Second Chance Read Online Free Page B

politely as he partook in conversation he really didn’t care about. He moved down the hall with purpose, his eyes sweeping the area around him, as always, for any sign of anyone who might not be a hundred percent on the human side. Everyone looked fairly normal as he walked, so he proceeded to the baggage claim area and waited at carousel number five for any sign of his black and purple suitcase, with the neon green luggage tag that read STEAL MY LUGGAGE, WASH MY CLOTHES .
    Something hard pressed into Joss’s back, and his mind screamed “GUN!” His heart ceased its beats for a moment, in question of who exactly was behind him and why exactly they were threatening to assault him. A vampire wouldn’t use a gun, so clearly the person was human. And what human would brandish a gun in an airport? He doubted that many would, given the security measures of the day. Turning his head slightly to the left, Joss glimpsed his assailant and rolled his eyes. “What are you doing, Ash?”
    “Blowing you into forty-seven-million bits.” Ash grinned. “Also, entertaining myself while we wait for your luggage.”
    Joss turned around then, knowing that Ash would never really cause him physical harm, and looked down at the Sharpie marker that Ash had been jabbing in his back. He raised an eyebrow, as if to ask Ash if that were really necessary, and Ash chuckled and grabbed him into a rough hug. “Good to see you, kid. But I barely recognized you. You must’ve grown a foot since last summer. You could pass for twenty, at least, if someone wasn’t looking too closely. Everybody else is waiting for us back at our temporary base of operation. Let’s find that bag of yours so the party can begin.”
    Joss gave Ash’s back a pat as they hugged, and when they separated, a kind of peace settled over him. He was home, in a weird way. He’d finally received the warm welcome that he’d very much wanted from his mom and dad. The Slayers, after all, were family to him, and a family like no other. They knew all of Joss’s secrets, all of his strengths and weaknesses.
    Well, not
all
of his secrets. They knew nothing about the private job he’d taken hunting the Pravus vampire in Bathory. They also didn’t know that he’d failed miserably to kill said vampire. Or that he’d become good friends with Vlad, the same way he’d become good friends with Sirus.
    He was pretty sure they didn’t know, anyway.
    Once they’d located his suitcase and grabbed a cab to take them deep into the heart of Manhattan, Joss allowed himself a small moment of happiness. Last summer had been all about training to become a Slayer. This summer, he was a Slayer, ready to take on vampirekind and kick their undead butts into eternity. Thinking about his stake, Joss cast a glance at their cabbie, who was busy chatting in another language into his Bluetooth headset, and said, “Hey, Ash. How do you travel with your stake? I mean, you can’t take it in your carry-on, right?”
    Ash shook his head. “Nah. Gotta check it. Which sucks, considering how many vampires work in the airline industry. But you’ll find out all about that once you earn your stake.”
    Joss paused. Dorian had delivered his great-great-great-grandfather’s vampire killing kit, complete with stake, to him at the end of last summer. He’d assumed it had been given to him at the instruction of the Society, but now he was wondering if that were the case. He didn’t say anything to Ash, because the last thing he wanted to do was to have his only means of protection take away from him. So he and Ash chatted all the way to Greenwich Village about school, what it was like to live with his cousin Henry, and how it felt being solo for the first time. By the time the cab came to a halt in front of the brownstone that was to act as their base of operations, Joss was really looking forward to seeing the other members of their little group. After Ash paid the cabbie, they exited the cab, Ash collected his