Allegiance Read Online Free PDF Page B

memory of looking up to Leif’s face was vivid, but I couldn’t remember a single detail of what I saw there. I couldn’t even recall the colour of his eyes. I was pulled from theuncomfortable thought when Melody said, ‘I wonder where our grandson is.’
    ‘He could be anywhere,’ I said with a sigh. I scooped up a handful of sand and watched it trickle through my fingers. With next to nothing to go on, finding my brother would be like trying to locate a particular grain of sand on this entire beach. A heavy feeling nestled into my chest.
    Jack sat up and caught my hand in his, dusting what remained of the sand away. ‘Lysander has fair skin, right?’ He trailed his fingers across the rash on the underside of my arm, unintentionally igniting the itch.
    ‘He does,’ Asher agreed.
    ‘Then he’ll be somewhere he can blend in,’ Jack said, folding my fingers into his to put a stop to my scratching. He reached into his pocket and took out the ointment I’d stashed there this morning, applying a thin layer to my inflamed skin.
    ‘And he will be somewhere safe,’ Faun said. ‘His parents would have made sure it was so.’
    ‘Somewhere similar to here,’ Asher added. ‘They wouldn’t have left Lysander in a poor country. If he’s anything like his sister, he wouldn’t have survived it.’
    ‘Indeed, they would have chosen a warm, safe place where he wouldn’t have stood out,’ Leander agreed.
    ‘That actually rules out several continents,’ Jack said, then added, ‘I wonder if they would have left him here.’
    ‘They would have wanted to leave the infants close to each other,’ Asher said. ‘But I know my son and if he was concerned about the safety of his children, he would have insisted they be separated. Lysander will not be in this country.’
    ‘We shall mention it to our prince when he comes,’ Melody said.
    We left soon after that. The mention of Leif had mademy grandparents anxious they might miss his arrival. I’d also promised to introduce them to my parents today.
    We arrived back to find that Leif had already been and gone, leaving an envelope marked with Jack’s name under the front door.
    ‘Why you?’ I asked after we’d made the discovery.
    Jack stared at his name and scratched his head. ‘I have no idea.’ He opened the envelope and read the note inside. ‘Leif’s created a Facebook page. Apparently anyone who sees it will be compelled to read and share it.’
    I frowned. ‘How would Leif even know how to make a Facebook page?’
    Jack smiled. ‘One of the many things I taught him while he was here.’ He handed the note to me, took out his phone and logged into Facebook. My grandparents, who’d been looking from me to Jack and back again with blank expressions, huddled around him, eyes glued to the phone.
    Leif’s page spoke of a missing boy who would be celebrating his eighteenth birthday around February. The boy suffered allergies and possessed unusual skin with a faint gleam to it. Also, his ears were pointed, not unlike a pixie’s. Anyone with information should immediately forward details to the email address provided.
    After reading the page, Jack hit ‘share’, giving all 552 of his Facebook friends access to Leif’s page. ‘Well the compulsion part works,’ he said. ‘I couldn’t have stopped myself from sharing that page even if I’d wanted to.’
    ‘But it won’t do any good,’ I said.
    ‘Why not?’
    ‘There’ll be heaps of people sending fake information.’
    ‘Try,’ he said.
    I logged into my account and typed in Leif’s address, then added a phony message. I went to hit ‘send’. My finger hoveredover the icon, refusing to comply. I turned to Jack and smiled as I said, ‘More Leif magic?’
    ‘Unless you have genuine information, it’s impossible to send an email to that address,’ Jack replied. ‘And if you have genuine information it’s impossible to resist.’
    ‘Has he given you access to the account?’
    He pointed to the