Read Online Unmarked by Kami García - Free Book Online Page B

I hated myself for feeling.
    Faith gasped and turned to Elle and me.
    I didn’t give her a chance to ask the question. “If we’re right about who you are, then you know I don’t have a mark.”
    Elle threw up her hands. “Don’t look at me. I don’t have any demon tattoos. I’m just here to make sure my best friend doesn’t get herself killed.”
    My aunt turned back to the real Legion members. “I’ve never seen the marks together before.”
    “Wanna see all five?” Priest asked.
    Faith held her wrist over the sack and rubbed it with salt. Lines carved themselves into her skin, revealing the final section of Andras’ seal.
    I had imagined holding my wrist where Faith’s was now—being the missing piece of the Legion puzzle and the person to finally complete it.
    When the demon’s seal faded, Priest brushed off his wrist. “Now that we know we’re all on the same side, I’m Priest. It’s my name, not my occupation.”
    Lukas didn’t bother with formalities. “I’m Lukas, and this is my brother, Jared. You’re not an easy person to find.”
    Faith stared at them like she was just now registering that they were identical twins. Then she switched back into survival mode, digging through a box full of flashlightsand changing the batteries at a dizzying speed. “That’s the idea, Lukas.”
    Jared took an extra screwdriver from the toolbox and helped her. “Miss Madigan, right?”
    “Just Faith.”
    “Think you can take a break?” Alara asked. “We came a long way to talk to you.”
    “And you would be?”
    “
Just
Alara.”
    Elle waved. “Hi. I’m Elle.”
    I took a deep breath. Telling her my name made the fact that I was standing in front of my father’s sister feel real. “I’m—”
    “Kennedy.” She stopped digging through the box. “I was there the day you were born.”
    For a moment, I didn’t know how to respond. How many times had she seen me before? Were she and my mom close? “I have a picture of my dad and me in front of this house. But I don’t remember you.”
    “You were young the last time I saw you. Maybe five or six.”
    “Five. I was five.” Certain things stay with you, like how old you were the last time you saw your father. “Why haven’t I seen you since?”
    Faith hauled a box of batteries out of the closet. “I was in hiding, and your father had—”
    “Ditched me by then.”
    Faith’s expression clouded over. “Alex did what he had to do.”
    Tears pricked my eyes, but my aunt had already gone back to whatever it was she was doing.
    Lukas noticed my reaction and jumped in. “We didn’t come here to fill out the missing branches of Kennedy’s family tree. There’s something you need to know. Except for you, we’re all that’s left of the Legion.”
    “The other four—our family members—all died on the same night two months ago,” Alara added.
    “And my mom,” I said.
    “Why Elizabeth? Kennedy’s mother wasn’t part of the Legion.” Faith emphasized every word as though the idea was unthinkable.
    “The demon made a mistake,” Lukas said, covering for his brother.
    Jared stared at his hands. No one except Lukas and I knew that Jared’s innocent search for the Legion members had led Andras right to their doors. Any mention of our dead family members seemed physically painful for him.
    After what I’d done, I finally understood the weight of that kind of guilt. The way one mistake could feel like ten thousand. I carried that feeling with me every minute of every day.
    Priest pulled at the strings of his hoodie. “It was an execution. And Andras’ vengeance spirits have been hunting us ever since.”
    “That’s why we came,” I said. “We need your help.”
    Faith looked back at us. “You don’t know what you’re up against. This is a fight you can’t win. Split up and disappear like I did. Before it’s too late.”
    “It’s already too late.” I let the truth spill out before I could change my mind. “Andras is