The Gramm Curse (The Night Watchmen Series) Read Online Free Page A

lucky, I won’t experience that in my short lifetime. I won’t have something to miss out on. I won’t die knowing that I’ve left something that magical…that indescribably powerful behind.
    But most importantly, I won’t regret my decision.
    I settle for a pair of dark gray basketball shorts, and then cross the room to my bare kitchen. The fridge has very little in it; leftover pizza, a couple of eggs, a jug of milk, soda, cheese…none of it appeals to my growling stomach. I snatch the milk, and then reach up on top of the fridge for a box of sugary chocolate cereal. After filling my bowl, I grab a spoon and sit on a stool at the dark marble counter.
    That’s when silence decides to ambush me.
    I lean over and press the button to turn on the radio that streams throughout my small loft. Rap music pours through the speakers. “Gavin,” I groan, silently cursing him. He’s always messing with my stuff…switching things up, rearranging things so I can’t find them, and screwing with the orderly fashion I’ve come to need in order to function properly.
    Inside my four steel walls, I’ve constructed a methodical routine with the sole intent of keeping me occupied until my hourglass runs out, until the sand quits spilling, and until my heart stops beating.
    I shut the music off and flip the TV on across from me. It’s the news. I try to stay focused on what’s being said, but thoughts sit in the back of my mind like spring-loaded traps, waiting for me to step in. Just one small reminder, one small instance that reflects upon the things I’m trying so hard to avoid, and I’m caught.
    A story scrolls across the bottom of the screen. “A gruesome murder took place at Firebrand last night. A 22 year-old woman was found murdered, drained of blood,” it reads.
    That's a club located in my sector downtown. I need to check that out. I should call Mack. He can give us the go ahead to bring the club down if something fishy is going on. Jezi crosses my thoughts, and the trap snaps shut in the back of my mind. She’s always had my back, even when I’ve taken on the hardest cases. She’s always tried so hard, even from day one.
    I drop my spoon and close my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose. Shut it off , I tell myself, but the images won’t disappear. The memories won’t go away.
    When I met Jezibelle Beaumont on the day of our Culling, my mother’s advice wouldn’t leave my mind. Although I hadn’t seen her in over five years, her voice was as clear as if I had just heard her yesterday. “Never fall in love. Not with your affinity partner. Spare yourself what your father and I went through.”
    I knew what I had to do when Jezi's name was called and she crossed the stage. When she took the oath alongside of me and branded herself willingly. I couldn’t love her because loving her would kill her, and I couldn't live with myself if that ever happened.
    But if I chose to seal myself off from love, then it would only be my death that lurked around the corner. It's what my father did to keep my mother safe from the curse, and if he could shut his emotions off to keep her alive, then I can be just as emotionally reserved.
    But that’s the thing about affinity bonds- it’s impossible not to care…not to fall in love. The affinity mark given to us on the day of the Culling does more than just brand us. It links our minds…and our hearts. If the partners don’t fall in love, then there’s always one in the bond that gets hurt. There’s always one who suffers the most.
    Gavin strides in from the front door. “ Yo,” he shouts out. He takes the stool across from me and tips my bowl in his direction. “Cereal?”
    I lift the bowl away from him. “It’s good.”
    He smiles and rolls his eyes. “Whatever you say, man.”
    I tip the bowl up to my lips and drain the last of the milk in one gulp, ignoring Gavin’s tone, and then turn from him and put the bowl and spoon in the dishwasher. The air has a certain