Your Soul to Take (Rise of the Fallen) Read Online Free PDF Page A

wore that on
purpose.”
    She
started laughing and the sound filled the clearing. “Maybe. You ready to
train?”
    “For
what?”
    “Well,
I can’t train you to Reap, so weapons practice or controlling your
powers?”
    “What
time is it?”
    She
glanced down at the thin metal band on her wrist. “Ten in the
morning.”
    “Shit.
I’ve got to go. I promised Jessie I would be there when she woke up!”
    I
tried to ignore the look of disappointment on Clarisse’s face.
“Okay,” she said weakly. “I’ve got to get to work anyway. Find
me tonight and we’ll continue.”
    “You
got it,” I said and called my scooter back to reality.
    I
glanced over my shoulder as I pulled away and saw Clarisse still standing in
the middle of the clearing obviously lost in thought. The idea of that kind of
scared me. I briefly wondered what she could possibly be thinking about as my
tire briefly skidded in the dirt. I quickly regained control and forgot about
Clarisse, eager to see Jessie as soon as possible without wrecking again.
     
    *
* *
     
    Thankfully,
visiting hours were open and I didn’t have to mind magic the nurse to get to
see my girlfriend. I peeked around the doorframe to see if Mr. James was in the
room. Letting out a sigh of relief, I didn’t see him in his usual position in
the ugly green plastic chair by her bed. He might not hate me anymore, but he
was still a big bad scary Chosen. Being mortal enemies put a serious damper on
our relationship.
    “Hey,
beautiful,” I said and entered her private hospital room.
    “Hey,
yourself,” she said with a smile and looked at me.
    Jessie
was Nephalim, or one of the Cursed. Her mother was human and her father was one
of the Chosen. A Nephalim’s life was always riddled with misfortune until they
became either one of the Chosen or died. It worked the same for the offspring
of a Fallen and a human, too.
    One
of Jessie’s many misfortunes was that she had been blind for almost five years.
When her body healed itself, it also restored her sight. Neither her father, nor
I, knew why she had been made whole again. I was just thankful she could see. She’d
had her sight back for all of twenty-four hours and she had yet to run away
screaming from me.
    I
crossed the room rather quickly and pulled her into my arms. I didn’t kiss her,
but I held her as close as I could without crushing her. “I missed
you,” I whispered.
    “It
hasn’t been that long.” She giggled.
    “But
it felt like forever.”
    “I
love you, too,” she said and pulled back, kissing me fully on the lips.
“Sorry if I have morning hospital breath.”
    “You
could have ‘just ate a liverwurst sandwich’ breath and I would still want to
kiss you.”
    “That
may be the sweetest thing anybody has ever said to me.” Her giggle turned
into fits of laughter. The sweet sound filled the room and made me smile.
“Connor… We need to talk.”
    Oh
shit. The smile
left my face and I’m sure a great deal of color did, too. “About?”
    “What
happened last night. My father filled me in. Mostly. In a very cryptic way.
Connor… I… I saw things. I saw you. What the hell is going on?”
    I
opened my mouth to tell her everything, but something stopped me. Although she
still looked human, she might be changing into one of the Chosen. It was a
distinct and probable conclusion. If she were, it wasn’t my place to tell her.
It was her father’s. He and I needed to have a talk. Soon.
    “That
garage was completely full of paint fumes. It’s no wonder you were hallucinating.
Don’t worry. I’m sure it will all come back to you.”
    She
gave me a disbelieving look and shrugged her shoulders. “Well. Thank you
for saving me anyway.”
    I
kissed her forehead and gave her a quick smile. “So when you getting out
of here?”
    “Dad
says sometime today. I’m fine, but they want to keep an eye on me.”
    I
nodded. “Speaking of your father, where is the evil one?”
    “Right
behind you,” came Mr. James’