Student Bodies by Sean Cummings Read Free Book Online Page A

incredibly brave thing to do.”
    Marcus gave me a knowing look and then glanced at his father. “What about Travis?” he asked again.
    His parents shared an uneasy glance. Wallace Guffman shook his head. “I’m sorry, son. Was he a close friend?”
    â€œNo,” said Marcus. “He was just another kid from school, is all.”
    My mother stood behind me and I could feel her fingers digging into my shoulder. I glanced up and she mouthed the words. “We’ll talk later.”
    â€œHe just walked out of the McDonald’s,” Marcus said. “He headed right through the front doors and marched straight down into the traffic. I could have caught him but there was so much blowing snow. I lost sight of him and…”
    Marcus’s mother pulled her son close and gave him a reassuring hug. “Shhh, Marcus,” she said, soothingly. “You did everything that you could do to stop him. Sometimes terrible things just happen and we have no idea why.”
    Neither Marcus nor I knew Travis Butler personally, but he wasn’t just another face in the crowd at Crescent Ridge High School. Like Mike Olsen, Travis was an athlete. He was the star of the wrestling team and he was also the Vice President on the Students’ Council. He had had a string of girlfriends, developing a reputation as a heartbreaker – at least that’s what the rumor mill suggested. He hung out with all the jocks at school, he was Coach Raymond’s favourite and it was a foregone conclusion that Travis would eventually wind up on the Olympic team.
    And now he was dead, a victim of a magical attack that looked a hell of a lot to me as though someone wanted his death to look like something other than the murder it was. Some protector of innocents I was turning out to be. For all my heightened senses, and despite wearing the weapon of a Shadowcull on my right wrist, I hadn’t detected the spell until Travis had already fallen victim to it. And that miniature blizzard… It came out of nowhere. A rolling, blinding wall of blowing snow had descended on McLeod Trail like a death shroud, but it was no freak of nature. Someone had meant for it to happen, someone not only managed to infect Travis Butler with ghost maggots or Soul Worms or whatever the hell he was covered from head to toe with, they also possessed enough power to control the elements. Someone with skill in aeromancy – the ability to summon and control the wind itself.
    But why kill Travis Butler? He was one of the most popular kids at school. I gazed out of the entrance to the tent and watched as a fleet of tow trucks started hauling smashed-up cars off the street. The sun was shining brightly, causing the fresh snow to sparkle.
    â€œHe didn’t kill himself, Mom,” said Marcus. “He had everything going for him, don’t you get it? Everyone knew who Travis Butler was and a pat on the shoulder from the guy was passport to instant popularity at school. There’s just no way.”
    I noticed Marcus’s father talking with a police officer in the opposite corner of the tent. He nodded a few times and then walked back over to the bench where we were sitting.
    He buttoned up his parka and slipped on a pair of black leather gloves. “We’re free to go now,” he said, turning his attention to me. “Julie, are you OK? We’re planning to take Marcus home now. It might be a good idea for both of you to just take it easy today, this has been a terrible morning.”
    I liked Wallace Guffman not just because he was the spitting image of Marcus in the future, but also because his soft-spoken nature could put anyone at ease, particularly if they were up to their necks in a crisis. He was a pharmacist and owned Wallace’s QuickPharm . When you saw the doctor and got a prescription, Wallace Guffman was the guy you’d go to get it from. He always made a big show whenever I came into his store,