Cover by The Guardian

Author:The Guardian
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Prince 6.0 (www.princexml.com)

Cover

“Shewouldreadtomeeverynightand thensingmeasillysongtogotosleepto. After she’d leave, many times I’d get up and try to sneak out to play with my toys.” “Did she spank you for it?” “No. My parents never hit me. She’d ticklemebacktobedandthreatentotake awaymydessertforaweek.Butshenever did that either.” Sethfeltthebeginningsofasmile,but themomenthedid,hefeltanevilpresence coming at him. Outofnowhere,areaperattacked.They were taloned and winged demons who wouldrip apart any creature theyfound. Lucky him, that he’d been here for their pleasure. Sethcursedasitsankitsclawsintohis shoulder.That’swhatIgetfornotpaying attention.Heshouldneverhavebeentalk- ing to her. 302/554

“Seth?”Thepanicinhervoicemeanta lottohim,buthedidn’thavetimetochat right now. “I’m under attack, Lydia. I have to go.” “Seth!” Heignoredherasmorereaperscamefor himandhefoughtthembackasbesthe could. Buttheyweren’ttheonlyonesrushing him… Oh yeah, this was going to really suck. * * * LydialookedovertowhereJadensaton thestonefloor,leaningagainstthewallby hisfire.“He’sunderattack.Areyousure we can’t help him?” Jadensentheramockingstare.“Sure. Let’sgogethimpinnedtoNoir’swallfora week,shallwe?I’mquitecertainitwould thrillhimtonoend,andmakeusallfeel better that you care so much.” 303/554

“You don’t have to be so sarcastic.” “Can’thelpit.Isuckedsarcasmstraight from my mother’s breast.” She ignored his even more sardonic reply. “Is there nothing we can do for him?” “We’re doing it.” Lydia hated what they were doing. It wasn’t in her to sit and not fight. Getting up, she started pa- cing—somethingshediduntilshewastoo tired to keep going. Only then did she sleep. But her dreams, probably restored byJaden,too,torturedherwiththethings she’d learned about Seth. Most of all, they tortured her with thoughtsofhimstandingguardaloneand fighting against the monsters Jaden had described. Please be okay. Please. 304/554

Shewokeupwellpastdawn,oratleast whatpassedfordawninthisdismalrealm. “Seth?” she tried again to contact him. He didn’t answer. ShelookedtowhereJadensleptbythe fire.Ihavetofindhim.Hewasintrouble, she could feel it. Theonlyproblemwasshedidn’tknow where he was or how to get there. Suddenly,sheheardacommotionoutin the hallway. She went to the door and pressedherearagainstitsothatshemight hear what was going on. Rumbling voices thundered, but she couldn’t make out their individual words. Notuntilonespokewithaclaritythat made her sick. “Huzzah! The Guardian is dead!” 305/554

CHAPTER 13 Terrified,Lydiastartedtoopenthedoorto tearthisplacedownuntilshefoundSeth, butJadengrabbedherjustbeforeshecom- mitted suicide. “Don’tbestupid,”hesnarledinherear asheheldherstillwithhishandonherup- perarm.“They’lltearyouapart—andenjoy everyminuteofit.Andwhatgoodwould thatdoanyofus?Believeme,Idon’twant toscrapebloodychunksofyouoffthefloor andceiling.Orgetyourremainssmeared on the bottom of my shoes.” Shecurledherlipindistasteatwhathe described.Thatwasbasicallythelastthing she wanted, too.

Releasingherarm,henudgedheraside sothatshe’dbehiddenbythedoorbefore he opened it. Shebitherlipasheleftheraloneinhis room. He was right. What she’d almost done would have been the worst sort of stupid. Thank the gods, he’d stopped her. But she couldn’t think straight after hearing that news. Seth couldn’t be dead. Tearschokedherasanimageofhimly- ing in pieces haunted her. Why do I care? Shehadnoidea.Andyettherewasno denyingthepaincrushingherchestatthe thought of him… I have to know what happened. Puttinghereartothedoor,shetriedas hard as she could, but she couldn’t hear anythingelseoutside.Noclueaboutwhat hadhappenedorwhatwasgoingon.Come on… someone tell me something. 307/554

Anything. Time ticked by so slowly that it naus- eatedher.Shewasabouttogoinsanebe- foreJadenfinallyreturned.Hemanifested in the room, right in front of her. “Well?” she asked hopefully. Hehesitatedandherheartstoppedbeat- ingasshebracedherselffortheworst.The longerhedelayed,themoreherpainbuilt untilshehadnoideahowshewasableto hold back her sobs. “He’s not dead,” he said finally. For that mean pause alone, she could havekickedhimassheletoutoneaudible sobatthegoodnews.Therelieffromthose threewordswasstaggering.Andforthat, shewassograteful,shecouldalmostkiss him. Seth wasn’t dead. Oh thank you, gods, thank you! “Where is he?” she asked Jaden. 308/554

Heswallowedaudibly.“Idon’tthinkyou wantmetoanswerthat.”Thenoteinhis voice returned her terror tenfold. What could have happened? Did Noir havehimcagedlikethey’ddonetoSolin? Hermindranwildwithhorrificpossibilit- iesassherememberedalltheimagesand storiesJadenhadtoldheraboutthisplace and what went on here. “Jaden,” she chided. “C’mon. After everythingelseyou’vetoldme?Ihaveto know where he is.” “It’s that bad, Lydia. You’re better off staying here for now.” Her heart pounding, she heard Noir cursingoutsidethedoorashetriedtoopen it.“Jaden!Youworthlesspieceofshit,get out here. Now!” Jaden vanished. Shepressedhereartothedooragain, desperateforanynuggetofadetail.She had to know something or she’d go mad. 309/554

“Youyelled?”Jadensneeredcontemptu- ouslyinatoneshewassurpriseddidn’tget him backhanded.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.