Cinder X (Death Collectors, #2) by Jessica Sorensen Read Free Book Online Page A

any visible wounds on him or other signs that he’s part of the undead
     
    “Okay, yeah. Sure... but I need to hurry because I have class.” Because I need to get the hell out of here.
     
    He nods and then turns for the hallway between two columns, motioning for me to follow him. For a moment it looks like a shadow is tailing him, but as soon as I blink it’s gone. So I keep walking, more attention draws to us as we weave through the crowd. I’m trying my hardest to keep from touching anyone, but a lot of them seem to be determined to touch me, slamming their shoulders against mine, stepping on my toes, their deaths smothering me. Blood fills the streets. They all lie dead. A cloud covers the town.
     
    One foot in front of the other. Breathe. Eyes drift in my direction and some notably glow all around me. I have this gut-wrenching feeling that I’m being watched by something more than just their eyes.
     
    I hold my breath the entire journey and only breathe freely again when we’re hidden in his classroom with the door shut behind us. He seems to feel the same way as well, since he lets out a loud exhale the moment the door clicks shut.
     
    “Jesus, things are getting intense,” he says, turning around and leaning against the shut door.
     
    I don’t respond, looking around the vacant room with art on the walls, bare easels and paint supplies everywhere. I can’t stop my mind from wandering to thoughts of Asher and the first time we kissed. In here. How he touched me. How his tongue felt… and his tongue ring… amazing… the way he made me feel was amazing.
     
    “Are you okay?” Professor Morgan asks.
     
    I stand near the tables and face him. “Yeah,” I reply with hesitancy. “Although I’d like to know why you wanted to talk to me in here because I’m guessing it’s not about a project.”
     
    He stands up straight. “No, it’s not.” He takes a cautious step forward. “Tell me, how have you been doing through all this?”
     
    I shift uneasily, noting that he’s positioned himself between me and the door. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”
     
    He points over his shoulder at the door. “The whole town going… well, a little berserk.”
     
    “Yeah, I’ve noticed things are a little…” I search for the correct word that would best describe the madness. “Strange.”
     
    “Strange might be a bit of an understatement. It’s like they’ve been taken over by some sort of…” He trails off, shaking his head. “And there are the murders and the strange disappearances.”
     
    I’m wary to say anything. We’ve barely exchanged more than twenty words and now suddenly he’s talking to me about the fact that the school looks like it’s been taken over by pod people.
     
    He sighs when I don’t answer him right away. “Look, Ember, I know we haven’t really talked, but I’d like to help you the best that I can. I know you’re friends with Asher. And I know you’re important to him.”
     
    I wonder if he knows I’m a Grim Angel. If he’s an Angel himself. I eye him over, deliberating if I can trust him or not, at least enough to ask. Then I come to the conclusion that it doesn’t really matter. If he’s after me, then he’s already got me trapped. If he’s not and just thinks I’m crazy, then he can be one more person I add to the list.
     
    “Are you… are you…” God, please don’t think I’m crazy . “Are you an Angel of Death, too?”
     
    He shakes his head, not startled. A good sign. “I wouldn’t be able to help you if I was, but I do know about them—Angels and Reapers. You .”
     
    “Because Asher told you?”
     
    He considers something very carefully. “More or less.”
     
    There’s more to it than what he’s telling me. If I’ve learned anything, it’s that he’s probably not going to tell me because he either can’t or wants to keep his secrets. “You said you were going to help me,” I say. “But how exactly? And from