The Anathema by Zachary Rawlins Read Free Book Online Page B

then he finally gave in, his shoulders slumping. He felt a strange sense of decompression as the shields dissipated, as if he had been keeping his head wedged between invisible blocks of Styrofoam, only becoming aware of it now as they fell away, leaving him feeling sort of naked and vulnerable. “Alright, let’s get this over with.”
    Renton tapped one finger against Alex’s forehead. Alex knew, thanks to Rebecca’s tutoring, that most telepaths and empaths needed physical contact to work, but it still creeped him out to let Renton touch him. He couldn’t complain about the results, though, as the pain in his arm throbbed once more, weakly, and then disappeared so abruptly that he had to touch his damaged forearm to reassure himself that it was still there.
    “Wow,” Alex said quietly and unintentionally.
    “Right?” Renton smirked, picking up Alex’s gym bag along with his own.
    “Come along, boys,” Anastasia said, heading for the door. “Let’s take a little walk.”
     
    * * *
     
     “This whole house is yours?”
    “Yes. In a sense. This house is set aside by the Academy for the current scion of the Black Sun, and at the moment, that happens to be me,” Anastasia said modestly, leading him through the dark wood and antique furniture that lined the entry way to the home, back into the office where she conducted the majority of her business. The desk she sat down behind was impressive, carved from a heavy, stained wood and ornately detailed, but all it really did, in Alex’s opinion, was make Anastasia look tiny and ridiculous behind it. He almost tripped over a Weir lying on the floor, before he heard it growling menacingly at him and stopped just short.
    “Ah!” Alex yelped involuntarily, jumping back. “What the hell?”
    Anastasia gave him a surprised look that he suspected was manufactured, and then a small, apologetic smile.
    “Oh, that is Donner. Don’t worry, he won’t bite.”
    “That’s not particularly comforting,” Alex said, staring at Donner suspiciously. “Is that a Weir, or a normal wolf?”
    “Donner is a Weir, but the collar prevents him from changing.” Alex leaned as close as he was comfortable with, and saw that Donner wore a heavy collar that appeared to be made of a tarnished silver metal. The Weir gave him another warning growl, then stalked away to curl up around Anastasia’s feet, behind the desk. Anastasia nodded to Renton, who moved a chair in front of the desk, and gestured for Alex to take a seat. “Blitzen should be nearby. And, no, before you ask, I did not name them. You can thank my little sisters for that.”
    “Okay, whatever,” Alex said, sitting down, clutching his damaged arm protectively, though it didn’t hurt at all. “What’s so important that it couldn’t wait until after I got patched up?”
    “You must realize, Alex, that I have a great many responsibilities,” Anastasia said broadly, with barely disguised glee. “With so many things for me to worry over, your safety and security can no longer be among those concerns, I’m afraid.”
    “Well, that’s a relief.”
    “Don’t be obnoxious,” Anastasia scolded. “You have no idea the lengths I have gone to, in order to keep you safe. In any case, I am handing over the responsibility to someone else. As you know, I found myself one bodyguard short of the quota required for me by cartel bylaw.”
    “Yeah,” Alex said, still raw from the experience, his voice catching, “I’m sorry about that, you know. About what happened to Edward.”
    “It happens,” Anastasia said, shrugging.
    “No one is interested in your apologies,” Renton said contemptuously.
    “Hey,” Alex objected, turning toward him and glaring. “What does that mean?”
    Renton’s expression was unreadable, hidden behind his plastic smile and his permafrost eyes. Alex had known him for months, spoken to him daily, and he still did not understand him at all. Edward hadn’t talked enough while he was alive to