Free Evanescent by Addison Moore Page A

Edinger breezing in like he
owns the place—like he owns me.
    Supervising spirit. More like a rotten
demon. My own personal bitch.
    He’s the part I’m not looking forward to—the
part where I reintroduce Laken to the bastard who shuttles me
around the nethersphere—the demonic leash to which I’m bound and
gagged because my mother gifted him to me a few years back on my
birthday. Although, I may not have to let Laken know about him—in
fact I’d rather not.
    I dive under and swim in his direction. No
use in putting off the inevitable.
    Edinger crouches low as I pop up by the edge
and he clasps onto me by the hair, submerging me under just as I
take a breath.
    I try to free myself from his murderous
charge, but he’s holding me steady just below the waterline.
    Shit!
    I expel a breath as a cough begs to bubble
from my throat. My nose burns with fire as I inhale water like
oxygen.
    Fucking bastard. I latch onto his arm and
yank him in. He cycles over me, and I buoy to the surface, gasping
and coughing.
    Edinger floats to the top with his wool coat
rising up around him like a pair of giant wings.
    “You fucking asshole.” I charge at
him, securing him by the collar and thrashing him against the edge
of the pool. His head gives a satisfying thump, so I arrange for it
to happen again.
    “Excited are we?” His eyes glow an unnatural
shade of yellow. He holds his hand out, and I suction over to him
like a magnet without even trying. He raises his palm as if casting
a spell, and my body lifts right out of the water. I’m pulled
upward above the swimming pool a good twenty feet, and my stomach
bottoms out because I know what’s coming.
    Gravity takes over, and I set in on the
world’s crappiest belly flop. The water slaps against my chest like
fire, and I hit clear to the bottom of the pool before rising to
the surface.
    I glance around for the bastard who
sponsored this bellyache. He’s still in the water with a
shit-eating grin cemented to his face.
    I dive in his direction, stealth like a
seal. From underwater, his body looks unnaturally elongated as if
his feet were touching the floor while his head stays safely above
water. This doesn’t surprise me. A Fem can do whatever the hell it
wants, and God knows Demetri Edinger has done exactly that, time
and time again.
    “What’s the matter, Wesley?” He taunts as I
surface beside him. His dark eyes gleam a wicked smile all their
own. It’s nice to know he’s enjoying the shit out of himself.
“Feeling a little battered and blue? From what I can see, this has
less to do with your physical state and more to do with a matter of
the heart.”
    “What the hell do you want?” I spit just shy
of his face.
    “Lets cut to the chase. What is it that you want?”
    “Laken,” I pant. “I always want Laken,
that’s why you brought her to Ephemeral, isn’t it? Gifting her to
me with a bow? You got her kicked out of Rycroft didn’t you?”
    “Indeed, I’m the sole reason she was kicked
out from somewhere .” He buries a smile into the side of his
cheek.
    “I’m bringing her tomorrow night.” I wipe
the water from my eyes. “I’m going to ask her to bond with me.”
    “A lifetime commitment at such a young age?
Don’t be foolish. You haven’t had the chance to consider your
options. So many pretty girls to choose from. Skyla, for instance,
is a real catch. Rumor has it you’re just her type.” He lowers his
chin as if he’s baiting me. “If I had to guess, I’d say you were
made for one another.”
    I tick my head back. “She’d snatch my balls
off if I tried to put a move on her. Besides, I’ve only got one
girl in mind and that’s Laken.”
    “I see,” he muses. “And does she only have
eyes for you?”
    He’s mocking me. He knows something, and
there’s no way in hell I’m going to ask what.
    “She loves me. I’m sure of it.”
    He shakes his head, slow and sober. “She may
have loved you, she may have had a pure love for you once