SOUL MATES (Angels and Demons Book 3) Read Free Page B

had failed on that account. And it was something that Dylan had held close to her heart all these years despite her role in Joanna’s demise.
    Stiles was glad that Joanna had been capable of that small gift because he could see now how important it was to Dylan.
    Dylan continued down the short hallway that led to the two bedrooms at the back of the house. Stiles knew where she was going…she was going to the same room where Joanna had kept that mysterious box all those years ago. It must still be there, still hiding among Joanna’s things. It would make sense. This thing had powers even he didn’t completely understand. But it was clear that it had called out to Dylan, and it was possible it had something to do with the fact that this house looked as though Joanna had just stepped out moments ago instead of more than forty years ago.
    Stiles stayed back, leaning against the wall at the entrance to the hallway as Dylan made her way toward the bedroom door. She glanced back at him, an uneasy look in her eyes. He nodded, encouraging her to continue. But then, as her hand brushed the doorknob, he felt a sudden uneasiness that forced him forward. He was behind Dylan before she even finished turning the knob, his hand on her hip to urge caution as the door swung inward.
    The room was almost as it was in Dylan’s memories. The bed was still in the same place, the low dresser still near the windows. In fact, it looked much the same as it had the last time Stiles had seen it. The box itself sat on the dresser. It seemed to be vibrating, as though the item inside of it was getting ready to jump out. Dylan walked toward it as though it were calling to her.
    “Dylan,” Stiles cautioned, that sense of uneasiness increasing the closer she got to it.
    The moment her hand touched the top of the box, a dark form appeared behind her. A second later, Stiles’ sword was in his hand, but the blade went through the form as if it was nothing more than a whiff of smoke. It was a dark soul. The only weapon that had proven effective against them was a lasso Dylan had in her armory.
    “Turn around.”
    But Dylan was absorbed in the draw of the box. She ran her hand over the top of it like a lover caressing the face of her intended. She seemed oblivious to everything around her, as though just being near the box had transported her to another dimension.
    The dark soul moved up behind her, little wisps of darkness reaching out to stroke the back of her neck, the curve of her shoulder. Stiles took another swing, hoping at the very least that his presence, that his movements would distract it from its intentions, whatever those might be. But it didn’t.
    “Dylan, please turn around.”
    As she ignored him a second time, desperation began to build inside of Stiles. He was not used to feeling helpless, especially when it came to Dylan. He charged toward her, planning to turn her physically away from that box, but the moment his hand came up against the dark soul, images filled his mind and he knew almost instantly what was happening. And that only made his sense of desperation rise to absolute terror.

Chapter 3
     
    Power. That was what Dylan felt the moment her fingers touched the countertop in the kitchen. She was drawn to it, like a cat to a dish of milk. She needed to be close to it, needed to touch it. It was for her that it existed. She wasn’t sure why she knew that, but she did. She knew it just as she knew she needed to breathe to live.
    The box was beautiful: a small, wooden box with delicate designs along the top and sides. But she barely saw the physical box itself. There was something inside, something that glowed with an otherworldly light that she could see through the molecules that made up the soft wood. So many surreal things had happened to her since she’d learned she was an angel. But this…it was different from anything she knew. It was as though she finally understood who she was and what she was supposed to do.
    As she