The Eighth Day by Dianne K. Salerni Read Free Book Online Page A

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UNCORRECTED E-PROOF—NOT FOR SALE
    HarperCollins Publishers
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8
    THE VOICES FADED in and out, and it took a while for Jax to focus on the words.
    â€œWhy don’t we all move someplace else? The Emrys girl too.”
    â€œCamouflage works best when you stay in one place, Crandall. Start moving and all bets are off.”
    â€œYeah, but in this case . . .”
    â€œJax is awake.”
    Jax could’ve sworn he hadn’t moved. But now he opened his eyes. His left hand tingled, and when he looked at it . . . “Hey!” he shouted, sitting up and finding himself on the living room sofa. “I passed out and you finished the tattoo ?”
    A.J. shrugged. “You were nice and still.”
    His skin looked puffy and red, but the Aubrey crest was now inked into his wrist. It must have taken hours to finish the job. Was it normal to be out cold that long? Jaxlooked accusingly at the other boys.
    But his eyes were drawn back to the tattoo. It was undeniably cool. A.J. had gotten creative with the design: the eye on the scroll was fancier, he’d made the bird a bald eagle, and the flames were colorfully inked in red and gold. But it was basically the same family crest that Jax’s father had tattooed on his wrist and engraved on his fancy dagger.
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    ART (EMBLEM)
TK
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    â€œThere’s one more thing to do.” A.J. picked the Aubrey dagger off the coffee table. “Come over here . . . and kneel down in front of Riley.”
    â€œNo,” said Riley.
    A.J. frowned. “I know he’s young for it, but how else are you going to protect him?”
    â€œGimme that.” Jax stood up and snatched the dagger from A.J.’s hand. He didn’t know what they were talking about, but he didn’t like the sound of it. Kneel to Riley?
    A.J. turned toward Riley. “You said you were going to look out for the kid.”
    â€œI will,” said Riley. “The oath I made to his father covers that. I don’t require anything else from Jax.”
    â€œI don’t know what you promised my dad,” Jax said, “but you’ve been a lousy guardian.”
    â€œIs that what you think?” Riley replied.
    â€œYou haven’t looked out for me.” Jax scowled. “You haven’t explained anything to me— why we get this extra day, or who else gets it, or how there can be people who live on only one day a week.”
    â€œThose are a lot of questions.”
    â€œI’ve got more.” Jax held up his sore arm. “Why do I have to have a tattoo with my family crest, but you camouflage yours?”
    â€œYou’re right. We do need to talk about that, but not tonight.” Riley removed his dagger from its sheath and balanced it on the palm of his hand. “Getting marked takes a lot out of you,” he said, looking up from the dagger and meeting Jax’s eyes. “I might be a lousy guardian, but I know you’re tired and need to go to bed.”
    I am not , Jax wanted to say. Instead he swayed, and hiseyelids got too heavy to hold up. He would’ve fallen into the coffee table if Riley and A.J. hadn’t grabbed his arms. They hauled him upstairs, Jax mumbling protests all the way, and when they dumped him into bed, his eyes closed and stayed that way.
    â€œYou’ll sleep till morning” was the last thing he heard Riley say.
    In the morning, Jax woke with a sense of panic. His arm was sore but not so puffy anymore. He tried to remember why he’d held out his arm to A.J. and all he could think of was: he hadn’t wanted to. It made him shudder to remember how eagerly he’d asked for a snake when seconds earlier he’d wanted nothing to do with those needles. He pulled on a long-sleeve shirt and left the house for school without stopping for breakfast.
    â€œJax?” Riley called out from the kitchen as he passed by. “Hey,