Read Online Echo Into Darkness: Book 2 in The Echo Saga (Teen Paranormal Romance) by Skye Genaro - Free Book Online
Authors: Skye Genaro
Tags: teen paranormal romance
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care, 'cause we are going to be famous! Do you know how much money kids will pay to have you zap their enemies? And then there's the entertainment angle. McKyla's parents hired Flaming Gristle to rock out at her birthday. You'd be way better than any band. You could charge a fortune for this!"
I squeezed her shoulders and looked her straight in the eye. "You cannot tell anybody what I told you."
Her face fell. "You did not just say that."
"There are people out there who will hurt me if they find out what I can do. You have to promise to keep this to yourself."
"You've got people after you? Dude, how much cooler can this get?"
"This is the absolute opposite of cool. This is serious. Who knows what will happen when Raquelle opens her big mouth."
"Oh pul-eeeez. She's not going to the principal, she's gonna keep her big yap shut. Can you see her trying to tell the Partychicks that you…with your…they'd dump her in a second, and then who would be the freak?" Becca bent over, laughing.
"Promise me, Becca."
"Oh, all right. But for real, you can change the color of a shirt? That I've got to see!"
*******
The sun was kissing the afternoon sky goodbye when I took Connor's phone from its hiding place under my mattress. I flicked it on and stared at his perfect face. For strength, I told myself. Looking at him gave me confidence.
He definitely would not approve of what I was about to do. If he knew, his aura would turn fuchsia with frustration. I could hear him lecturing me, even from a hundred and sixty years in the future. Did you not hear a word I said? Have you learned nothing from me?
"The girl from the bridge might be at The Asylum," I told his holographic image. "I have to go."
Jaxon said he'd meet me at the skatepark, but I wanted to take someone who would be firmly on my team. I'd recruited Becca in case our Mutila search went off the rails, or Jaxon didn't show up at all.
After dinner, my BFF and I skidded down icy streets to the southeast side of Portland. Most Portlanders stayed in when the weather turned icy, but I was hoping The Asylum would be packed regardless. Becca's knuckles were white from gripping the steering wheel. Her teeth had stayed clamped on her lower lip since we left the house, and I was reminded that she'd only had her driver's license for about a week.
"You want me to drive?" I asked. I had more experience on the road and didn't want to see her car wrapped around a telephone pole.
"No way. This is the ultimate freedom. It's us against the elements in a car that I'm driving! We could go anywhere! Tacoma. Olympia."
"Why on earth would we go all the way to Tacoma?"
"Just sayin'. The night is young. I'll drive you all the way to Seattle if you want, but you don't get the steering wheel."
I checked my seatbelt as the car fishtailed.
The Asylum sat across the river from downtown Portland in a warehouse district along the river. A heavy coat of paint blacked out its low windows. An awning covered a section of broken sidewalk. Beneath it, a dozen guys huddled around a flask. I spotted a bunch of neck tattoos and facial piercings, nothing out of the ordinary for Portland.
On the way to the skatepark, I'd explained Jaxon's role.
"He knows about your magicky talent, too? I really am the last one to find out," she said.
I finished telling her about the Mutila while she parked.
She huffed impatiently. "I don't get why you're even the tiniest bit afraid of them. You're a paranormal ninja. Nobody is going to mess with you."
"I'm not going to give them the chance. I'm only going in to find out if these are some of the people we're looking for, and I'm packing my aura in tight so they can't read who I am." God, I hoped this worked the way Connor said it would. If not… "But if anyone even looks at me funny, we're running for the car. Okay?"
"I'm on it, home girl. Then we race home like we're possessed by demons," she said.
"Why are you making a joke out of this?"
"Echo, look at these guys."
I squeezed her shoulders and looked her straight in the eye. "You cannot tell anybody what I told you."
Her face fell. "You did not just say that."
"There are people out there who will hurt me if they find out what I can do. You have to promise to keep this to yourself."
"You've got people after you? Dude, how much cooler can this get?"
"This is the absolute opposite of cool. This is serious. Who knows what will happen when Raquelle opens her big mouth."
"Oh pul-eeeez. She's not going to the principal, she's gonna keep her big yap shut. Can you see her trying to tell the Partychicks that you…with your…they'd dump her in a second, and then who would be the freak?" Becca bent over, laughing.
"Promise me, Becca."
"Oh, all right. But for real, you can change the color of a shirt? That I've got to see!"
*******
The sun was kissing the afternoon sky goodbye when I took Connor's phone from its hiding place under my mattress. I flicked it on and stared at his perfect face. For strength, I told myself. Looking at him gave me confidence.
He definitely would not approve of what I was about to do. If he knew, his aura would turn fuchsia with frustration. I could hear him lecturing me, even from a hundred and sixty years in the future. Did you not hear a word I said? Have you learned nothing from me?
"The girl from the bridge might be at The Asylum," I told his holographic image. "I have to go."
Jaxon said he'd meet me at the skatepark, but I wanted to take someone who would be firmly on my team. I'd recruited Becca in case our Mutila search went off the rails, or Jaxon didn't show up at all.
After dinner, my BFF and I skidded down icy streets to the southeast side of Portland. Most Portlanders stayed in when the weather turned icy, but I was hoping The Asylum would be packed regardless. Becca's knuckles were white from gripping the steering wheel. Her teeth had stayed clamped on her lower lip since we left the house, and I was reminded that she'd only had her driver's license for about a week.
"You want me to drive?" I asked. I had more experience on the road and didn't want to see her car wrapped around a telephone pole.
"No way. This is the ultimate freedom. It's us against the elements in a car that I'm driving! We could go anywhere! Tacoma. Olympia."
"Why on earth would we go all the way to Tacoma?"
"Just sayin'. The night is young. I'll drive you all the way to Seattle if you want, but you don't get the steering wheel."
I checked my seatbelt as the car fishtailed.
The Asylum sat across the river from downtown Portland in a warehouse district along the river. A heavy coat of paint blacked out its low windows. An awning covered a section of broken sidewalk. Beneath it, a dozen guys huddled around a flask. I spotted a bunch of neck tattoos and facial piercings, nothing out of the ordinary for Portland.
On the way to the skatepark, I'd explained Jaxon's role.
"He knows about your magicky talent, too? I really am the last one to find out," she said.
I finished telling her about the Mutila while she parked.
She huffed impatiently. "I don't get why you're even the tiniest bit afraid of them. You're a paranormal ninja. Nobody is going to mess with you."
"I'm not going to give them the chance. I'm only going in to find out if these are some of the people we're looking for, and I'm packing my aura in tight so they can't read who I am." God, I hoped this worked the way Connor said it would. If not… "But if anyone even looks at me funny, we're running for the car. Okay?"
"I'm on it, home girl. Then we race home like we're possessed by demons," she said.
"Why are you making a joke out of this?"
"Echo, look at these guys."
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