leaned her head back against the
wall. “Maybe they’ll shoot me on sight this time.”
    Mae leaned back on her hands. “I don’t think Lucius would allow that.
He’s too smart to let someone kill his prized cat.” Bitterness filled Mae’s
voice.
    Kass took another bite. “I’m tired of killing. How long until I lose my
usefulness and he just kills me like he did Josh?” She rolled her shoulders,
trying to ease the tension out of them.
    “How long has it been like this?”
    As her vision started to clear up, Kass studied the woman in front her,
the light reflecting off the brown hair and the black eyes that marked her as a
vampire. Her complexion still held the slight tan from the summer’s sun and