Karma (Karma Series) by Donna Augustine Read Free Book Online Page A

I'd ever seen outside a Vogue Magazine, and not an interior spread but a glossy bright cover.
    She walked over toward us, hips sashaying in a way that would captivate any human male alive. I say alive since she didn't seem to have any affect on Harold. Every time I thought I peeled another layer of the onion back on this guy, he revealed another skin of strange.
    “ Would you show Karma around?”
    Karma, the truth of the name settled into my skin like a lotion I was allergic to.
    “ I've got a few matters that need my immediate attention.” He nodded to us and made to leave.
    “ Wait, what about my killer? When are we going to go get him?”
    “ Your killer?”
    “ Yes. You said I could get my killer.”
    “ Sure. Try and get him.”
    “ How?”
    “ I don't know.” He shrugged and threw his hands up, in a “why are you asking me” kind of way.
    “ But you said—”
    “ That you could right the wrongs, not me. I don't do that sort of thing.”
    “ But I don't know how to do anything.”
    He looked toward his office , where Fate waited. “That certainly isn't my shortcoming.”
    I watched Harold walk away from me and directly toward the office where Fate had basically ordered his presence. Dead or not, shouldn't there be some sort of professional standards?
    And another weird thing was Fate and Harold's relationship. I couldn't quite put my finger on what was wrong but there was tension there and I couldn't tell if they liked each other or not. Normally, when I look at two people, and see them interact, it's obvious. Not with those two.
    Luck drew my attention back as she clucked her tongue. I found her looking me up and down in an appraising way, which I ignored, trying to make the best of the next month. After all, it would be nice if I didn't have to hate everyone I worked with. Even a dead girl needs a friend.
    I plastered on another fake smile. “I'm Camilla. It's very nice to meet you.”
    Her lips formed a moue as she didn't reply but kept appraising me. “Yes, you are definitely a transfer, all right.”
    I wasn't sure what she was seeing that I didn't. What was I doing that screamed different? Broadcasted me as the transfer they kept labeling me?
    “ I just don't know why he did it, not that he listens to anyone,” she continued.
    “ What exactly is a transfer and what's so bad about it?”
    “ Murphy!” she called out to a man wearing a long tan coat and a hat that would have looked normal on Humphrey Bogart.
    We both took each other in as he walked over. He looked like he was in his early forties , with patches of gray that were winning the war for real estate at his temples. Did that mean these bodies aged? No, I didn't think so. Harold said this is what I'd look like throughout time. Murphy just got a bum deal I guess.
    “ Karma?” he asked as if he already knew the answer.
    “ Actually, it's Camilla.”
    “ We all go by our call signs, here,” he explained.
    Luck hopped up on the desk, crossing her legs and showing off a really nice set of five inch red heels.
    She punched Murphy in the arm to get his attention. “Tell Karma what a transfer is. She's got questions.”
    “A transfer is someone that was mortal first. After they were created into existence, they took a human shape for a while before signing on here.”
    “ Neither of you were?”
    “ Nobody in this office was. We haven't had a transfer in a while. Doesn't tend to work out.”
    “ Why?” This didn't bode well.
    “ When your being is first created, you understand the universe and the surroundings. When you’re placed into a mortal body, the human shell insulates you a bit and your connection is dulled. It's like listening to someone talk under water. Even when you are broken from the shell, you're still at a disadvantage.” He sat down on the desk next to Luck. I could tell they were tight knit, in a buddy kind of way.
    “ What happened to the other transfers?” I asked, watching the two of them for