Falling (The Falling Angels Saga) Read Online Free Page A

that girl to warn you, that means you can stop him. He wouldn’t have sent her if all was lost.”
    She was right. Ibwa was a demon in search of redemption who helped me during my trip to hell. I couldn’t have succeeded without him. I looked into her eyes. Pity-eyes stared back. “But we don’t know that it was Ibwa who sent the girl. I’ve been fooled by Satan before,” I said, referring to the cryptic note I’d received a few months back that I thought had come from Guy.
    “It sounds to me like it’s time to pay another visit to Aunt Jaz.”
    The mention of Aunt Jaz brought a smile to my face. Maudrina’s supposedly crazy Aunt Jaz was an insider in the Glendale occult community. She was also one of my favorite people in the entire world. I glanced over at Maudrina. She was smiling as well. “Yes, it does,” I said. I began rewrapping my turkey wrap.
    “What are you doing? Lunch period’s only half over.”
    “If we’re going to see Aunt Jaz, I want to save my appetite,” I said, and she laughed. Her laughter was like a healing elixir, massaging the knots from my neck and making the dark clouds that had appeared over my life part just a little bit. But like all medicines, I knew the effects would only last for so long.
    *
    Maudrina called Aunt Jaz, who was pleased to hear we were coming over. She told Maudrina she’d cook up something special for the occasion. Good thing I’d passed on lunch.
    At the end of the day, I decided to stop off in the math lab before heading out to let my teammates know I wouldn’t be participating in mathletes that afternoon, but also because I was feeling guilty about snubbing Tran and Jenny in stat class earlier in the day. I wasn’t on their bad side—yet—and I didn’t want to get there. I already had enough mess to clean up.
    I pushed open the math lab door and walked in. There were seven of us on the team. That day, the room was jam-packed with students, looking more like a New York City subway car at rush hour than a classroom. Many of them I recognized—Albert Findley and Rebecca Martz from the debate team; Alicia Soo and Jose Rivera from the science club—and many I didn’t, but familiar or not, the unmistakable aura of geek saturated the air around them.
    I could tell from the hush that fell over the group upon my arrival, and the collective sparkle in their eyes, they’d been waiting for me. As I cleared the doorway and stepped into the room, the geeks let loose with a near-deafening cheer. Tran pushed his way to the front of the crowd, triumphantly pumping his fist in the air.
    “For she’s the jolly good fellow!” he cried.
    “Oh, my!” I mumbled under my breath, as I realized there was more mess to clean up than I’d originally thought.
     
     

    Chapter Three
     
    “H… hi, everyone. It’s umm… not my birthday,” I said, trying to make light of the situation. I knew why they’d come, and yet a tiny piece of me held onto the thought that this had to be a mistake.
    The students erupted in joyous laughter, as if I’d suddenly become the world’s funniest comedian. I caught a glimpse of Mrs. Brewster peeking out between students in the back of the room. She seemed to be enjoying the moment as much as the students were.
    “I… umm… have something to say,” I said in a somber tone. I couldn’t lead them on, no matter how much it would hurt to see the expressions on their faces turn from triumph to disappointment. They were looking for a representative in the school election, someone to give them a voice in a world where they felt voiceless. That person wasn’t me.
    “Quiet down!” hollered Tran. “Megan Barnett has something to say.” No one had been talking when he barked out the command. It was Tran’s way of seizing control of the moment.
    The room seemed even quieter than before. The soft whir of the air conditioning came at me like the blades of a helicopter, pounding the air. All eyes of my classmates were on me, hungry for