Free Granite Kiss by Jennifer Cole

said. “ Since we cannot see you, open your mind to Zander and I. It will allow us to see through your eyes, and hear with your ears. ”
    “ Well, that’s a little unsettling, ” she thought back.
    “ Which part? ” Henrick asked.
    “ All of it. ”
    “ Just do it, woman, ” Zander ordered in a low voice.
    “Ah, so you are a lover of folklore as well,” the young man said, drawing nearer. “I myself will be partaking in Professor Messier’s two day lecture on mythology this coming weekend.”
    “He’s an incredible speaker,” she replied, returning her attention to the multitude of spines before her. “I sat in on the same lecture last fall. It was fascinating. You’ll enjoy it.” Elena stretched to relieve the tightness in her back.
    “You’ve got quite a stack of books to read through there.” The young man pointed to the books at her feet. “What in particular might you be researching with regard to ancient folklore? Perhaps I may be of assistance. I’m somewhat of an aficionado in the mystical elements.”
    Every fine hair on Elena’s body stood on end from the eerie tone his statement took on.
    “That’s kind, but no thanks,” she said evenly. “I’m just satisfying a personal curiosity.”
    “Oh? What sort of curiosity?” His mouth tightened.
    Elena’s lower lip dropped open. Allowing the tense silence between them to draw out, she considered her answer. “A friend of mine butted in front of someone in line at the bank,” she said evenly. “Now she thinks she’s cursed.”
    “So it is curses that interest you?” His voice grew colder.
    The tips of her fingers began to tingle, and her body became hot.
    “ Elena! Come to me now! ” Zander demanded. “ Or I am coming in after you. ”
    “ I-I’m feeling a little dizzy. There is something in the air. I feel like I did yesterday in the yard, having my lunch. It feels as if someone evil is watching me. ”
    “ Elena! ” Zander called.
    “ I’m coming. ” She hoped the voice of her mind didn’t reveal the discomfort she felt.
    To steady her unease, Elena crouched down to one knee to pick up her books. When she stood, the man moved even closer to her.
    “ Put some distance between yourself and that young man, Elena, ” Henrik thundered in her mind. “ Now, love. ”
    “Did you find everything you were seeking?” The stranger’s tone made Elena’s skin crawl.
    “Actually, no,” she said, brushing past him. Quickly, she walked toward the big window where Zander and Henrik watched from the shadows. There were several students seated at the tables in front of the glass. Elena felt instant relief at the security the small crowd of bodies brought her. “There is a book of ancient spells I would love to read through, but–”
    “The one allegedly written by a warlock in the 1600s?” he asked with a sinister snort. “I have that one at my dorm room. Why don’t you come back with me, and we’ll look at it together.”
    “ Elena, he is not what he seems to be. Evilness surrounds the boy, ” Henrik announced. “ It is rather weak, and I am unable to detect an origin, but it is there. ”
    “ Oh, look at his face. He’s so innocent looking, ” she tried to tease, though the young man’s gaze disturbed her immensely. “ Probably just wants to get me back to his place, thinking he’ll score a piece of ass, ” she projected.
    A vicious growl in her mind sent a shiver coursing through her body.
    “How generous.” Tapping the back of one of the books she held against her chest, Elena added, “But as you pointed out, I have tons to go through right here.” With a nonchalant shrug she continued, “I’ll keep my eye open and just grab it when you’ve returned it.”
    The color drained from the young man’s face, and his eyes narrowed in anger. Elena noticed his hands ball up into tight fists at his sides. The light blue of his eyes swirled to black, but it happened so quickly Elena assumed her imagination had