Bitter Demons by Sarra Cannon Read Free Book Online Page A

if we could find a way to close the demon gate?”
    Jackson shook his head. “It’s been done. Once before in Paris. A group called the Hand of God smashed the portal stone and closed the demon gate.”
    “What happened?”
    “Everyone died.”
    “Oh,” I said, hanging my head. “What if we just ran away?”
    Jackson turned to look at me, sadness in his eyes.
    “What if we just got on your bike and drove away? If I never go through the initiation, maybe we could spend our lives trying to find a way to free your brother without the Order breathing down our necks.”
    Jackson carefully tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, then placed his palm on my cheek. “I wish we could,” he said. “You have no idea how much.”
    “Why can’t we?”
    “The Order would find us no matter where we tried to hide,” he said. “Especially now that you’ve gone through the confirmation ritual. Running away would make things so much worse for us both. Besides, there is no way to free my brother.”
    “Don’t say that,” I said. “We still have almost two years to look for a way out of this. There’s got to be a way.”
    Jackson let his hand slip from my face.
    “Let’s get you home” he said. “It’s almost seven.”
    I climbed onto the motorcycle, my heart aching.

I Guess I Was Expecting More
     
    Even with the important game coming up, I couldn’t take my mind off my afternoon with Jackson. How had I managed to screw things up so royally? Instead of enjoying the beautiful picnic, I pushed him to tell me his most painful secrets.
    Now everything was even more complicated than ever. When we were together, I felt a magnetic attraction to him - like we were meant for each other. But now I wondered if the attraction was only one-sided. Did he really care for me? Or did he just want be close to me so he could stay close to his brother?
    Right now, his brother was more like a bodyguard for me. He was trapped somewhere and was only able to take form when my life was threatened in some way. I’d figured that much out by now. If the Order of Shadows ever put me through the final initiation ceremony, however, my connection to Jackson’s brother would be much more intimate. Any hope I had of a possible relationship with Jackson would be destroyed forever if I let that happen.
    I needed to find out as much as I could about the initiation ceremony of a Prima. And I needed to start looking for a way to break the bond or close the gate without killing myself and everyone in Peachville.
    “Harper?” Courtney knocked on my door and poked her head inside. “You’re not even dressed,” she said. “Ella Mae’s already downstairs waiting in the van. Need help?”
    I looked down at my robe. I’d been so absent-minded the past few days. If I didn’t hurry, I was going to be late to meet the futures from Cypress. That’s what all the girls on the squad called them, anyway. Futures. The technical name was Prima Futura and was given to any girl in-line to someday become the Prima of her demon gate. There were two Futures on the Cypress squad. Their mother was the current Prima. I envied them and I hadn’t even met them yet. I would have given anything for just five minutes with my mother. Maybe she could have explained this crazy world to me.
    “Harper?”
    I’d been staring into space again. “Sorry,” I said. “Can you grab my cheerleading uniform out of my closet?”
    Courtney rushed to the closet while I quickly applied the demon tattoo to my cheek and threw my hair into a high ponytail.
    “Thanks,” I said. “Tell Ella Mae I’ll be down in two minutes.”
    I got into my uniform in record time, slipped into my sneakers and ran downstairs to the van. By the time we got to the school, everyone was waiting for me.
    “I was just about to go without you,” Mrs. King said. “Brooke, you’re off the hook. Harper’s here.”
    Brooke crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Are you sure Harper’s ready for this level