The Unseen by JL Bryan Read Free Book Online

kill her.
    “ Any of us could be him,” the dark-haired one said, pressing the pamphlet against her hand again until she finally snatched it from him.
    “ Or her,” the blond-haired one amended again.  An equal-opportunity fanatic, that one. “You could be the messiah.  Or me.  Or any of us who are young.”
    “ Any who are young,” the dark-haired boy echoed, nodding solemnly.
    Cassidy hurried away, then glanced back over her shoulders at the younger boys earnestly staring after her.  They both raised their eyes quickly, as though they had been checking her out from behind, and blushed and smiled.  For half a second, she felt bad for them.
    “Guys, you should get out of here,” she told them. “Or somebody’s probably going to kick your ass.”
    “ The Light-Bringer will protect his disciples,” the dark-haired one said.  He held up a black book with no title or author name, just a small gold spiral on the cover and spine.
    “ Or hers,” the blond boy added, naturally.
    Cassidy shook her head and turned away from the two mildly-cute suburbanite weirdos.  She crossed the street and ducked into a dingy, crowded bar for a strong shot of after-work relief.
     

     

Chapter Three
     
    The Five Fingers Tavern was a narrow place, following the tradition of local bars using the word “Five” in their name, just in case you forgot what neighborhood you were in. 
    Cassidy wove her way through the Friday after-work crowd to reach the back and order a drink.  Barb stood at the taps, pouring a Guinness, and smiled when she saw Cassidy.  Barb kept her hair much shorter than it had been in high school, dyed orange this week, and she had rings in her nose and ears,  but to Cassidy, she just looked like the same girl she’d known since the age of fourteen.
    “Let me guess,” Barb said, her voice raised to compete against the dense crowd and loud music. “Water?  No, wait.  A Shirley Temple.”
    “ Or maybe a shot of Jameson instead.”
    “ Rent’s due next week,” Barb reminded her.
    “ Kilbeggan, then,” Cassidy sighed.
    “ One shot of leprechaun piss.” Barb poured, then winked as she filled the glass to the rim. “The second half is on the house.”
    “ Thanks, babe.  I need it today.” Cassidy downed half the glass, relishing the burning sensation in her throat and stomach.
    “ Are there days when you don’t need it?” Barb raised an eyebrow.
    “ Shut up.”
    “ Can I get my tequila?” shouted a guy with an enormous earlobe stretched around a steel ring. “Hey, bar bitch!”
    “ Lick my butt rash, Vic,” Barb replied pleasantly. “I’m busy.”
    “ You’re still going tonight?” Cassidy asked.
    “ Yeah, I can sneak out of here by midnight, I think,” Barb said. “As long as Chani shows up for the rest of my shift like she promised.  She’d better not dick out this time.  I wouldn’t want to miss DJ Pretentious on his big night.”
    Peyton’s club name was actually Doc Philosophy, and his mixes tended to be hyper-dancey on top with some weird sound backdrops drawn from obscure movies, Asian pop, or the television news.
    “The Red Door is larger than anything he’s played locally,” Cassidy said.
    “ We’re on the list, though, right?  I’m not paying a cover to see your boyfriend act like king of the room.”
    “ We’re on the list.  Pour me some more leprechaun piss.”
    “ Already?  You having nightmares again, Cass?” Barb asked.
    “ My fucking tequila, you fat whore!” the customer called Vic yelled.
    “ Suck it and choke, Vic!” Barb splashed cheap tequila in a glass and slid it to the loud customer without looking at him.  She kept her eyes on Cassidy, clearly concerned.
    “ They always come back.  That’s why I keep my brain strictly blotted out as much as possible.” Cassidy drank, starting to feel a little warm and unbalanced now. “Stupid brain, always on my ass about everything.”
    Barb chuckled, glanced around for the manager, then