Acropolis Read Online Free PDF Page B

are
even less prone to being bad."
    He is trying to sound reassuring, but I hear
the reluctance in his voice.
    "You don't sound like you believe that," I
whisper.
    He is quiet far longer than I feel
comfortable with.
    "I didn't believe it. At first. But . . . I have
begun to see things a little differently recently."
    "Recently?"
    I am prying, but I feel I deserve any
information he is willing to give. If I am imagining this, then it
is one very interesting dream. Conor shifts almost uncomfortably,
which I think impressive considering we are flying. I close my eyes
and count to ten. Counting helps keep me calm.
    "I have a friend who is working with a hybrid
Demon. She seems to trust him, and I trust her judgment. And there
have been others in the past . . . it's opened some eyes, made
protectors like me realize that not all hybrids are as evil as
their Demonic parent."
    I am having a nightmare. I have to be.
Demonic parent? I think about my mom, my adopted mom, and I feel tears prick the back of
my eyes. She is an amazing mother. She is the only parent I need.
She is the only parent I want.
    "I'm not a Demon," I say coldly.
    Conor's left arm tightens around my waist.
His other arm lifts, his hand sweeping my hair out of my face
before swiping some of the grime from my cheek. It is a familiar
gesture, a gesture he seems entirely too comfortable with.
Something tells me he's the flirty type, that he's used to being
familiar with females.
    "Life isn't about getting what we want. It's
about turning the crappy cards we're dealt into a winning hand," he
says wryly.
    Now he sounds like a therapist. A good one,
not one like Helen"Helga" Reed. Good therapists only give advice
about things they know about.
    "You sound like you speak from experience," I
say.
    Conor snorts.
    "You could say that. Being a gargoyle isn't
easy, Em. Sometimes it's easier being the bad guy. At least then,
if you screw up, it isn't taken personally. It's just expected. The
lower your expectations, the lower you have to reach for approval.
Mortals, even hybrids, have more choices than we do."
    "Choices?"
    I am getting sucked in.
    "Choices," he repeats."About life. Gargoyles
are born with our future planned. It's a noble future, and we have
regular jobs as well, but it is still planned. We aren't punished
for deviating, but we are demoted."
    He is definitely speaking from
experience.
    "And have you ever been demoted?"
    I ask this quietly. Even in my quest to know
more, I am trespassing. Conor doesn't answer.
    "I'm sorry," I whisper. It really isn't any
of my business.
    "No, it's fine," Conor assures."Yes, I've
been demoted."
    It is all he says, and I don't ask any more
questions. I am tired, and I am still not entirely convinced this
whole gargoyle/Demon thing is kosher.
    "We're just above my home," Conor whispers
suddenly in my ear, and I jerk. Logical Emma wants me to look down.
Instinct tells me not to, and even without looking, I can feel the
panic attack coming on.
    "Deep breaths," Conor reminds me.
    I start breathing in and out the same way
pregnant women in labor do. It isn't attractive, but it is better
than passing out.
    "Deeper breaths, Sweetheart. You really don't
want to meet my mother while only half-conscious. She's hard to
deal with after eight hours of sleep and a whole pot of
coffee."
    I am practically panting now, my eyes
squeezed shut.
    "You're not helping," I say through gritted
teeth. Conor chuckles.
    "The only way to defeat these fears of yours
is to face them."
    It isn't that I disagree with Conor's
logic, it's that I honestly don't want to agree with it. I keep my eyes squeezed shut, my
breathing hard until I feel my feet hit something solid. And even
then, I still pant like an idiot.
    "You can look now," Conor says, his tone
laced with amusement.
    "You mother is going to love this," Will murmurs as he comes
up beside us.
    His words, dripping with sarcasm, finally
makes me open my eyes. We are on a pleasant street in early
afternoon. There