jinn 03 - vestige Read Online Free PDF Page B

Holden. If he held back something like this from me . . . I groaned. I needed help. I needed Uriel.
    The girl kicked me beneath the table and I looked up. She gave me a hesitant smile.
    “Eat?” I asked, though she still had part of her sandwich left.
    She shook her head.
    I tilted my head and studied her. She had large, soulful eyes for a child, and her cheekbones were too defined for someone her age. They should have been chubby and rosy, but they weren’t, making her look older despite her frail body. Definitely a human, though her aura was strong, blanketing everything around her. A guardian’s job was to communicate with humans. All I had to do was speak normally and it should cross any language barriers, but when there were no language barriers to cross, what were we supposed to do? Why couldn’t I reach the child?
    I held out a hand to her, watching her response.
    She bit her lip and looked from me to my hand and back to me. What was she thinking? Slowly her hand came toward mine, and she touched one finger to it, studying the spot where our skin met. Then she nodded very seriously, too seriously for a little girl, and placed the rest of her sandwich in my hand.
    My heart broke a little. “For me?”
    She nodded. She was a smart little thing. More and more she understood what we were saying.
    “Where’s Quintus?” Holden’s voice came from the doorway.
    I looked over at him. “I told him to leave. I don’t mind watching her.” I waited for him to say what he was obviously thinking. Anyone else was better than me.
    His face was hard, his mouth verging on a frown. He blinked a few times then nodded, looking softer somehow, but still held out his arm slightly in an invitation to the child. She happily went skipping over to him and took his hand. He glanced at the grilled cheese in my palm. “She’s right, you know. You should eat something.”
    My eyebrows tugged together. “I don’t need to eat.”
    He shrugged and his face went back to the way it was before. “Well, you look like shit, but you obviously know best. You always do.” He turned and left with the girl.
    I snapped my mouth closed. Holden knew that I could eat or not. Guardians didn’t necessarily require food. We didn’t have bodies in the sense that humans did. I picked up the girl’s plate, placed the scraps of leftovers on it, then stood to go to the sink. Another sharp pain hit me. The plate tumbled from my hand and smashed against the concrete floor.
    I can help you, the Angel of Death said in my head, but I wasn’t in a hurry to die. That would come soon enough, even without a friendly chat. I can ease your pain.
    Um, no thanks? I thought back. I still have things I need to do here. I’m not ready to go.
    Then you should come to me. You cannot defeat Mammon as you are. Defeating Mammon is all that matters.
    I nodded. You aren’t going to kill me?
    Why would I try this hard to talk to you if I wanted you to die?
    Was this a trick? Baker and Femi had warded the warehouse against most everything. It was safe, but then again, was anyone ever safe from death himself? Was Mammon? Maybe with a wave of his hand Death could clean up our entire mess. Where?
    Our Sister of Mercy Hospital.
    Fine.
    I headed out. Holden didn’t say a word to me as I left. The rain came down in sheets, but I couldn’t transport. I was too weak and it took too much energy. The hospital was miles away. I’d have to take a cab.
    I tried to flag the first cab I saw, but it sailed by. The street was empty as I trudged forward. The rain splattered against the streets, bells at a church somewhere nearby rang, and cold crept into my bones.
    Two men stepped out in front of me, their souls blacker than humanly possible—demons. The only way for a demon to come above was to possess a human body. In their true form, even the dim light of a moonless night would be too much. My heart stuttered for just a moment, but I continued forward. I was just a plain guardian now,