Naomi Grim (The Silver Scythe Chronicles) Part 1 Read Online Free PDF

Keira and Josh, call your mother and let
her know you're here safe. I know she's worried."
    Keira pulled her cell from the pocket of her
hoodie.
    "Where's Bram?" Mother asked, just noticing his
absence.
    "He went off during the raid. I tried to stop
him, but he wouldn't listen."
    Mother sighed and threw down the dishtowel. "Of
course." Then she reached for her phone. I was sure it was to call
Father to see if Bram was okay.
    Keira and I went upstairs to my bedroom, where
she kicked off her flip-flops and plopped on my bed. "Do you think
Bram's okay?"
    "Why do you care?" I hated when she talked
about my brother. "They can't kill him."
    She sat up and glared at me. "Because he's my
friend and I know they can't kill him, but they can hurt him. Don't
you care if he's all right?"
    "Of course I do, but I'm not worried about it.
Nothing bad ever happens to Bram."
    "I suppose you're right," Keira said, examining
her fingernails.
    Just then, my bedroom door was flung open. Our
friend Chase came in, smiling broadly as he always did. I guessed
if I had dimples like his, I'd smile all the time too.
    "Hey, don't you knock?" I asked.
    "Why? You guys are always doing the same
thing—sitting around gossiping. I mean, what am I going to walk in
on?" he asked, sitting next to Keira on my bed. "Besides, I heard
the good news. I came to congratulate you two."
    "Thanks, Chase," Keira said.
    "Thanks," I replied.
    "Now, what does a guy like me have to do to get
a gig like that from Dunningham?"
    I shrugged.
    "Oh, I know. My father doesn't kiss enough
ass," Chase said answering his own question.
    "Hey!" Keira said, slapping his arm. "What are
you trying to say?"
    Chase shrugged. "I’m just saying that your
fathers are a lot better than mine at being up Dunningham's butt.
We'll never move to the Upper Estates."
    Chase was probably right. His family did what
Grims had to do—nothing more, nothing less. They didn't send
Dunningham expensive presents he didn't want or need, nor did they
make the effort to hang out after one of Dunningham's speeches to
tell him how profound it was and make themselves visible. My
father, on the other hand, was a big fan of networking.
    Chase got serious. "You know what this means,
right? If you guys move to the Upper Estates, we won't be friends
anymore."
    Keira shook her head. "That's not true. Kids
from the Upper Estates come to Farrington all the time."
    "Yeah, but not to hang out with their old
friends. They come over here to gloat and wave their luxurious
lives in our faces. I mean, how many times has Lei come back to
visit?"
    Lei had been our good friend until she moved to
the Upper Estates a year ago. Lei left, promising she'd come back
and see us a few times a week. We hadn't seen her since. "We're not
Lei, and we're not going to stop being your friend because we
moved. Keira and I will come back here all the time."
    "Yeah, that's what you say now, until those
snooty kids get in your heads."
    Keira sighed. "Chase, give us some credit.
We're not that easily influenced, and if we say we're going to
visit, we're going to visit. Now let's talk about something
else."
    But Chase wouldn't. "Well, even if we stay
friends, Naomi and I will never be betrothed."
    I looked at the ground, trying to avoid eye
contact. Since Chase and I were small, our parents had spoken about
us being betrothed to one another. Once I moved to the Upper
Estates, I would have to marry a boy from there.
    I was never sure how I felt about the
possibility of being betrothed to Chase. He seemed happy about it.
I knew and trusted Chase, so I figured if I had be to betrothed, it
may as well be to him.
    Bram threw my bedroom door open. I made a
mental note to start locking my door. "Twelve of them, and we
caught every single one!"
    Chase sat up. He idolized my brother and had
probably relished in the fact of being his future
brother-in-law.
    "Bram, you know you weren't supposed to go out
there," Keira said.
    "I know, but I'm eighteen now and I