Jackson Read Online Free PDF Page B

of the cabin. I heard the sound of water running and I watched as he leaned forward and splashed it on his face. Then he came back and handed me a damp rag.
    “Thank you,” I said, standing and taking it from him.
    I wiped my face and watched as he went to the bed and sat. His usual smile when we were together was gone, but I didn’t feel I should leave him.
    “You weren’t at the barn. I was worried.”
    “Did you need something?” His voice was thick, and when he looked up, his eyes were heavy.
    “No!” I rushed to sit beside him and place my hand on his arm. “I just... I was thinking about what you said. About never seeing you again, about forgetting. I... I don’t know how I feel. I don’t understand what’s changed in me, but I don’t want to forget. I want to remember you. I want to remember us.”
    As I said the words, fresh tears came to my eyes. I lifted my hand from his arm to his cheek, and he slowly leaned forward to kiss me. It was so hesitant at first, but as soon as we touched, our lips sealed then parted. A brief taste, a flood of bittersweet joy, and he pulled back, kissing my cheek, my closed eyes. He pulled me to his chest, and I held him with my eyes closed, the warmth I’d been fighting pulsing through my limbs with every heartbeat. His arms were strong around me as mine were around him, and in that moment, I was both so miserable and so happy.
    “I’m sorry about your grandfather.” I whispered. He nodded against my head, and I smoothed his soft hair. “Does this mean you’re leaving sooner?”
    He straightened to look at me. “It means I’m a Guard now. I’ll have to take his place in the circle.”
    “Is it like a monastery or something? Like monks?”
    He reached inside his shirt and pulled out a leather cord from which a round, metal pendant about the size of a quarter hung. It was like shiny, iridescent copper, and on its face were markings of fire, a tree, and a figure holding a spear. At the top was a large black pearl.
    “That’s the sign of the warriors.” He pointed at the figure. “Three Guard from each nation.”
    “Where do they go?”
    “It’s not a place. It’s a telekinetic bond, what I told you about earlier. I communicate with them, and we make decisions. Maintain the order.”
    “How do you maintain the order if your uncle’s trying to destroy it?”
    “That’s the problem. For now we’re scattered, hiding until we can bring him and his army under control.” He looked at the pendant then slid his thumb over its shiny surface. “Or kill him.”
    “Do you have to do something special? Like a coronation event or something?”
    He blinked up and smiled at me. “Back when our world was peaceful, I wouldn’t have moved up until grandfather died. That wouldn’t be for another two or three hundred years.”
    “Three hundred years!”
    “Shh!” Gallatin placed his hand over my mouth.
    We waited a few moments not moving before he lowered his hand again and then stood, going to the door and turning the lock.
    “We live a bit longer than you,” he said.
    “A bit.” My eyes were wide, trying to comprehend such a thing.
    “But your race used to live that long. Longer. It’s recorded in your history.”
    I took a breath. “I think Methuselah was a thousand or something when he died.”
    “So that’s not strange to you.” He came back and sat beside me again.
    “Are you kidding? Methuselah lived about five thousand years ago. Or more.” I poked his arm. “It’s very strange to me.”
    “But otherwise, you’re okay with it? I mean, you’re not afraid of me anymore?”
    “That touch thing is freaky.”
    “Only the Guard can do those kinds of things. I guess that’s freaky to everyone. Even Cato.”
    “Can I see your pendant?”
    “Sure,” he slipped it off his neck. Then he slipped the cord around mine. “It’s easier to see this way. Tilt it in your hand and you can see all three warriors.”
    I moved it side to side and the coppery