Read Online Unchosen by Michele Vail - Free Book Online

taking the high road than jumping into the muddy hole with your frenemy. You’ll get dirty, but worse, you’ll swallow all that animosity … and drown.
     
     
     

 
     
     
    “The Nekros Society was created by Anubis to train elite necromancers—the Chosen—to fight Set, should he ever escape his prison and wreak his vengeance. Among these was the Kebechet , the ancient Egyptian word for ‘daughter.’ The Kebechet is always a female. Anyone may challenge to be champion of Anubis, and can gain the title by winning a competition designed to test her wits, her fighting skills, and her necromancy. ”
     
    ~ Secret History of Reapers, Author Unknown
     
     
     
    “Muddy is the graveyard
    Thin is the veil
    On the night the ghosts dance
    And open the gates of hell.”
     
    ~Jennifer McClung, Author of Undeadly Poems
     

 
     
     
     
    Chapter 5
     
    “WE NEED TO talk,” said Clarissa.
    I glared at her. “Why?”
    “Because we do.”
    She crossed her arms, her lips pursed and her eyes narrowed, but her little imperious act couldn’t cover her nervousness. Could she possibly have come to my dorm room to fess up to her crimes? Oh, ha.
    “Are you going to let me in?” she demanded.
    I wanted to yell NO! and slam the door in her face. Instead, because I am a good person (and also curious about what she had to say) I opened the door wider and stepped back so she could enter.
    She strode across the room and sat on the bench at the foot of my unmade bed. I shut the door and then I joined her on the bench—sitting as far away from her as possible without falling off the edge.
    Clarissa glanced around the room, obviously unimpressed by my dorm room. I realized she had a Legacy dorm, too, so nothing in mine would come as a surprise. Her gaze landed on the TV and the comfy lounging cushions and bean bags. “I have a training area,” she said. “Daddy says TV is a distraction.”
    “It is,” I agreed. “Sometimes, you need distractions.”
    She shrugged. “Whatever.” She crossed her legs and then clasped her hands around her knee. “Why did you accuse my father of trying to hurt you?”
    “Because he did.”
    “Where’s your proof?”
    I rolled my eyes. “I saw him. He was muttering under his breath, no doubt casting an illegal spell, and he walked toward me like … like he was going to crush me into dust.”
    “He doesn’t like you.”
    “ The feeling’s mutual.” I crossed my arms. “If you think have the chops to get Kebechet without dear daddy cheating for you, then why did you report me for stealing the soul box?”
    “I didn’t.”
    I snorted in disbelief. “You’re the only who has the motive.”
    Her expression turned incredulous. “You are so stupid. You don’t think you’re a threat to anyone else on this campus? You’re a Briarstock ! Anyone here could have a bloodline grudge. Your mother wasn’t exactly known for her charity work.”
    Give that Mom had bailed when I was ten-years-old, I found it difficult to defend her. I wasn’t sure what a bloodline grudge meant, but I wasn’t going to ask Clarissa about it. I had all kinds of questions about what Mom did while she was at Nekyia. Of course, I wasn’t all that sure I wanted to know. Carrying my own baggage was hard enough—I didn’t want to pack and carry Mom’s miseries, too.
    “Fine. Whatever. Are we done?” I asked.
    Clarissa chewed her bottom lip. Then she straightened and looked me in the eyes. “I don’t need my father’s help to win the competition. I’ve been training my whole life to be chosen as the Kebechet . I’ve sacrificed everything.”
    “You mean, your dad made sure you sacrificed everything.”
    Something raw and vulnerable flashed in Clarissa’s blue eyes, and I knew I’d hit a nerve. “Save your armchair psychology for your loser friends. And leave my dad alone. He didn’t do anything to you. You’re just … weak.”
    I suddenly realized that Clarissa’s faith in her father had been shaken.