Soulstice (The Souled Series) Read Online Free PDF Page B

ago, but it was my way of having control of my fear of fires. Each time I lit up was a small victory for me. I almost had the beast beaten. Even though fire still scared me, I wasn’t running away. It was all about baby steps.
    The stench of skunk weed pushed against my face when Todd squatted next to me. He offered me his joint.
    I shook my head. “No thanks. I don’t smoke pot.”
    “ Oh, like that’s better for you?” He pointed to my cigarette.
    “ At least this doesn’t make me stupid,” I shot back.
    “ Bitch,” he muttered. He stood up and walked to the other side of the fire where Caleb and Taylor were tangled in a lip lock.
    Huh. Well, Todd’s comment certainly didn’t help my mood. Neither did watching Caleb and Taylor making out. It was so easy for her to go from guy to guy. I never understood how someone did that. Then again, I’ve never had a lot of boyfriends like Taylor had. I was old fashioned, I guess. My body and my heart couldn’t be separated from my emotions.
    A deep, grumbling burp broke the relative quiet .
    “ Oh, God, Jake! Don’t be so gross!” Megan punched him in the shoulder.
    He laughed. “You ain’t seen nothin’!”
    His beer can hit the rocks that circled the bonfire before bouncing in. Perfect. The tipping point from stupid to asinine.
    And r ight on cue, whoots and girlie screams egged him on to reach his personal best for the highest pee arch.
    “ I’m sorry,” I whispered to the fire. “That’s just so wrong.”
    “ Hey! Check it out.” Todd faced the dark space behind us. “A zombie dog.”
    We looked to where he pointed. Just outside the glow of the bonfire stood a dog with short, kind of mangy, tan-colored fur.
    “ Eww.” Megan cringed. “He’s missing an eye.”
    I stood up and stepped closer to the dog. A scar slashed deep across its right eye, making it only look as if his eye was missing. But his right front leg definitely was.
    “ Come here, boy,” Todd said, patting his thigh in encouragement.
    “ Todd, don’t,” I said. “Leave him alone.”
    He shot me a yeah, right look and started after the dog, who hopped back a little, but wasn’t fast enough to escape Todd’s reach.
    Todd picked up the dog, turned, and started toward the fire.
    “ Put him down,” I demanded, putting myself in front of him.
    Todd was a good six inches taller than me and outweighed me by at least fifty pounds. His grip on the dog tightened every time it twisted around to try to bite him. Todd was so high, I doubted he would know if he’d gotten bit anyway.
    H e snorted and pushed past me like I was nothing.
    “ Zombie dogs have to be destroyed,” Todd said in a voice I’m sure was meant to mimic some obnoxious zombie movie he’d seen. He succeeded in sounding stupid and only pissed me off.
    H elpless in Todd’s hold, the dog spread its paws out in front of him as they got closer to the heat. Its body wiggled and twisted to break free. It didn’t matter if Todd was serious or not because the dog’s panic became mine. Its haggard breaths echoed my own and its wide eyes glistened with growing fear of the unknown.
    My pulse race d, threatening to explode out of my jugular.
    “ Damn it, Todd! Stop it! You’re scaring him!” I grabbed his arm.
    Totally stoned from the weed, he stopped and looked down at me, eyes glazed over as if he’d forgotten that I was there.
    Across the fire Taylor and Caleb had stopped making out and stared, mouths hanging open. The others looked equally shocked, but outside of shaking their heads or whispering to each other, none of them made a move.
    “Would one of you freakin’ help?” My voice was rough against my dry throat.
    The gla ssy look in Todd’s eyes cleared and he easily shook me off.
    I lunged at him again, this time taking his collar in both hands and yanking back with all my weight.
    He lost his balance and caught his heel on a rock, landing hard on his back.
    “ Oww!”
    The dog wiggled free as soon as Todd hit the