Guardians (Seers Trilogy) by Heather Frost Read Free Book Online Page B

on her surprised lips. He pulled back almost immediately, pulling a face. “Ew, that stuff stinks.”
    Her lips twitched. “You match me now.”
    He snatched up his napkin and hurried to wipe the green residue off his mouth. While he did that, Lee turned to look at me. “Well,
I
,for one, am glad it’s Friday. Does anyone have any great plans?”
    Mark glanced up from his food to nod. “Yeah, I am. My mom’s taking me to buy a new game tomorrow.”
    “That’s not fair,” David complained. “You get a new game every week.”
    “Sometimes two,” Mark confided, scratching absently at a sore near his ear. “I only tell you about my favorite ones.”
    I swallowed a bite of my sandwich and cleared my throat before speaking. “So, Lee, what are
you
doing this weekend? You seem a little more obsessed than usual.”
    “So says you to the one in total green,” Rodney muttered.
    Lee elbowed him again before answering me. “Nothing major. Mom and I are probably going to be cleaning the house all day. She gets like this around the holidays, not that I understand why. As far as I know, we’re not doing anything special for Thanksgiving.”
    “You’re always welcome to join us,” I told her quickly, a little surprised she wasn’t already planning on it. The Pearsons had been celebrating Thanksgiving with the Bennetts for years now.
    She shrugged a little. “My mom doesn’t want to impose. Things are different this year . . .” She shook her head. “Anyway, that’s my great weekend. Peter may come by to help out, so I’ll save the bathroom for last. More specifically, the toilet. It’s all his, as far as I’m concerned.”
    “Are things not going well with him?” Patrick asked. He was always interested in anything the Demon Seer was doing, and Lee knew what the offhand question really meant: Was Peter acting strangely or being contacted by the Demons who had blackmailed him before?
    Lee’s voice was steady, though her aura was a bit more uneasy than before. “No, things are peachy—I just hate cleaning the toilet.” She nodded to my Guardian. “What about you? What are you up to this weekend?”
    “I’m not sure about much past tonight. Kate and I are going out.”
    “Oh yeah?” Lee’s smile was knowing. “That’s really nice of you, Patrick.”
    “Is that so unusual? Them going out?” Rodney laughed.
    “Trust me—you don’t know these two like I do. Kate’s a party pooper and Patrick’s a penny-pincher.”
    “And you’re my best friend
why
?” I asked, wryly scathing.
    She grinned. “Because you love my quirkiness.”
    “All-out weirdness, maybe.”
    She reached across the table to pat my hand. “Just telling it like it is, hon.” She looked to Patrick. “I’m glad. You two will have fun doing something . . . fun.” Rodney shook his head at her, but Patrick and I both heard the word Lee had wanted to say: normal.
    ***
    As soon as we got home, the twins went to the kitchen to find a snack. I could hear Grandma’s comfortingly rough voice greet them, and I hesitated on the bottom step, playing with the idea of joining them. But it was during moments like this the guilt resurfaced, and so I clutched at my bag and moved up the stairs instead. Once in my room, I tossed my bag to the floor and then stared out my window.
    The worst part about these past few weeks was the waiting. The nothing. Ever since I’d been introduced to the world of the Guardians, it had been a constant battle against Demons. Dodging attacks, hunting enemies, trying to stay alive. For over a month now, I had nothing to do. We were purely on the defensive now. Terence—Patrick and Toni’s Guardian supervisor—assured us that he had people taking care of everything else—tracking the Guardian virus, keeping tabs on Far Darrig and Selena Avalos (our two top worries), and basically solving all our problems with the Demon Lord. It’s not that I didn’t trust Terence, but . . . it was hard to entrust