The Holders - By Julianna Scott Page 0,116

me? I will always – always – be there, right next to you. Even if I am just all right looking,” he chided, trying to get me to smile.

I tried to grin, but I don’t think it worked. “This is going to get really dangerous, isn’t it?” I asked, already knowing the answer was yes.

I looked at Alex expecting just for a moment that he would tell me no, and not to worry, and that everything would be fine, and anything else that he thought might comfort or reassure me. But of course he didn’t. He didn’t, because Alex would never lie to me. He simply nodded and said, “Probably.”

“Are you scared?”

“Yes. I’m scared for what may come, scared for what could happen if we fail, but more than anything, I’m terrified for you. You have no idea what it does to me to know that Darragh is after you. To not know what he’s planning, or how you’re going to be involved.”

“So what do we do?”

“We trust,” he said, brushing his fingers lovingly through my hair. “I trust in you, you in me, and we in us. We trust the Order to have our backs and we trust that, together, we will all find a way to win. It will be hard, but the way I see it, as long as we have each other then we have everything we need to make it through.”

As I looked into his stormy-gray eyes, a calming sensation rippled through me like a gentle gust of wind over a silk flag. He was right, and in that moment, deep down, I believed that everything would be OK. I may not have known what was coming, but I knew that Alex was my rock, and as long as I had him next to me I’d be OK. Maybe this was why we were bonded. Maybe some fate somewhere had destined us for each other because she knew that individually we weren’t strong enough for what lay ahead of us, but together we could face anything.

“I love you,” I sighed, turning my head into his hand.

“I love you too,” he said, kissing my forehead.

“I wish I could be more like you.”

“Like me?” he laughed.

“Hmm,” I agreed, leaning over onto him and resting my head on his shoulder. “I’ve wanted to say that for a while now, actually. You’re amazing.”

“Now I know you’re still under the weather,” he chuckled, feeling my forehead. “Shall we go in?” he asked.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

If I may paraphrase Confucius, “Show me who your friends are, and I’ll show you the book you’ll write.”

OK, that may not be entirely accurate, but I’m pretty sure that most authors would agree when I say that the people around us are just as responsible for our books as we are. Our friends and family give us ideas and inspiration, they tell us when we’ve done well and when we’ve totally screwed up, and they give us the kick in the pants we need when our steam has all but run out. Without the support I’ve gotten from all the people I am lucky enough to have in my life, I know that this book would never have found its way off of my laptop. So to everyone who has lifted, encouraged, nudged, poked, kicked, shoved, and just generally put up with me; this one’s for you.

From the moment I sent my amazing agent, Carly Watters, the email telling her that I had a new book in the works, not only did she refrain from panicking at the fact that I had completely changed genres on her, but she immediately got behind The Holders and couldn’t have been more supportive. I can’t express how fortunate I feel to have her in my corner along with the rest of the PS Literary team who are nothing if not tireless advocates for each and every one of their authors.

There isn’t much I can say that would do justice to the gratitude I feel for Strange Chemistry and my brilliant editor, Amanda Rutter. They believed in my work enough to take a chance on me, and their support and enthusiasm has been more than I could ever have hoped for. To be counted as a Strange Chemistry author – as one of Amanda’s authors – is truly an honor.

Don’t tell anyone, but I can’t spell. I’m not all that great at typing either, as my fingers often have a mind of their own – a problem that auto-correct tends to only make worse. I bring this to your attention so that you can better understand what incredible, patient, and all round wonderful people my Beta Readers are. These are the people who generously give countless hours of their time to read though all the wonky, typo-ridden, early drafts of my work so that I can make it better. Mary Smith and Cathy Pleskovich: my proofreaders, Elizabeth Shaw: my resident go-to, Samantha Smith: my detail-oriented YA expert, Mary Arnold: a surprise fan and always my cheerleader (also my grandma), Patti, Beth F., Jocelyn, Beth L., Ondrew, Julie: my Chocolate Books support system, and Natori Walters: the first person to read my work who was actually a young adult.

A huge thank you to fellow author, Carol Oats, who was kind enough to call upon her Irish heritage to help me make some sense out of the beautiful but incredibly complicated pronunciations of Irish Gaelic. Big hugs are also due to one of my best virtual friends and queen of my online support system, Angela Cook, whose passion, drive, and positive attitude never fail to impress me.

Finally, to my amazing husband, without whom this book would still have huge plot holes, nameless characters, and a missing chapter. Your endless support is the only reason I am able to do this at all, and not a day goes by that I am not amazed by everything you have done to help my dreams come true. You’ve read, plotted, sacrificed, listened, re-read, listened some more, changed diapers, fed kids, and eaten cereal for dinner more nights than any grown man should ever have to. Anything I need, you find a way to get it for me, and anywhere I need to be, somehow you always get me there. Thank you for believing in me and making me the luckiest woman in the world.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Julianna was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and spent the majority of her educational career convinced she would be a musician. However, after receiving her music degree from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, she realized that she’d been born in the wrong era for her dreams of singing jazz to adoring fans clad in zoot-suits and flapper dresses to come true, and began to wonder if her true calling might be elsewhere.

While Julianna had always excelled in writing throughout school, she’d never considered it a career possibility until about three years ago, when she’d gotten her first story idea and decided to go for it. She grabbed her laptop, started typing away, and has never looked back.

juliannascottauthor.com

STRANGE CHEMISTRY

An Angry Robot imprint

and a member of the Osprey Group

Lace Market House

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Nottingham NG1 1HW

4402 23rd St., Ste 219,

Long Island City,

NY 11101

USA

www.strangechemistrybooks.com

Strange Chemistry #8

A Strange Chemistry paperback original 2013

Julianna Scott asserts the moral right to be

identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue record for this book is available

from the British Library.

UK Paperback ISBN: 978 1 90884 442 2

US Trade Paperback ISBN: 978 0 90884 443 9

eBook ISBN: 978 1 90884 444 6

Typeset in Sabon by Argh! Oxford

stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any

means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or

otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by

way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or

otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in

any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is

published and without a similar condition including this

condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and

incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination.

Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or

localities is entirely coincidental.

Contents

The Holders

Dedication

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Imprint

Table of Contents