Free The Spirit Seducer (The Echo Series Book 1) by Alexa Padgett Page A

grass.
    “You’re hurt,” I gestured toward his hands.
    “Nothing new. The cuts will heal. Quicker, once I put some salve on it.”
    “Why did you kill them?”
    He was near enough now that I could see his eyes—deep brown irises that were just a shade from black. Like the expensive chocolate Mom would give me after a particularly bad headache spell—it always helped. His lashes were so long, the golden tips touched his brow above.
    “So they couldn’t report back to Coyote.”
    He pulled his weapon from the ground, checked for any gore, and said a few lines of thanks in old Hisatsinom.
    “Which would be bad because then Coyote would know I was here.”
    He nodded once, looking at me like he wondered if I was one of those people. The slow ones who needed everything spelled out in the simplest of terms.
    Maybe I did. Because this was a world I could barely comprehend.
    “Well, some chick already does. She said she knew where my mom is.”
    “What? Who?”
    I spread out my hands. “I don’t know. Her voice changed, sultry when she spoke of you, and all snowy and cold when she was insulting me.”
    Zeke paused mid-stride. He turned toward me slowly.
    “She had big white eyes,” I squeaked.
    He hefted his spear, his mouth a flat, angry line.
    “But I remembered what you said. Not to leave the yard. So I didn’t go with her.”
    “You shouldn’t have been outside,” Zeke growled.
    Oh, that’s how it was going to be?
    “Look, your girlfriend came to me.” I thumped him in the chest with my finger. Damn, that was hard. I shook my hand. “I was minding my own business.”
    “You have to listen to my directions, Echo.”
    I cleared my throat and met his gaze. “Did you find my mom? If so, then the mean, glowy-eyed woman isn’t important.”
    He closed his eyes, those dark lashes fanning across his cheeks. A pained expression crossed his face as he shook his head. “No, I came back when you called.”
    “Oh.” I was quiet, absorbing the pain his words brought.
    He turned, heading back toward his house. I fell in step next to him, wincing at the pebbles digging into my feet. He snagged my fingers in a fleeting grip.
    “I’m sorry, Echo.”
    I sucked in my lips, pressed them hard between my teeth. I jerked my head in a sharp nod.
    “Where’s Layla?” Zeke asked. “She was supposed to stay with you.”
    “She left. Someone waved at her from the fence line.”
    “You didn’t see who it was?”
    “No. She didn’t tell me either.” Yeah, I felt stupid and useless.
    Zeke’s eyes narrowed as he stared out into the night. Our steps reverberated through the overwhelming silence.
    “I used up all your water,” I blurted.
    “That’s fine. It’ll refill,” he said, his gaze still out on the terrain beyond his fence.
    “Why don’t you have plumbing?”
    “I do. Of a sort. But my place is miles from the nearest town. Masau helped me set up the cistern system. He and I agreed it’s best for me not to need any modern conveniences, especially with my regular demon visitors.”
    We’d once again returned to the fence line. It was a traditional-style coyote fence—thin wooden poles lashed together with metal ties. This one stood about seven feet tall, higher than the one that surrounded my backyard.
    “Um, thanks for the clothes,” I said, using my left hand to sweep down my body.
    “You are very welcome. Up and over.”
    “You don’t have a gate?” I asked.
    A smile flitted across Zeke’s wide mouth. “That’d be a no. I don’t want to make it easier for demons to waltz into my space.”
    He grabbed my waist and hoisted me up so I could capture the top of the wooden posts. I dropped to the other side, wincing as the tiny rocks and sharp, dried plant matter dug into the tender skin of my arch. Running around barefoot was not smart. Zeke dropped down beside me, sliding up from a crouch to his full height with easy grace.
    Light from inside spilled out across the darkness, a beacon of safety