Absolution Read online

  Nothing special.

  “I think you’ll find that I am,” she murmurs softly, smugly.

  Her words strike me as odd. I recall the first things she had said to me. Kristy is speaking to me as though she can…

  “Go ahead,” she chuckles from the distance. “Finish that sentence, I dare you.”

  Read my mind.

  “Hear every single thought running through your mind, actually,” she corrects me.

  “Everything makes sense now,” I say out loud. She’ll hear me anyway.

  “That’s right,” she agrees with a nod, “I will.”

  “That’s why Lydia wants you so badly. You’re a mind-reader. We’ve never had one like you before.” My employers and I had only dreamed about creatures that can hear thoughts in real-time. I try to make myself feel awe. This is a very gifted vampire.

  What I find myself feeling instead, is panic.

  Kristy knows every thought and feeling I’ve had this week, every secret I’ve mulled over in the last few minutes. Soon, Lydia will know too.

  “That’s probably the real reason she wants me,” the mind-reader says at the same time I come to this conclusion.

  Considering my behaviour in the last 6 months, how distant I’ve been with her, how different I am in general, I’m not surprised Lydia suspects that I’ve been keeping something from her.

  She doesn’t trust me anymore.

  All she needs to do is put me in a room with Kristy and my truth will be out. Even though I try not to connect with Ellie, doesn’t mean I don’t think about her all the time. Wonder what she’s up to. Wish I could be with her.

  That’s why my mate listed Kristy’s power as ‘Unknown’. I wouldn’t have been told that I was about to have my mind read when introduced to The System’s latest recruit.

  Good thing Darryl didn’t catch Kristy. Good thing today’s the first day I thought about Ellie being the Slayer since arriving in Norfolk.

  But the telepath knows everything now, and Lydia will be privy to this information too.

  I feel fear and its all mine. I’m not afraid for myself, but for Ellie. If she hasn’t gone through with her suicide mission, and if The Council’s soldiers haven’t killed her, then The System’s agents will annihilate her.

  I thought I was concealing her from The Council, but it looks like something went wrong there. What if I am no longer protecting her from The System? Or worse, what if Lydia can see Ellie now?

  This reminds me. How can Kristy see me? Has my shield stopped working completely?

  “No,” Kristy answers. “It’s still working. I can’t actually see you.” A crease forms between her eyes. She is bothered by her physical blindness. “The thing is Christian, I don’t just hear your thoughts as you have them, I see them too. All the images in your head play in my mind like a movie.” She giggles. “What you’re seeing, thinking, hearing, your bearings, they give me an idea of where you are.”

  So even if I am physically invisible to her, my thoughts give her a strong indication of where I am and what I’m doing.

  “And what you’re about to do,” she adds with an arrogant smile. “I’ll always be a step ahead of you Christian, just as I have been this past week. You won’t be able to lay a finger on me.”

  “We’ll see about that.”

  “No, we won’t,” she laughs. “You think I’ll tell Lydia everything. But that depends…”

  “On what?” I growl.

  “Whether the Slayer is still alive.”

  “What difference does that make?” I am so tensed that my muscles lock, seize up. I don’t think I will be able to move when I finally decide to attack her.

  “If she’s dead, I’m going straight to Lydia to tell on you,” she taunts like a child. “You’ve been a very naughty vampire.”

  “And if Ellie’s alive?”

  “I’m going after her,” she threatens. “Of course I go after her Christian. I’m a vampire. She’s the Slayer. It’s my duty to try and kill her. And I dare say I might succeed, seen as I’ll be able to read her thoughts, her every move…”

  I shake my head. This cannot be happening.

  “Oh but it is,” she croons. “So, why don’t you be a good boy and try to feel her out? Even if she blocked the… flow of information, the connection still exists between the two of you. You can break through to her. If she’s alive.”

  Again, I shake my head. While I’m in Kristy’s presence, I can never utilise the bond between me and Ellie.

  But I need to know that she’s okay; I don’t think I can go on much longer without knowing. That leaves me with one option.

  Kill Kristy before she catches up with Lydia or Ellie.

  “You’ll have to catch me first,” the mind-reader chuckles as she turns and bullets away.

  I bullet after her. I know she’s headed for London. That’s where Lydia is. That’s where Ellie will be by the time me and the telepath reach the capital.

  The question is, will Ellie be alive or ashes when we arrive?

  ####

  ~ About the Author ~

  Neha Yazmin graduated from University College London (UCL) with a degree in Psychology and now lives in London, and works in the financial services sector. She writes both contemporary and paranormal romance. Her debut novel Chasing Pavements was first published as an e-book in summer 2012. She is currently working on a number of projects. To learn more about Neha and stay up-to-date with new releases, connect with her online:

  sites.google.com/site/nehayazminbooks

  nehayazmin.blogspot.co.uk

  facebook.com/NehaYazmin

  twitter.com/NehaYazmin

  www.smashwords.com/profile/view/nehayazmin

  * * *

  ~ Also by Neha Yazmin ~

  Paranormal Romance:

  Poison Blood, Book 1: Revelation

  ~

  Contemporary Romance:

  Chasing Pavements

  Make You Feel My Love