Shattered by Sophia Sharp Read Free Book Online Page B

It’s my own demon I have to battle.” Suddenly his eyes lit up again, this time with concern. “You mustn’t worry, though. What happened to her had nothing to do with my ability. There’s no danger to you.”
    Laura caught something in what he said that stuck out immediately. He said her. Meaning the person who helped him develop the ability had been female. She didn’t think he meant give away a detail like that. She decided to change the subject. “You know what I think?” she said. “I think your gift is an angelic power.”
    To her surprise, he burst out laughing. A rich, booming laugh that caused Mrs. Mil burn to look up. On seeing that, he quieted down, but inadvertent chuckles stil escaped his lips.
    “Hardly,” he said to her final y. “That’s the furthest thing from the truth.”
    “No, I’m sure it is,” Laura persisted. “That’s the only explanation I could come up with.”
    “No, it definitely is not that. It’s a curse, if anything.”
    “How can you say that?”
    “Say what? That it’s a curse?”
    “Yes.”
    “There are stil parts of it you don’t know, Laura.”
    “Like what?”
    “I… can’t say.”
    “So you do know more than me!”
    “About what?”
    “About your ability!”
    “Yes, a bit more,” he admitted. “But it’s nothing you should worry over.”
    “You showed me so much already,” she said, “it’s not fair for you to not tel me more!”
    “Laura, I wish I could, but I can’t.”
    “Why not?” She knew she was pressing the subject, but didn’t care. She had to know more.
    “Some things aren’t meant to be shared,” he said. Then, he added quietly, as if to himself, “Some things are a burden you must bear on your own.”
    “What was that?” Laura asked.
    “Nothing.” He shook his head. For a second, he looked to be fighting two conflicting thoughts in his mind. Then he sighed. “Laura, I can’t tel you everything, but if you want… I can show you some of it.”
    “Show me? You mean something other than the mind thing?”
    “Yes. In a way.”
    “…ok. When?”
    “Today?”
    “Like, right now?”
    “No, not right now,” he laughed, “but after we’re done with this class.”
    “Oh.” Laura thought for a second. “My mom’s picking me up after. Because of the animal warning.”
    “Animal warning?”
    “Yea, haven’t you heard?”
    “No…?”
    She was surprised. It had been al over the news for the past few days. “Everyone’s talking about it. It’s been pretty much the only thing on the community’s mind.”
    “Wel , if you haven’t noticed,” he said drily, “I’m somewhat new here.”
    “Oh.” Laura blushed. “That’s right. Wel , there was this murder last week, sometime Thursday evening, in a nearby pub. A fight got out of hand between two people, and they took it outside. Apparently, one of them got knocked out, and the other left. But that wasn’t the lethal blow. When the police found the guy who was knocked out a few hours later, he had two inexplicable, large, like… teeth marks… on his neck. And his body had been drained completely of blood. They’re not sure what did it, but they think some type of animal was responsible. So they issued a warning for nobody to walk anywhere alone until they figure it al out.”
    “So that’s what they’re cal ing it,” he said quietly, half to himself. Laura was sure she wasn’t meant to hear. Then he looked up at her. “I have a car,” he said, “I can drive you after school.”
    “Real y?”
    “Yes.”
    “Wel , ok. I’l text my mom then.” She pul ed her phone out of her pocket and switched it on. While she was typing, she spoke up again. “So what you want to show me… is it similar to the mind thing?”
    “You’l see,” he said mysteriously.
    “Ok,” she laughed. She had no idea what it would be.

Chapter Eight
    ~At the Lake~
    When the clock hit 4:15 PM, Laura and Logan were dismissed from their afterschool detention. She’d already