djinn wars 01 - chosen Read Online Free

EMTs came and got her, but they sent me home. It’s probably better if you don’t come too close.”
    “Oh, God,” she said, this time invoking the name in horror rather than in relief. She appeared to gather herself, voice strained as she went on, “How do you feel?”
    I paused to take stock. “Okay, actually,” I told her. It was true, too. Yes, I was a little shaken after being that close to someone that sick, and then having to fight my way home through hordes of panicky motorists, but otherwise, I felt fine. No fever. No chills. No sweats.
    Despite what I’d just told her about staying away, she took a step closer. Motherly instinct, I supposed. She had to reassure herself that I was all right and not merely take my word for it. But because she was a smart woman, she only came close enough to see for herself that I wasn’t flushed or feverish or sweaty.
    After a long pause, she nodded. “I keep flipping through the stations, trying to see if someone is giving out any concrete information. What the incubation period is. How infectious the disease is. The — the mortality rate.” She pulled in a breath. “And there’s nothing, except that the situation is being handled and that people should stay home whenever possible. What kind of a policy is that?”
    I didn’t know. I would have assumed that in most cases of infection, the CDC would have send out teams to quarantine people and triage those affected, would do everything possible to keep the disease from spreading any further. Or at least, that was what I’d observed on TV when the news covered outbreaks of bird flu or whatever. But I’d seen no real government presence on my way home today, no squads of experts in biohazard gear, no blacked-out SUVs speeding down the street, no…nothing. It was as if this thing was spreading so quickly the government couldn’t begin to contain it.
    That thought was too frightening, though, and I quickly pushed it away. Instead, I asked, “Dad? Devin?”
    She glanced away from me, her mouth tight. “I can’t reach your father. I sent a text to Devin, telling him to come home, but he hasn’t answered me. I called the school and got a recording that classes had been canceled and everyone sent home. So my best guess is he’s taking the opportunity to have a little unsupervised time with Lori.”
    Lori was his girlfriend. The two had been joined at the hip since spring break last year, and I had a feeling my mother’s guess was all too correct. “Did you try calling her house?”
    “Of course I did. No answer. And I don’t have her cell number — Devin would never give it to me. At the time, I didn’t think it was worth nagging him about it. Now….”
    “I’m sure it’s fine,” I said quickly. No point in having my mother worry any more than absolutely necessary. “If they’re at Lori’s house, then at least they’re inside and away from other people.”
    “True, but….”
    I knew she would fret about this until Devin appeared, whenever that was. In that moment, fury flashed through me, that he would be so selfish as to go off and bang his girlfriend or whatever while the rest of us were worried sick about him. Uttering such a thing out loud would just set my mother off that much more, though, so I only said, “Why don’t you have some tea while you’re waiting? I need to go up to my apartment and wash my hands and get straightened up, but I’ll be right back down.”
    Her eyes were far away, but she nodded. “That sounds like a good idea.”
    I sent her what I hoped was an encouraging smile, then went out the back door and down the driveway to the detached garage. The apartment built over it was small, just a little over four hundred square feet, so there was a tiny living room, a spot under one window for a table and two chairs, a kitchenette, and then the bedroom and bath, which was so small I could reach out from the shower stall and open the door if I had to. But at least it was mine, and it