Invincible by Sherrilyn Kenyon Read Free Book Online Page B

Nick returned his book to his back pocket. “So how does this divination junk work, anyway?”
    “Think of it as the cold chill you get down your spine whenever someone walks on your grave. That niggling sensation that tells you not to do something, and when you disregard it, you wish you hadn’t.”
    “Kind of like getting out of bed this morning.”
    Grim rolled his eyes. “Frik. Frak,” he snapped at his two skulking minions. “Get started cleaning this place while Nick and I work.”
    Without a word or hesitation, Pain took the mop from Nick. Suffering moved to pick up glass.
    “Wow. Where have you two been all my life?”
    Pain quirked an eyebrow as he mopped the floor. “Walking hand in hand with you. Haven’t you noticed?”
    Nick fell silent as he realized the truth of that statement. He had walked hand in hand with Pain and Suffering since the hour of his birth. Bitter poverty and the worst sort of bullying. Heck, he’d even been shot by one of his best friends, who’d intended to kill him dead in the gutter.
    Yeah, they’d definitely been his constant companions.
    He looked back at Grim. “Come to think of it, can we leave them behind?”
    Grim appeared offended by his question. “No. They’re my best friends.”
    “Yeah, but I don’t want to be in pain, and I definitely don’t want to suffer.”
    “Well … The only way to avoid them is to die.” Grim gave him a hopeful smile.
    That chilled him all the way to his soul. “Okay, let’s change the topic now.” He pointed to the wall behind Grim. “Oh, look! A chicken.”
    Grim made a sound of extreme frustration. “Fine. Let’s begin with something even you can’t screw up.”
    “Way to build up my crappy confidence there. You should volunteer for the suicide hotline.”
    “What makes you think I don’t?”
    Nick screwed his face up. “Ah man, that’s wrong on so many levels.”
    “Je suis ce que je suis.”
    Nick took a step back. Last night had taught him to be wary of any foreign words. “Is that a spell?”
    Grim shook his head. “It’s French, Nick. Means ‘I am what I am.’ Sheez, kid. Get educated. Read a book. I promise you it’s not painful.”
    “I would definitely argue that. Have you seen my summer reading list? It’s nothing but girl books about them getting body parts and girl things I don’t want to discuss in class with my female English teacher. Maybe in the boys’ locker room and maybe with a coach, but not with a woman teacher in front of other girls who already won’t go out with me. Or worse, they’re about how bad all of us men reek and how we need to be taken out and shot ’cause we’re an affront to all social and natural orders. Again—thanks, Teach. Give the girls even more reason to kick us down when we talk to one. Not like it’s not hard enough to get up the nerve to ask one out. Can you say inappropriate content? And then they tell me my manga’s bad. Riiight … Is it too much to ask that we have one book, just one, on the required reading list that says, ‘Hey, girls. Guys are fun and we’re okay. Really. We’re not all mean psycho-killing, bloodsucking animals. Most of us are pretty darn decent, and if you’ll just give us a chance, you’ll find out we’re not so bad.”
    Grim let out a bored sigh. “Are you through ranting?”
    “Maybe.”
    Grim slapped him on the back so hard, he stumbled. “Puberty is embarrassing. That’s the point of it. Get used to it. And look on the bright side: Once you survive the teen horrors and degradations, adulthood is easy.”
    Great. Just great.
    Nick scoffed. “And for the record, I do read. Lots of things, which is how I know it can be painful. Very, very painful.”
    Grim rubbed at his forehead like his head was starting to hurt. Then he pulled at the gold chain around his neck to expose a strange hematite pendulum that had a gold skull securing it to the chain. He held it out toward Nick.
    Nick hesitated before he took it. He ran his