Read Online This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab - Free Book Online Page A

photographed would steal their soul—but in the end he didn’t need an out.
    The office was empty. The lights were on, and when he tried the handle, the door was unlocked. August looked around nervously, then stepped inside, pulling the door shut behind him. The ID form was still up on the computer screen, and he typed in his details: Frederick Gallagher, 16, junior, 5’ 10”, black hair, gray eyes.
    An empty rectangle sat waiting to the right of the information. August knew what it was for. He swallowed and hit the delayed action photo button, then stepped in front of the pale backdrop, just like he’d seen the other students do. He looked straight into the camera lens and the flash went off. August blinked the light from his eyes and held his breath as he rounded the counter, but his heart sank when he saw the photo on the screen. His expression was a little too vacant, but his face had almost all the right components—jawline, mouth, nose, cheekbones, hair. An ordinary boy . . . except his eyes. Where August’s eyes should be, there was only a smudge of black. As if someone had drawn his face in charcoal and then smeared it.
    Sunai, Sunai, eyes like coal , sang a voice in his head. His stomach twisted.
    Retake? prompted the computer.
    He clicked yes . This time he didn’t look straight at the camera, but just above it. No luck. The same dark smudge still obscured his gaze. August tried again and again and again, each time cheating his eyes a fraction to the left or the right, high or low, the smudge of black shifting, sometimes thinning, but always there. His vision filled with dots of light, a dozen flashes every time he blinked. The last take stared back at him from the screen, his eyes obscured by the same black streak, but a small, frustrated crease visible in his brow. He shouldn’t have bothered, should have known it wouldn’t work, but he’d hoped . . . for what?
    A chance to play at being human? chided his brother’s voice.
    Sing you a song and steal your soul.
    He shook his head.
    Bang .
    Too many voices.
    Retake? prompted the computer.
    August’s finger hovered over no , but after a moment, he clicked yes . One more time. He stepped in front of the screen, took a deep breath, and readied himself for the inevitable flash, the disappointment of a final failed attempt. But the flash never came. He heard the digital click of the camera, but the light must haveglitched. He crossed to the screen, heart thumping, and looked.
    His breath caught.
    The boy on the screen was standing there, hands shoved in his pockets. He wasn’t looking at the camera. His eyes were half-lidded, his head turned away, the faintest blur to his edges, a picture snapped midmotion. But it was him. No black streak. No empty gaze.
    August exhaled a shuddering breath, and clicked print , and a minute later the machine spat out his ID. He stared at the image for several long seconds, transfixed, then pocketed the card, and slipped out of the office just as the bell rang for lunch. He was halfway to his locker when a voice called his name. Well, Freddie’s name.
    He turned to find Colin, flanked by a boy on one side and a girl on the other. “Alex and Sam, this is Freddie,” he said by way of introduction. “Freddie, Alex and Sam.”
    August wasn’t sure which one was Alex and which was Sam.
    â€œHey,” said one of them.
    â€œHey,” echoed the other.
    â€œHello,” said August.
    Colin swung an arm around his shoulder, which was hard to do considering he was a full six inches shorter. August tensed at the sudden contact, but didn’t pull away. “You look lost.”
    August started to shake his head, when Colin cut him off.
    â€œYou hungry?” he asked cheerfully. “I’m starving, let’s get some lunch.”
    â€œ. . . gives me the creeps.”
    â€œ. . . party this weekend . . .”
    â€œ. . . such an