Where All Souls Meet by S. E. Campbell Read Free Book Online

right, though. Blood is bad.
    A moment later he heard the sound of swearing and garbled talk. He saw his dad stagger down the path in torn clothes and a sweaty face. I take it Dad was not able to find work again. He shuddered at the thought and stared up into the swiftly darkening sky.
    Eden was ripped away from the memory and pulled into the dark slide where she waited. She felt concerned for Edward. As she stared down at the disk below her, she wished she did not have to go back to see how the memory finished. With the former three souls, their endings had not been good. As she sped toward the disk, she knew she had no choice but to see. Before she knew it, she was back in Edward's body again.
    He sat in front of another fire. A couple of dead fish sat in a pan on a log by his side. His mom and dad sat to his right, and Meg sat to his left. As usual, Meg was quiet and kept chewing her lip. There was a bruise along her right cheek. He could not stand to look at her.
    As he stared into the trees, he heard footsteps and saw that a man stood at the edge of the campfire. He was tall with a full dark brown beard. He wore a suit, which was very different than the tattered clothes everyone else in the Hooverville wore. What is somebody so rich doing here? Edward frowned. His dad stood up and stared at the man.
    "You are Edward, the boy who cares for my aunt?" the man asked, studying Edward's face.
    "Y-yes sir," he said, uncertain. He realized the man must be Mrs. Durson’s nephew.
    "My aunt speaks highly of you," he said. "My name is Douglas Durson."
    "Nice to meet you, sir," Edward said, still confused. Why is he here? A man like this has too much money to be in Hooverville.
    "I wish to speak to your father for a moment," Douglas said. "If you will permit me to."
    "I'm Edward's father," replied his dad. The man ran his hand over his chestnut, grisly beard as his mahogany eyes narrowed nervously. "We can talk over there in the trees. Shouldn't be overheard."
    Nodding, Douglas turned and walked toward the trees with Edward’s dad behind him. Edward's heart thundered in his chest as he watched, and his mom let out a shaky breath beside him. His palms grew sweaty at the thought of what such a man could want with him. Does he think I stole from his aunt or something ? Even while living in Hooverville, he would never steal. He was a moral person.
    "Do you know what the man wants?" Meg asked.
    "I don't know," Edward said.
    "This worries me," his mom said, frowning into the fire.
    Edward waited with bated breath until his dad came out of the trees with tears streaming down his face. Douglas had a half smile upon his lips, as if pleased but not sure if it was appropriate to show it. When he reached the camp, he gazed at Edward with a probing stare.
    "What's going on, Tim?" Edward's mom asked, leaping to her feet.
    "Mr. Durson wants to take Edward with him to aid old Mrs. Durson," his dad said. "He’s willing to pay us. They want to take him back to New York."
    " What? " Meg yelled. "No, Dad, don't do this to him. You can't sell him."
    His mom shuddered and gazed at Douglas. "What do you wish for him to do?"
    "I did not know my aunt had fallen into such despair that she had excused all of her servants. She told me the only servant she had was your son who took good care of her. I wish to make my aunt happy," Mr. Durson said. "The boy will be my aunt's caretaker in our household."
    It felt as if the world had slowed down. Tears filled Edward’s eyes as he stared at his family. He knew if he left them, he might not ever seen them again. New York was a long way from California. His sister had resorted to bad things in order to get money, and his dad had bad gambling habits. His mom grew thinner by the day. But what if the money would stop them? What if my sister would no longer need to wander the streets and my dad wouldn't gamble?
    "How much will you give my family?" Edward asked.
    "Enough," Mr. Durson said.
    Edward's dad