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

Apparently we’re happy to see these guests of ours.
    Or at least most of us are.  Jo’s mouth has compressed to a thin line and the eyes she turns to me are so filled with worry, it seeps out and contaminates her whole face. It even spreads to me.
    “Who are they, Jo?”
    “The Northern chapter,” she murmurs deep in thought. So deep in thought she’s forgotten to be pissed at me. I break out in a tiny sweat. “Our parent chapter,” she adds.
    I comb my memory for what I know about them. There was some disagreement between the founder of Mountain Park and the Northerners, and so when the Mountain Park founder rescued the Beacon Map from the demons, he leveraged that into an opportunity to start his own chapter. Theirs is still the largest and most powerful, however, and they like to throw their weight around.
    Which, judging from the look Jo’s wearing, does not bode well for this little monster.
    After my true nature was revealed, a steady parade of representatives from the different Crusader branches showed up to debate what to do with me. I’m half-demon, which, combined with my Crusader abilities, means I’m physically more powerful than anyone on either side – demon or Crusader. Basically, I’m the single most powerful weapon on earth. Or at least, I could be, if I were trained to my full potential.
    I try not to let it go to my head.
    But because of all the lies I’ve told and the whole people-eating thing, my reputation isn’t exactly stellar. Many Crusaders think they can’t afford to risk training me in case I end up giving into my darker side (or already have and this is all just a clever ruse).On the other hand, with the way the Templars are losing to the demons, many Crusaders (and myself, naturally) wonder – can they really afford not to train me?
    And then, just to keep things complicated, I’m also a Beacon, which means one day I will have the opportunity to do some great good, a good so great as to change the course of human history. But the potential to do good and choosing to actually do it, are two very different things. Apparently a lot Beacons turn out to be duds, rendering questionable the value of my Beaconness. After all, if human Beacons fail to choose good over evil, what hope does a half-monster stand?
    It’s a lot for the Crusaders to work through.
    Call me self-centered, but I’m a little worried this en masse arrival of the Northerners has something to do with me.
    Jo’s thoughts must be running along the same route as mine; her fingers clamp onto my arm. “Meda, promise me you’ll be good.”
    “I already promised.” I try to pull my arm away, but she only grips harder as she stares me down.
    “Promise me, again.”
    I eye her. “Jo, do you know something you’re not telling me?”
    She releases me quickly – maybe a little too quickly?
    “No, of course not,” she says easily.
    Too easily?
    “It’s just… the corps are not as–”
    “Corps?”
    “Corporates.” She jerks her head back from where we just came. “That’s what we call those up-tight suits.”
    Heh, I like it.
    “Anyway, they aren’t as… flexible as other branches. Meda, you must try to be good. Actually…” She shoots me a look. “it’s more than that. You need to try to blend in.”
    “Jo, you’re not listening. I am trying.”
    She jerks to a halt and turns to face me. “No, Meda, you’re not. Not really. When you hid with us the last time, when you thought we would kill you if we found out you were a half-demon, you did a much better job.”
    I think back. Maybe she’s right, but there’s a fundamental difference – back then I was only trying to seem good, this time I’m actually trying to be good. The latter is much harder, and it smarts that she prefers the former.
    Jo’s still talking. “So, Meda, I want you to try like you did last time. Try like your life depends on it.” Her hands are crushing mine.  “I believe you that you’re trying, but not that you’ve