Hallowed: An Unearthly Novel Read Online Free PDF Page A

But I tell my uncle everything, and I’m going to tell him about this.” His eyes seek mine, pin me. “It’s stupid not to communicate what you know to the adults. They’re only trying to protect us. And as far as the no-secrets zone, I can’t agree to that. I don’t even really know you guys, so why would I tell you my secrets? No way.”

    Angela’s speechless. I find this kind of funny.

    “You’re right,” I say. “We ditch the rules. There are no rules.”

    “I think it’s great, though,” he says as a way of soothing Angela. “Meeting and finding out what we can do, trying to figure things out. Count me in. I’ll be here, whenever, until it snows and then I have ski team, but maybe then we can move this to Sunday afternoons, which would work for me.”

    Angela recovers. She even whips up a smile. “Sure, that’s doable. Probably better for Jeffrey’s schedule, too. Sundays. Let’s do Sundays.”

    There’s a moment of uncomfortable silence.

    “Okay then,” Angela says finally. “I think this meeting is adjourned.” It’s almost dark when I leave the theater. Storm clouds are brewing overhead, churning like a grumbling stomach. I guess I should be grateful for the rain, since the storm put out the fires, which in the end probably saved people’s lives and homes. It’s only weather, I remind myself, but sometimes I wonder if this particular weather’s been sent to bother me personally, a punishment, maybe, for not doing my job, for failing at my purpose, or some other sort of ominous sign.

    I try for a quick, casual good-bye to Christian at the corner, but he puts his hand on my arm.

    “I still want to talk to you,” he says in a low voice.

    “I have to go,” I manage. “My mom will be wondering where I am. Call me, okay? Or I’ll call you. One of us should definitely call the other.”

    “Right.” His hand drops away. “I’ll call you.”

    “I gotta run. I’m late.”

    And then I’m off in the opposite direction.

    Coward , says the nagging voice inside my head. You should talk to him. Find out what he has to say.

    What if he says we belong together?

    Well, then you’ll have to deal with that. But at least you won’t be running away.

    I think it’s more of a brisk walk.

    Whatever.

    I’m having an argument with myself. And I’m losing.

    So not a good sign.

Chapter 3
Other People’s Secrets

    Mom comes out of her office the moment she hears me step through the front door.

    “Hey,” she says. “How was school?”

    “Everybody talked about my hair, but it was fine.”

    “We could try to dye it again,” she suggests.

    I shrug. “It must mean something, right? God wants me to be blond this year.”

    “Right,” she says. “You want a cookie, blondie?”

    “Do birds fly?” I scamper after her into the kitchen, where, sure enough, I smell something wonderful baking in the oven. “Chocolate chip?”

    “Of course.” The buzzer goes off, and she puts on an oven mitt, takes the sheet of cookies out of the oven, and sets it on the counter. I pull up a stool on the other side of her and sit. It feels so normal it’s weird, after what’s happened, all the drama and fight-for-your-life stuff and serious soul-searching, and now . . . cookies.

    The night of the fire I came home assuming we’d have this big tell-all, and everything would be out in the open now that the stuff from my vision had happened. But when I got home, Mom was asleep, asleep on the most important night of my life, and I didn’t wake her, didn’t blame her because we were both, at the time, so literally fried, and she’d been attacked, almost died and all. But still. It wasn’t exactly how I thought my purpose would go.

    It’s not like we haven’t talked. We have, although mostly it was a debriefing of what’s already happened. No new information. No revelations. No explanations. At one point I asked,
    “So what happens now?” and she said, “I don’t know, honey,”