Shadow Hills by Anastasia Hopcus Read Free Book Online Page A

out over my fear of discovery, and I inched up off the stool until I could see over the top of the wall. The supplies on the metal shelves in front of the wall hid me from the men’s sight, but they also obscured my view of the man closest to me. The other one I could see through a gap between the boxes. He was short and compact in an athletic way, with sandy brown hair and a nondescript face. Judging from the scowl and his stance, with his arms crossed over his chest, I figured he was the one doing the lecturing.
    “I know what I’m doing,” the other one said.
    “Yeah? What if you don’t? What if they get control of you? I’ve heard—”
    “A lot of stories, that’s what you’ve heard. You don’t know anything for a fact, just the history that’s been handed down. How do we know it’s true?”
    “It was handed down by men like your own father. And mine.Do you doubt them? If you let the Banished get into your head, they can twist your mind into something unrecognizable.”
    The man hidden from me let out a derisive snort.
    Mr. Nondescript plowed on, “You’re at the center of the research. You possess critical information. What if they’re after that?”
    “They won’t get it,” the other one retorted. “Give me some credit.”
    “It’s not you I’m worried about. It’s—”
    “Them. I know, I know.” Hidden Guy’s tone of voice was beyond patronizing.
    Apparently Mr. Nondescript didn’t appreciate this. I saw his face get red a second before he stepped forward, out of my sight. “I’m serious here. Our whole future is at stake. You need to tell the Council about this.”
    The other one heaved a sigh. “Fine. I’ll talk to the Council. But give me a few days, okay? I need to get all my ducks in a row.” He paused, then added in more pleasant tone, “Come on, let’s go grab some coffee before you leave. Talk about something else for a while.”
    The other man hesitated. “Okay,” he finally agreed.
    I crouched down again. I certainly didn’t want them to spot me after the conversation I’d just heard. The door closed behind them, and I stood up slowly, cautiously peering over the wall.
    What the hell was all that about?
    Instead of finding answers about why Athena had wanted to come to Shadow Hills, I only had more questions.

Chapter Four
    By the time I found my way out of the mazelike hospital corridors, it was after one, and Graham had texted me about meeting up for lunch. I didn’t see him in the cafeteria, but I was getting hungry, so I grabbed one of the prepackaged sandwiches and a salad.
    After a few minutes, Graham slid into the seat across from me and tossed his sandwich down on the table.
    “Hey, sorry that took so long. I got conned into taking some new kid on a tour of the campus, and he was asking about his advisor and classes, blah, blah, blah.”
    “Advisor?” I questioned.
    “Yeah, they’re like your own little life coach.” Graham’s tone was ironic. “You should have been assigned one. I think I wrote it down on your classes page.”
    I pulled the maps and stuff out of my purse and found my schedule. Graham cocked his head so he could read it.
    “It’s right there.” Graham pointed to the bottom of the page. “You got Sherwood; he’s cool, and it looks like you have photography with him, too. They do that a lot, pair you with someone who teaches an elective you picked. I guess they figure you’ll be more compatible.”
    “So what exactly does your advisor do?”
    “They oversee your academic life.” Graham took a bite of his BLT, then continued. “Keep your parents updated on how you’re doing, make sure your classes are going okay … Don’t worry about it. Advisor meetings are on Friday, so you have a whole week to get to know him in class. Plus, Sherwood’s about the best advisor you can get; he’s really laid back.”
    We ate for a moment in silence, then I said, “So I was at the hospital today, and I saw this stuff about an epidemic in