Keepers: Blood of The Fallen Read Online Free PDF Page B

talk.
    The bench was in the garden so I was surprised she wanted to sit there. She had become pretty anal about us stepping in the garden unnecessarily. She always preached to us about growing our own food, because she felt like something bad was coming. My mom kind of spooked her, I guessed. We walked over a half an acre to the garden, with our arms around one another, and sat down. She was still not letting me go, so I didn’t let her go. I didn’t want her to feel afraid, and I didn’t know she would react like that. I guessed it was a part of the bond she shared with Cilandria.
    After she took a couple of deep breaths, she finally opened up about why we needed to talk.
    “Quazo,”
    “What?”
    “Oh, the old man’s name is Quazo.”
    “Sounds about right,” I said, as I shook my head and chuckled.
    “He’s basically a servant for the highest order of Keepers. Almost a slave I guess, but he seems to enjoy it. Anyway, he says that there is a war coming. To make a long story short: almost all of the Keepers on Earth have had parts of their soul reaped or are in danger of it. There is also the possibility of death.”
    “Yeah, there’s always the possibility of death, right?”
    “Not exactly.” I felt her arm get tighter around my waist as she laid her head on my shoulder. “Not exactly. The Navariums can’t kill Keepers. Only Keepers can kill Keepers.”
    “Then, how is death a possibility ?”
    “There is a Keeper, or worse, that is attacking the entire Keeper system. Quazo said that they suspect that the way it’s happening is through the Guardians being compromised.”
    “So… The Keepers can tell right?”
    “Your dad has always been compromised. You’re the result of that. Your mom doesn’t know, so if her soul has been reaped at all, she is unaware of it.”
    I stared at a bare tomato plant and thought about how to handle the situation. I knew I was going to have to be careful. I knew my dad was losing the fight with the Navarium inside. I imagined that he didn’t have much time left before he gave up. I knew he had already reaped my mother. I could feel it. I had to be careful because I didn’t know if my dad was completely gone. I didn’t want to do anything that I would regret. I loved my dad, but I knew for seven years that he was compromised. It was hard to say I loved him more than I loved my mom, because I knew he was something evil. I even had thoughts about who cut the umbilical cord when I was born. Was it my dad, or was it that demon inside of him?
    I snapped out of my trance when Asia kissed me on the cheek. I looked at her, and I could see that she was really there for me. I then started to wonder why Santana didn’t tell me. I had known her since we were little. We weren’t always the best of friends, but we knew each other well before Asia showed up. We locked eyes probably for a minute or two. She smiled and said, “I’m here for you. Whatever you want to do, I’ll support your decision and back you up. Santana will as well.”
    “Thank you, but you don’t have to speak for Santana. She could have come out here with you. I really do appreciate you telling me.”
    “She wanted to tell you, she just didn’t know how.”
    “Well, whatever. The reason doesn’t matter. I’m glad that you’re here for me.”
    We were still locked on to each other’s eyes. That was the closest I ever felt to Asia, and I think it’s safe to assume that it was the same for her. We had never had an intimate moment like that, and that’s why it just kind of happened. It didn’t seem like there was anything else that could happen. I kissed her on the cheek, and then she put her hand on my cheek and pushed my lips into hers. The embrace felt right. It felt like it was something that should have happened a long time, before that day. The moment presented itself on a silver platter. The sun was right up above us, but it was partly cloudy so it wasn’t hot at all. The smell of fresh fruit