Read Online Exiled: Kenly's Story (A Talented Novel) by Sophie Davis - Free Book Online Page A

chest. “This here’s Honora.” He nodded to Ghost
Girl. Her round face and soft features reminded me of a full moon.
She gave a tiny wave in greeting. “James,” Riley said next,
indicating Platinum Eyes. “And you know Willa.”
    “ I thought I did,” I
muttered.
    Willa frowned. “Kenly, I am sorry. You’ve
every right to be cross with me. And I know you’re frightened,
but–”
    I cut her off with a wave of my hand. “I’m
not scared. I can handle myself.”
    “ Okay, just angry then.
Let’s get inside, out of the rain, and we can talk.” Her next words
were for Riley. “The Giraffe, you think?”
    “ They’ll come looking for
her there,” James said, his voice gravely like it didn’t get a lot
of use.
    “ Perhaps.” Riley shrugged,
unconcerned. “The little prat won’t try something there. Not with
the four of us and ol’ Tug ‘round.”
    “ The twins did come in the other
night,” Honora pointed out.
    “ Yeah, what of it? They
didn’t chase her out of there. Even after she turned invisible
right in front of them,” Riley said, both amused and
exasperated.
    I felt my cheeks redden. That brief slip of
control had created a shit storm, and I was standing in the center
of it.
    Great , I thought. Way to go,
Kenly .
    “ The Giraffe it is then,”
Willa said decisively. “Come along, Kenly. Granddad will feed you,
we’ll answer your questions, and you can tell us how you ended up
in a dark alley with Jaylen Monroe.”
    If I declined to go with Willa and the
others, would they try to stop me? I quickly calculated the odds:
there was an eighty percent chance they’d just let me go. I liked
those odds, and would have, should have, turned and marched in the
opposite direction. Except, they had information that I didn’t,
information that I might need. Plus, I was confused, extremely
hungry, and just simply curious about what was going on. The latter
may’ve driven me more than it should’ve, but I agreed to accompany
the band of wannabe vigilantes to Tug’s pub.
    No one spoke much on the ten minute walk.
The rain was falling faster, leaving large puddles on the cracked
sidewalks. When I’d hurried out of the hostel, I’d chosen sneakers
over rain boots, for comfort since I’d set out for a long walk.
It’d obviously been a wise decision, but I was beginning to regret
it now. Water had soaked through completely, creating small pools
between my feet and the soles of my shoes. Every step was
punctuated with a sloshing exclamation point, followed by a long
suctioning groan. I half expected someone to make an inane comment,
probably Riley, but no one did.
    It was weird to be walking
with a group of people again. Not alongside a group, but
actually with them. Well over a month had passed—before Talia had become a
double agent—since I’d last been among friends. In London a lot
people tended to shy away from me. It’s not that they’d shun me, or
purposely cross the street to avoid me, or anything so drastic. The
evasion was less overt, almost more instinctive, than that.
Cashiers never allowed their fingers to brush mine when handing me
change. Children averted their eyes when they passed me on the
sidewalk. Others would lean away from me when I was near them in a
line.
    I’d obviously noticed the weird behavior,
but simply dismissed it as some strange quirk of the British. Now,
walking with Willa and Honora on either side of me, I began to
appreciate just how odd the behavior really was. Because both girls
were walking so close to me that our arms brushed with every step.
And they didn’t seem at all put off by the nearness.
    Before I could even begin processing what
all of this meant, another realization hit me. Dammit. The foursome
had me surrounded. The girls were on either side, Riley directly
ahead and James directly behind. I tried to remain calm. But where
I was from, being encircled meant only bad things.
    Even if they’re trying to
lull you into a false sense of security,