Read Beloved Purgatory (Fallen Angels, Book 2) for Free Online Page B

she raised her
hand to her neck and clutched her cross.
    Yes, mom. Touch it. Thrust it in his face
and make him burst into flames. Think of God, not whatever
disgusting things you're thinking of right now.
    "That's a lovely cross." Forneus ran his
fingers down the silver chain until they rested on top of hers. The
world fell silent, except a distinct ringing echoing in my ears.
Forneus looked over his shoulder, at me, and smiled.
    "Oh, it's old," my mother giggled.
    "It's an antique ," Forneus corrected. Then,
still looking at me, he leaned closer and murmured in her ear:
"Keep it close."
    Jasmine put her hand on my thigh. "He's just
playing, Devi. Don't let him get to you."
    I grit my teeth. I wanted to take my chair
and hurl it at his face so everyone could see what that purple
freak really looked like.
    Instead, I gripped Jasmine's hand and tried
to breathe steadily as Forneus and my mother set their chairs up
next to each other. I wasn't the only one in the room having a
difficult time with it, either. Every woman (with the exception of
Jasmine, of course), sneered at her.
    But none of their pointed glances were as
frightening as my death stare.
    Forneus winked. Did he think pissing me off
was funny?
    "Now, Mr. Lowell is it?" Forneus began.
"Please recount the crime those little girls committed."
    Principal Lowell nodded, his chin retreating
into the flappy folds of his neck like a bull frog. "They
vandalized the boy's car."
    Forneus wet his lips. "What, exactly, did
they do to the car?"
    James dad snorted. "Ask your little brat
what happened."
    "My little brat," Forneus repeated tenderly,
as if it were an endearment. "I hope it was worth it, sweetheart. I
had to get out of bed a full five hours early--not that you care."
He returned his attention to the principal. "Go on."
    Mr. Lowell coughed. "They pasted feminine
products on the car."
    Forneus' eyebrows scrunched up. "Feminine
products?"
    My mom coughed, then brought the corner of
her jacket up to her mouth. She swallowed, chocked on air, and
coughed again. "Sorr--" She couldn't finish.
    Then, to my horror, I realized why. She was
snickering.
    And, for some reason, I thought that was the
most hilarious thing ever.
    My eyes started to water. I
bit the inside of my cheeks. Don't. Don't.
This is serious, Devi. Seriously serious. Seriously...
    I couldn't stop. I rested my eyes on my
fists, started to count to ten, then realized how funny the number
four was.
    Above my gasping, I heard Forneus' voice. "I
see," he said, completely ignoring my mother and me. "And what is
the punishment for such an offense?"
    Kim tapped my thigh.
    I glanced up, but she wasn't
looking at me. Her eyes were focused straight ahead. All the color
had left her skin, and her full, perfect lips were chapped. No , I realized, they weren't chapped. They were rough and stringy
because she'd chewed on them--she was chewing on them
still.
    I sat on my hands to keep myself from
reaching for her.
    I had to act dignified. This was her future
on the line. She couldn't afford a black mark on her record. I
straightened my back, took a deep breath, and looked forward,
straight into James' dad's eyes.
    A vein in the middle of his
head pulsated as if dancing to the beat of the Numa Numa song. His cheeks were red.
The look he gave me made it excruciatingly clear he wanted to kick
over his chair, leap across the narrow passage between us, and
strangle me.
    And that made me laugh harder.
    Stop, stop,
stop , I repeated. But each time I said the
word, I'd start giggling again. What was wrong with me?
    I felt something on my shoulder--a soothing
touch to my right.
    I glanced up with bleary
vision. Even then, staring at Jasmine's beautiful face, I couldn't
stop the giggles from cascading through me. Sorry , I mouthed. She shook her head
and smiled. "That's my line," she whispered.
    Jasmine cleared her throat and stood. "I
need to say something before this goes any further." Her musical,
clear voice made the hairs on the