Joss the Seven by Horne J. Philip

Author:Horne, J. Philip [Horne, J. Philip]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: J. Philip Horne
Published: 2016-05-05T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

MASKS

I’VE HEARD OF this thing called insomnia. I don’t have it. I can stay up thinking, but not when I’m dead tired. My mind was on fire with questions, adrenaline pumped through my veins, and three minutes after my head hit the pillow I was asleep. I woke to my alarm five hours later.

My stretchy black work clothes and shoes from the previous night were scattered on the floor. I took a moment to fold them up and tuck them in the back of my bottom dresser drawer. I put on a slim fitting T-shirt and my tightest pair of athletic shorts.

I’d seen some weirdness from Mara starting the very first time I’d met her. I was convinced she’d been frustrated when she’d heard I was a ghost. And I’d swear she’d been happy when she’d thought I had failed test five. Ghost and blender. The two talents I most needed for that mission last night. The talents that made me a Thief.

And then there was that smile last night in the car. I’d told her about the trap, and for just one moment, she’d smiled.

I grabbed my phone and messaged Thomas.

Can you talk?

I waited. My phone rang.

“Thomas,” I said. “I need some cover this afternoon.”

“Okay. What sort of cover?” Thomas asked.

“Can you make sure your mom knows I’m coming over? I’ll tell my parents I’m going to your house after Battlehoop. And I will. Just not immediately.”

“Where are you going?”

“I had another mission last night,” I said.

“Okay. And…”

“Well, I did it. And it went bad. Another Seven tried to take me down.”

“What?” Thomas said.

“Exactly. The whole thing was a trap. I need to find out what’s going on. What Mara is up to.”

“Mara? Why Mara?”

“I’ve seen things.” I started pacing my room. “Like she wasn’t happy when I ended up being a ghosty blender. And last night, I swear she smiled when my mission failed.”

“And you’re going to…?”

“I’m going to follow her. See what there is to see. I’ll give it a couple hours, then snag a bus back to our neighborhood. Shouldn’t be a problem for the Seventy-Seven.”

“Traps. Sevens. What the heck.” There was a long pause. “I’ll talk to Mom. Set things up.”

“Thanks, Thomas,” I said. “I’ll catch you up at your place this afternoon. There’s a lot more to it. Oh. Can you get my bike to your house?”

“Dude, now you’re asking a lot. Yeah, I can manage it.”

“Thanks. I’m out.”

I headed downstairs and grabbed some breakfast. Both Mom and Dad had left early. I pulled my phone out and texted Mom to let her know I wanted to hang out at Thomas’ house that afternoon. Janey sat across from me eating her cereal and giving me the eye.

“What?” I said, after being stared at for like three minutes.

“What did you do last night?”

My jaw froze mid-chew. A fist clenched around my heart.

“What do you mean?” I got my mouth moving again. “What did you do last night?”

“I had to go to the bathroom last night.

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.