The Light and Fallen by Anna White Read Free Book Online Page B

pot
simmering on the stove and refilled it. As she slid the full bowl
back across the table, Duncan finally broke the silence. "How was
the first day?" he asked. "Being human?"
    Lucian toyed with his spoon before he
answered. "It was hard," he said. "Different than I expected. After
all the watching, all the training, I thought I knew what humans
were like. I thought they would all be the same, like background
noise. I thought I would spend all my time thinking about the
key."
    Duncan raised an eyebrow. "You didn't?"
    "No," he admitted. "My emotions were all over
the place." He hesitated and wondered what Duncan was thinking. He
was embarrassed to continue, but he knew he should tell his
Guardians everything. "In fact," he said, "I spent most of the day
thinking about a girl."
    He shoved his bowl away and stared down at
the table. "What am I doing? It's barely been twenty-four hours and
I already lost focus. This assignment is so important, but I don't
how to do it."
    Sofia reached across the table and rested her
fingers on his arm. "Trust me," she said. "No one ever does. We all
falter, but in the end we find our way. It may just take a little
time."
    "I don't have time!" he exclaimed. "No one
does! Especially since I wasted thirty-two days sleeping!"
    Duncan wiped his mouth with a napkin. "It's
gonna get easier man," he said. "You'll see. Tell me about the
girl."
    "Forget the girl!" Lucian snapped. "She
doesn't matter. I'm not going to think about her anymore."
    Duncan laughed. "Easier said than done."
    His voice dropped and became more serious. "I
know you're used to having the great big picture in front of you,
being a Dominion and all, but that don't happen here. You gotta
accept that things'll come together." He steepled his fingers
beneath his chin and stared at Lucian. "You're used to making all
the decisions," he continued, "but you're in it now. You gotta let
go of all that control you're used to having."
    "He's right," Sofia said. "And your mission,
finding the key, is the most important thing."
    "I know ," Lucian said. Everything they
were saying was true, but he felt exasperated. "As soon as school
was out I started looking, but finding a single, random thing
without knowing what to look for is a little difficult."
    "You do seem to have less knowledge than the
angels that have come to us in the past," Sofia admitted. "I
thought a Dominion would surely arrive with a plan. But if you
arrived without information, then there's a reason."
    Lucian sighed. "How can knowing nothing help me?"
    "I don't know," Sofia said, "but it
will."
    She elbowed Duncan gently. "We've been living
down here in the Dark for centuries, and one thing we've learned is
that there's always a plan, even when we can't see it. Sometimes
you just have to wait for it to find you."
     
     
     

Chapter 21
     
     
    Almost before Samara realized it, the first
months of the year skipped by. The weather turned balmy, and the
morning air held a damp chill. She still dreaded the moment she had
to leave the solitude of her car, but each day it was a little
easier.
    Her mother had moved into the spare bedroom
that looked out onto their front yard, and although there had still
been no news about her father, this small act seemed to shake Dina
out of her depression. She had been relieved to arrive home from
school several weeks earlier to find Dina dressed and in the
kitchen, baking bread with all the lights on.
    Lucian hadn't spoken to her since the first
day of school. She sometimes passed him as she navigated the halls
between classes, or caught a glimpse of his face from across the
gym, but his eyes always slid right over her as if she were
invisible. She hoped it was her imagination, but sometimes she
thought he was avoiding her on purpose.
    Carin continued to be intensely curious about
both Lucian and Jack. She monitored who they talked to with the
skill of a private investigator, and reported her findings to
Samara as they shredded old records in the