Read Online Search (SEEK Book 1) by Candie Leigh Campbell - Free Book Online
Authors: Candie Leigh Campbell
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promise.”
A lone hot tear trickles down my cheek. “I’m not the one who needs it,” I whisper, sounding like I’ve swallowed a mouthful of hot sand.
Jonathan considers me for a moment, then takes my hand and saunters to a fallen log lying amidst a patch of tall grasses leaning in the breeze. He nods, patting the empty spot beside him. “I know you think we’re enemies, but we can be friends.”
I wiggle up beside him and shrug. “I don’t know about that.”
“I get it,” he begins, turning a knee toward me. “I didn’t believe at first either.”
As I listen to Jonathan talk it’s like I’m somewhere high above us, watching from the treetops. He’s like a cheerful marionette, his hands lifting into the air as though jerked by invisible strings. And me, mouth hanging open, watching him like a dazed zombie.
“…Samaria, Babylonia and Egypt were once all very powerful. And then—bam! Overnight they were each systematically destroyed,” he says, hands sweeping apart. “And do you know why?
I shake my head.
“Because their Khayals were slaughtered. And you see the pattern, right? Just look what our government is doing now. They’ve been killing Khayals since the nineteen-thirties.” He shutters. “There are more people out there, people who know about the Khayal, you know? I’ve been trying to clear my head, decide what to do about it.”
“Why doesn’t everyone know about the Khayal?” I squint up at him, chewing my lip.
“After centuries of being hunted, they’ve learned to avoid large populations. Plus, the supernatural isn’t easy to accept, and for some it’s too much. They’d rather not know.” He adjusts his leg, bouncing a foot. “It’s easy to ignore the Khayal with all the distractions of normal life. I had no idea, before—did you?”
“Not really. I mean…” I shrug. “There were times I’d think I’d see something from the corner of my eye. But I didn’t know.”
“And how could you?” He considers me for a fleeting moment. “What method did SEEK use to train you, meditation or blindfold?”
“I took to both,” I admit, sitting taller.
“Have you felt any Khayal since…” He points to the faint scare on my leg. “How long has it been, five-six days?
Obscure memories peck around the edges of my consciousness, like my nose cracking in the muddy gravel, everything turning dark and waking up days later in Medical. I clench my hands, biting back a creeping sensation shivering over my spine. “What did you mean a Khayal chose to save me?”
“That scar on your leg isn’t from a Khayal.”
“It’s not?” I raise an eyebrow.
“No. What’s the last thing you remember before you got hurt?”
“I was trapped in the Boone, the forest where we hunt. I got separated from my team.” And then, like a movie on fast-forward, the memories explode. “There was a mountain lion! I used most of my arrows on her but she wouldn’t go down. When she attacked I stuck my knife in her and she ran off with it.” I cringe remembering the Cougar’s teeth ripping into my leg.
Jonathan pats my arm gently as if seeing inside my head.
“I was dazed, and lost, wandering in circles until eventually I found a familiar path. But it was too late. The Khayal had already surrounded me. I panicked. I was miles from camp and bleeding all over the place. I ran until I saw the medical unit. Then I fell, broke my nose, exhausted and weak, I couldn’t get up.”
Jonathan nods along as if he knows what I’m going to say before I can even form the words.
“Ah! A Khayal jumped on my back and…” I reach for my neck, eyes wide.
Jonathan grabs my shoulders and spins me around, pushing my hair to the side before whirling me back again. “Here, look at mine.” He lifts his messy black curls and there, centered over his cervical, is a bite mark in a perfect circle.
“Oh my God! Why is it green?” I gasp.
“Khayal venom is better than tattoo ink.” He tosses his
A lone hot tear trickles down my cheek. “I’m not the one who needs it,” I whisper, sounding like I’ve swallowed a mouthful of hot sand.
Jonathan considers me for a moment, then takes my hand and saunters to a fallen log lying amidst a patch of tall grasses leaning in the breeze. He nods, patting the empty spot beside him. “I know you think we’re enemies, but we can be friends.”
I wiggle up beside him and shrug. “I don’t know about that.”
“I get it,” he begins, turning a knee toward me. “I didn’t believe at first either.”
As I listen to Jonathan talk it’s like I’m somewhere high above us, watching from the treetops. He’s like a cheerful marionette, his hands lifting into the air as though jerked by invisible strings. And me, mouth hanging open, watching him like a dazed zombie.
“…Samaria, Babylonia and Egypt were once all very powerful. And then—bam! Overnight they were each systematically destroyed,” he says, hands sweeping apart. “And do you know why?
I shake my head.
“Because their Khayals were slaughtered. And you see the pattern, right? Just look what our government is doing now. They’ve been killing Khayals since the nineteen-thirties.” He shutters. “There are more people out there, people who know about the Khayal, you know? I’ve been trying to clear my head, decide what to do about it.”
“Why doesn’t everyone know about the Khayal?” I squint up at him, chewing my lip.
“After centuries of being hunted, they’ve learned to avoid large populations. Plus, the supernatural isn’t easy to accept, and for some it’s too much. They’d rather not know.” He adjusts his leg, bouncing a foot. “It’s easy to ignore the Khayal with all the distractions of normal life. I had no idea, before—did you?”
“Not really. I mean…” I shrug. “There were times I’d think I’d see something from the corner of my eye. But I didn’t know.”
“And how could you?” He considers me for a fleeting moment. “What method did SEEK use to train you, meditation or blindfold?”
“I took to both,” I admit, sitting taller.
“Have you felt any Khayal since…” He points to the faint scare on my leg. “How long has it been, five-six days?
Obscure memories peck around the edges of my consciousness, like my nose cracking in the muddy gravel, everything turning dark and waking up days later in Medical. I clench my hands, biting back a creeping sensation shivering over my spine. “What did you mean a Khayal chose to save me?”
“That scar on your leg isn’t from a Khayal.”
“It’s not?” I raise an eyebrow.
“No. What’s the last thing you remember before you got hurt?”
“I was trapped in the Boone, the forest where we hunt. I got separated from my team.” And then, like a movie on fast-forward, the memories explode. “There was a mountain lion! I used most of my arrows on her but she wouldn’t go down. When she attacked I stuck my knife in her and she ran off with it.” I cringe remembering the Cougar’s teeth ripping into my leg.
Jonathan pats my arm gently as if seeing inside my head.
“I was dazed, and lost, wandering in circles until eventually I found a familiar path. But it was too late. The Khayal had already surrounded me. I panicked. I was miles from camp and bleeding all over the place. I ran until I saw the medical unit. Then I fell, broke my nose, exhausted and weak, I couldn’t get up.”
Jonathan nods along as if he knows what I’m going to say before I can even form the words.
“Ah! A Khayal jumped on my back and…” I reach for my neck, eyes wide.
Jonathan grabs my shoulders and spins me around, pushing my hair to the side before whirling me back again. “Here, look at mine.” He lifts his messy black curls and there, centered over his cervical, is a bite mark in a perfect circle.
“Oh my God! Why is it green?” I gasp.
“Khayal venom is better than tattoo ink.” He tosses his
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