Only You (The Mephisto Covenant Series) Read Free Page B

You know. And after Emilian . . .” I couldn’t possibly be close to anyone, ever. I was dirty. Damaged. And the thought of . . . no. I was absolutely content to be alone. I determinedly slid the lid back on that box and shoved it where it belonged, in the darkest part of my mind. “So, are you going to tell me how you met my sister, and about her kidnapping, and who you really are? Because I’m pretty sure you’re not a regular guy.”
    “What makes you think so?”
    “There’s something about you, a little bit spooky. No offense.”
    “None taken. As soon as we get to your apartment and you get your cat, I’ll tell you everything.”
    Panic returned. “What do you mean, get my cat? Do you think I’m going somewhere with you?”
    “I’ll explain when we get there, and you can dec ide if you want to go, or not.”
    He could explain whatever, but no chance I was going anywhere with him. Especially if it involved seeing my sister. I had to convince him to keep my existence a secret from her. “Just so you know, if you didn’t have her bunny, I wouldn’t be taking you to where I live, and I wouldn’t have told you anything. I don’t ever talk about her with anyone.”
    “How do you know it’s the same bunny?”
    Because I still saw it in my dreams, my little sister’s arms around him while she watched me back away from the orphanage steps, her lip trembling. She cried and tried to follow. I told her I’d be back to get her in the morning, that she just needed to keep the nuns company for a little while, but she knew I lied. She was so smart, even as a tiny child. With tears on her round cheeks, she held her bunny and watched me disappear into the shadows.
    But I didn’t say any of that to Kyros. I simply said, “Viorica’s initials are embroidered inside his ear.”
    We reached my building , and he followed me inside and up seven flights of unsteady stairs without comment. It was past three in the morning, but some of my neighbors were up, loud music coming from behind several of the doors along my hallway, the guy in 742 shouting at his girlfriend, and somewhere, glass broke.
    As soon as I opened the door and stepped inside my very tiny apartment, Olga wound between my legs, meowing her greeting. I picked her up and turned, about to introduce her to Kyros when he reached for my arm. Before I could pull away or tell him to back off, everything went dark and the floor disappeared.
    I sucked in a harsh breath, too stunned to scream.
    Seconds later, my feet were once again on solid ground and light returned. Except I was no longer in my apartment.
    Where was I? How had he brought me here? Confused and angry, I clutched Olga against my chest and stepped back from Kyros. “Holy God, what just happened?” I dashed a look around what appeared to be a circular grand hall. Very grand. My brain registered rosewood and gilt, life-size portraits, and a vast expanse of white marble decorated with an ornate inlaid onyx M, where I now stood. To my left was a grand staircase, to the right, a gigantic door. A domed ceiling soared three floors above me, painted with angels and clouds.
    Kyros was about to say something, but a deep voice from above distracted him. I knew very little English, but I understood two words I’d read in a badly translated Dickens novel: Yorkshire and heather .
    Then a girl spoke and I understood nothing of what she said.
    A couple appeared at the top of the stairs. They caught sight of me and instantly stopped moving, staring at me with shocked expressions. She was blond and beautiful, tall and graceful, and there was something different about her that I noticed immediately. All around her, the atmosphere seemed a tiny bit brighter. It was astonishing and I wondered what would make her body do that. Where was this place? Fairyland? Maybe I’d been hit on the head and was dreaming this. Or maybe I was struck by a car and was now dead on the street, and my spirit was on the other side. But, no,