Read Online Demon Girl by Penelope Fletcher - Free Book Online Page A

focused. Devlin,
the boy I had headbutted, was a Disciple like me. He was smart,
quick and strong, as most of us were, but he was also popular. The
kind of Cleric in training the Priests like to parade around the
civilians to inspire hope and obedience. He’d started about a month
ago and was pretty much perfect at everything he did. He was adored
by the girls and worshiped by the teaching Clerics. Strangely
enough, he had always tried to talk to me and be nice. I’d never
paid attention and ignored him because the friendliness had always
seemed, forced , and had an undercurrent of falsehood. But
still, I smiled back when he grinned at me, or bobbed my head when
we past in the hallway since he made a big show of saying hai. Most
didn’t understand his interest in me, and for a while I’d been
higher on everyone’s radar, but after a week or so things returned
to normal. When I say normal, I mean I ignored everyone and
everyone ignored me. Devlin remained perfect and gorgeous, of
course.
    His blonde hair so light it was white, and
when he smiled I had to blink. “You are excused,” he said and an
expression flickered across his face too fast for me to catch.
    At his steady appraisal I became flustered,
but I did remember I needed to get outside. I navigated around him
then faltered. The space outside was empty. Rushing to the
windowsill, I pressed my face to the glass and turned my head at
every angle. There was nothing but well-tended grounds, Northhouse
– the boy’s dormitories – and the outer wall snaking around the
Temple. Crushing disappointment shook me up. Stomping back to my
seat I knocked into someone as I sat down. I focused on my lap and
sucked it up; trying to figure out if I’d lost my mind before the
next period started. A difficult task when I was not sure I was
fully sane to begin with. Maybe I’d cracked at some point but
hadn’t recognized it yet.
    Alex yanked out her seat, dumped her bag and
slid into a chair beside me as the bell chimed.
    Pulling myself together, I knew I needed to
show good manners, and looked over my shoulder with an apology for
the person I had knocked. I stiffened then looked forward, but the
damage was already done. Not feeling up for a confrontation, I
tried to make myself as small as possible in my seat. You know how
people say if you stand up to bullies they’ll back down, leave you
alone, and show respect? It’s a load of bull in my experience. I
stood up to Zoe on my first day; I wasn’t a pushover after all.
She’d never laid a finger on me again, but swapped physical
beatings for mental torture. Zoe was a large, sharp, pain in my
ass. I wanted to be left alone to do my own thing, but she couldn’t
help but make me feel more like a misfit. I peeked to see if she
was going to start something.
    She glared at me, her heavily freckled face
twisted. “Reject,” she spat dragging a brush through masses of over
dyed purple hair. Her sleeve fell down with the stroke and I saw
she’d been marked now, a snake eating its own tail wrapped around
her wrist.
    Alex heard her, and whilst I sunk further
down in my seat, she twisted round to flip the finger so forcefully
the table rocked. She added a mouthed ‘screw you’ for good
measure.
    “You see her mark?” Alex said in a low aside
to me. “Takes more than the power of the Ouroboros to purify a
she-devil.”
    This exchange hadn’t gone unnoticed, and the
other Disciples turned to look at me. My morning was slowly
tumbling into hell, and my best friend was not helping. Alex was
older than me in age not maturity. She’d turned twenty a few months
before and was a few weeks behind me in classes. I had hoped she
would take the final exam the same time as me so we could go over
to the Temple together. It wouldn’t happen if she failed her
physical. She’d have to retake the whole of grade six, and I didn’t
want to have to fail another exam to keep pace with her.
    A milky brown skinned boy with thick cornrows
threw