My Soul to Keep - By Sean Hayden Page 0,66

me through a lot of problems, but I don’t want to date her. Claire is the sister I wish I had been born with. She’s really cool, really helpful, but not for me. Know what I mean?”

“Exactly. I trust you. I trust her to a certain point. We’re good. Do you think she’s pretty?”

“Very, but nowhere near as beautiful as you.”

“Damn good answer.”

“It’s the only answer.”

That earned me another kiss. We walked the rest of the way to my house just holding hands. Nothing else needed to be said. Until we reached my door. “I love you,” I whispered out of the corner of my mouth.

“I love you, too,” she said back without hesitating. I couldn't help but smile.

That’s when the shiny metal blade exploded through my chest. I looked down at it, covered in my own blood, and watched the blackness as it filled my vision. My last thought was trying to concentrate on Jessie’s terror filled scream as someone, or something, dragged her off.

Chapter 27

“No! He can’t be dead! He can’t be!”

My mom’s voice woke me from a horrible nightmare. I'd been killed and Jessie…I sat up screaming at the pain in my chest. I saw the blade still sticking out over twelve inches from my torn skin. I looked up at my mom standing in the doorway only to see her faint dead away in my father’s arms. He turned white as a ghost, and my sister started puking on the tacky carpeting in our family room.

“Is this some sort of joke, Connor?”

“Um…” A million things passed through my mind at once. About half of those were excuses. The other half were ways for me to break the truth to my parents, coming clean about everything. I opened my mouth to laugh it off. It didn’t work. “I’ll explain everything later. Dad, I need you to pull the sword out. Please.”

“Th…tha…that’s real?”

“Yes, Dad. And it hurts. Please.”

“What the hell is going on, Connor?”

I didn’t have time for this. I looked my father straight in the eyes and said, “Pull the sword out of my back, Dad.”

His face went blank and he nodded. He gently set my mother down on the floor and took one step. I turned. One hand pushed against my shoulder and I looked down to see the sword tip go back into my chest as he pulled it free with the other. The noise made me gag.

“There you go, son. Anything else I can do for you?”

“Take care of Mom. I’m going after Jessica.”

“Will do. Come on, honey. Let’s get you upstairs,” he said and bent down to pick her up.

I took off running, wincing at the pain in my chest. I chose to focus on that pain, to drive me, and to help me ignore Caelyn’s voice shouting after me.

Before I even hit the street, I called my wings. I leapt into the cold night and beat them furiously. I held my hand over my chest and thought of Clarisse. She was at the mall. Working. Didn’t she ever sleep?

I realized I didn’t even know where she lived. Some friend I was. If she helped me get Jessie back, I’d buy her something nice.

I sped toward the mall and landed in the parking lot in the darkest area I could find. Banishing my wings, I strode through the front door. As soon as I got inside, the people around me all started looking at me either with horror in their eyes, or concern. I’d forgotten the ripped, blood soaked shirt I had on. I concentrated very hard on looking normal. People shook their heads, resumed their conversations, or stopped looking at me altogether.

I practically ran to the lingerie store.

Clarisse looked at me through the front window. I let my façade drop, for just a moment. Long enough for her to see my blood soaked shirt. She yelled something at the other girl working and ran out of the store.

“What happened?”

“He’s got Jessica,” I said and tried not to start crying.

“Who? Her father?”

“No, the thing that’s been killing people. He shoved a sword through my chest and took her. Clarisse, you have to help me find her.”

“Come on!”

She grabbed my hand and led me out the back door of the mall. I'd only ever been down the corridor once when I had to use the bathroom. It was completely empty and Clarisse burst through a set of double doors that led straight to a small employee parking lot. I saw her pink bug, but