Michael (The Curse) (The Airel Saga, Book 3: Part 5-6) by Aaron Patterson, Chris White Read Free Book Online Page B

words, not mine—are just animals or something.” She stopped to breathe, looking at me with wide-open eyes.
    “Kim, were you not there when we talked about this downstairs? What is wrong with you? Look, I know why he came here, okay, honey? I know what he is and what he was planning. But the key word here is ‘was’ . You forget he tried to save me. He stabbed himself trying to kill the thing that was James.” I didn’t know that for sure, but it was certainly plausible. “That has to count for something. Don’t you think this is just as confusing for him as it is for you and me?”
    I breathed. “We’re all in a mess, Kim. This whole thing is a mess. We need to stick together; it’s the only way we’re going to find out what’s true. Look, he’s still here with us; he hasn’t run off or tried to kill us. We’re alive. That’s all I can think about right now. I’m so tired my brain hurts.”
    Kim looked at me. “I just love you. That’s all. I’m a little scared. I feel like we’re all out here alone, lost.” She started to cry.
    I took her hand. “Hey. Stop that. I love you too, Kim. You’re my BFF, and we’ll get through this together. Just let me talk to him and don’t get in the middle of it.”
    “But I am in the middle of it. Whether you like it or not, I am smack-dab in the middle of all of this.”
    “Good point.”
    “So now what?”
    Another good point. I didn’t know what to do, really. I felt like Kreios was the only being on earth who could answer that question. “I wish Kreios was here. He would know.”
    “Are we in danger?” She was looking at me like a frightened little girl.
    I considered my response. “My heart tells me yes.”
    “So he’s right. We need to jet. Like ASAP.”
    “Yup,” I said.
    “Sounds like a plan to me.”
    “Just one thing: Can you keep yourself from killing Michael for now?”
    “I’ll be watching him. You can bet on that.” Her eyes were dark.

CHAPTER IX
    Springdale School, Oregon—Present Day
    STILLNESS.
    The building had been a school at one point, the kind found in small towns. The gym also served as the cafeteria and the concert hall; it had a stage on one side. There was a baseball field out back too—maybe four buildings, including the maintenance shed.
    This one . Like a judge, he had made determinations, ruling out possibilities until he made his ruling on this one.
    The mostly abandoned buildings had been commandeered as a staging ground for the Portland pod of the Brotherhood. The leader, Trina, had foolishly kept studious records, images on her computer at the bar, and even more good information at her apartment. She wasn’t the first woman to find her way into the Brotherhood. The Celts of old had started it. Their women were fierce in battle—plus, it was a clever tactical decision.
    This clan boasted one thousand, three hundred, and twenty-one members, not counting stragglers and recruits. It was simple to do, really—an emergency meeting called by the Infernal—through Trina’s easily hijacked Facebook account—and the pod members gathered like dumb little sheep.
    The deputy Infernal called the meeting to order. The hosts of the demon horde sat on folding metal chairs like obedient Nazi party members, ready to salute. They all awaited the Infernal, the master propagandist. Soon she would come out from the shadows, stride to the dais, and begin the exhortation.
    Kreios could feel his power draining with each second. He would need to make this quick. “This should be easy,” Kreios said as he quietly bolted the door and drew his sword. He couldn’t think about the questions surrounding the disappearance of the Sword of Light. He could think of no reason why it should be lost again. He was the last of his bloodline, and he should be carrying it. Why was he not? Only El knew. He had simply placed a lid on those questions, purchased a massive hand-made Irish hand-and-a-half sword from Harmon’s smith shop in Portland,