ARC: Cracked by Eliza Crewe Read Free Book Online Page A

she thought if I knew I was half-demon, I’d give in to the demonic side. Use it as a justification to do all the naughty things I dream about.
    Not a bad idea…
    Chi’s spinal column is inches from my mouth. It screams, “Bite me!” I don’t, though. He’s driving.
    I wouldn’t anyway, now that there’s a good chance he isn’t going to kill me – or try, rather. Mom only wanted me to kill people who deserved it, and my morality’s flexible enough to toss in self-defense (and everyone knows the best defense is a good offence… my morality is almost a contortionist). There were reasons why I should only kill people who deserve it, but they don’t matter to me anymore. Only for her sake do I try to launder my dark and dirty soul, keep it as clean as my nature will allow. I try, I really do, but it’s getting harder, without the bright light of my mother’s goodness to shine on the stains. It’s why I came to North Carolina, where my mom grew up, to try to feel closer to her, to try to find some truths, maybe even some family. Because even if she did lie, Mom’s sin against me is minuscule compared to mine against her… but I don’t want to think about that. I scuttle away.
    What other secrets did you keep, Mom? Is my father really dead? What would it mean if he’s not? Mom kept me from him for a reason, but was it to keep me safe or to keep the world safe from me? I just don’t know.
    I asked about him, of course, especially when I was younger. She always refused to answer, but the questions alone were enough to fill her face with shadows. I imagined some sort of tragic love story caused that look, but now I see it was more likely a horror.
    I don’t like to think what it meant, then, raising me.
    The miles fly, street lights zinging past. Occasionally I see the sparkling silver mist of a ghost. They always lift their heads like startled deer as we pass. Somehow they know I can see them. I look away; I don’t want to deal with any of their baggage now.
    We head further west on I-40, into the mountains. I pay close attention to our route. As a demon, it seems prudent to know where the demon hunters hang out.
    The air grows colder as we climb. Chi wears gloves but his arms are still bare. If he was a regular human his arms would have frozen off by now. As it is, he takes turns tucking one arm then the other against his chest.
    We take I-74 into Waynesville, then even further into the mountains on Highway 23. We wind through the giant metropolis of Sylva (population 2,435, the sign proudly proclaims), then on to one twisty mountain road after another. The sky starts to lighten behind us and Jo’s tail-lights slow. She pulls to the shoulder and we join her. Uri as well.
    Jo pulls off her helmet, her curly hair sticking up wildly now that it’s been set free. “We need to get our stories straight,” she says. It appears I wasn’t the only one thinking during the drive.
    Chi dismounts and holds the motorcycle steady so I can climb off. “I figured we could pass her off as my cousin, Cassia,” he says. “Say she came to visit. She goes to the school in California and hasn’t visited in years. No one would recognize her.”
    “And then do what with her?”
    Chi shrugs. Apparently that’s as far as his plan goes.
    Jo doesn’t appreciate his nonchalance. “You can’t just keep her.”
    “Why not?” Chi asks too innocently.
    Jo doesn’t fall for his needling, and says, her voice sweet, “Well, for one, the school has a policy about pets.”
    I stick out my tongue and Chi laughs.
    “They’ll figure out she doesn’t belong eventually and then we’ll be busted.” Jo winces.
    Chi thinks for a minute, then his face lights up. “Asa’s due back in a week or so. He’s unassigned; he’ll take care of her for us.” Chi turns to me. “He’s my older brother and he doesn’t have a Beacon yet. He’s also the wild one in the family, so he won’t rat.”
    Asa ’sthe wild one? God help the good