Mammon Read Online Free Page B

me away from it, screaming like that.’
    â€˜I didn’t scream.’
    He scowled. ‘Get out, Grace.’
    â€˜I didn’t scream! Why won’t you listen to me?’
    â€˜Get out !’ Jumping to his feet, he flew across the room and dug his fingers into her arm, dragging her.
    â€˜Ow! You’re hurting me!’
    He slung her across the hallway, her shoulder grazing the wall.
    â€˜Ow!’
    He slammed the door. Startled, Grace jumped. Her throat clenched, she swallowed hard. She leaned closer to the door. ‘Just admit it, Joe. You saw the shadow. You heard me in your head. And it’s freaking you out!’
    * * *
    GRACE TOOK A sip of juice, mingling it with the leftover custard taste from dessert. She put the glass down on her bedside table and gazed out at the night sky. She rubbed her shoulder, still tender from when Joe had shoved her out of his room.
    â€˜Joe heard me. So did that boy.’ Shivering, she kicked off her slippers as the shadow floated through her mind.‘But why? What is it? Why couldn’t we see it before?’
    The heat still hung in the air, although a very light wind whistled through the trees. Dinner had been quiet, uncomfortable, with Mum casting concerned glances between her two children.
    Grace turned, folded her arms and stared at the wall.
    Joe.
    Joe?
    Joe!
    Reliably, a hard kick to the wall confirmed it. ‘Grace, shut up! ’
    â€˜Ha!’ She peered around the doorway and then darted into Joe’s room, shutting the door behind her. Still in his school clothes he lay on his side, arms folded, staring at the wall. An amber glow from the bedside table shone against his wall, which was papered with hot rods. A small ant colony had taken up residence in the dregs of a cola can. Socks, shirts and shoes were strewn about.
    She grimaced. ‘You’re such a slob.’
    He grunted. ‘Stop yelling through the wall. I thought you stopped that game years ago.’
    â€˜So,’ she said, drawing a triumphant breath, ‘you heard me again.’
    â€˜You yell so loud . What the hell?’
    At least he wasn’t angry anymore. She sank onto his bed and tapped her fingertips on the bedframe. ‘I wasn’t yelling, Joe.’
    Groaning, he buried his face in the pillow. ‘Oh, God. You were .’
    Am I yelling now?
    He sat upright, wild-eyed. ‘Stop it, Grace!’
    She shrugged. ‘If I was only yelling, why would you freak out so much?’
    â€˜You’re being weird.’
    She waited for his eyes to meet hers again. I’m not yelling, Joe.
    â€˜Don’t,’ he gasped, holding up a warning hand. His voice came slow and heavy. ‘I don’t know what trick you’re playing, but stop it.’
    â€˜There’s no trick.’
    He stared. ‘Your lips didn’t move.’
    Grace nodded. ‘The thing is, I can’t tell if you can hear me unless you say so.’
    He shook his head rapidly. ‘Na. This is bull.’
    She could tell his heart was pounding.
    â€˜Go to bed, Grace.’
    â€˜But Joe –’
    â€˜I’m going to sleep now.’ He curled away, nose to the wall again. Absently, she rubbed the fabric of the bedsheet between her fingers, staring at his back. With a deep sigh, she rose and plodded back to her own bedroom.
    * * *
    THE DREAM STARTED like it always did – she was walking past the river. The first change she noticed was the strange light that surrounded the City. It was ashen . . . burned. She stood, caught by the scene around her: voices yelling, engines screaming, the smell of exhaust fouling the air.
    She looked to her left; Joe looked back.
    With a strange smile, he lifted his hands. A black circle appeared above him, rippled by lightning. It exploded in a cascade of brilliant white, releasing trails – black slivers of murky fog that swam through the night air.
    She staggered backwards, holding her arms out as Joe