Read The Last Changeling for Free Online Page A

whispering god knows what to who knows what god.
    What I know is this: Lora climbed onto the bed just as my mom stepped out of the garage. I closed the heavy blue curtains, blocking us in. Still, long after I’d whispered “Please never do that again,” and Lora said “I promise,” I knelt there, hands clutching her arms, thankful beyond words that she was alive.

5
    E l o r A
    Once the madness had died down, Taylor spent the afternoon convincing me to stay another night. His argument hinged on the fact that his mother surely wouldn’t visit again for another few weeks, as was her schedule. He made grand promises about stopping by the house every day, if necessary, to make sure she wasn’t tempted, and ended the entire speech by gifting me two cell phones.
    Quite convincing.
    Still, the thing that swayed me had nothing to do with his bargaining, and everything to do with the way he’d looked at me when I’d climbed back into his room. His hands had been shaking and his eyes were alight with fear. He’d been terrified . No human on earth could have faked that level of concern.
    So I decided to give him one more chance.
    A fter that, Taylor explained how to operate my cell phones, and together we “surfed the web” for articles on transfer students. It quickly became clear that I would need to provide the high school with some kind o f record, regardless of whether I had actually ever been to school. Taylor felt the best course of action was to purchase a fake transcript, but I had a feeling I could create one myself.
    â€œHow hard would it be to make these?” I asked.
    â€œIt wouldn’t be easy. You see how perfect it looks?” He pointed to the place where tiny letters were arranged in lines. “It’s not watermarked or anything, but I’d still be nervous trying.”
    â€œI bet I could do it.”
    â€œReally?” A slow smile spread across his face, born of mischief. “What program would you use?”
    â€œOh, I don’t know. I guess I would ask my friend Taylor for a recommendation.” The moment I said it, my heart squeezed. Never in all my life had I considered calling a human a friend. But I wouldn’t have said it if I hadn’t meant it.
    I couldn’t have.
    He stared at me with bright eyes. “Excel,” he said after a moment.
    â€œI’ll try.”
    He laughed, taking control of the mouse. “I have a feeling it comes naturally.” He clicked twice. “Here. Use this program. The grid will help you line up everything perfectly.”
    â€œI will do my best,” I said, feeling antsy. Even with the program, I’d have better luck glamouring my own transcript. But to do that, I’d have to get him out of the room.
    â€œAre you hungry?” I asked tentatively. I had heard, somewhere, that humans ate constantly.
    â€œI could eat.”
    â€œIt’s not too much trouble?”
    â€œNo, it’s not too much trouble to expect to eat.” His smile was sheepish. “I should have offered.”
    â€œWe’ve been busy.”
    â€œI’ll go look for something. Any dietary restrictions I should know about?”
    â€œYou mean, for instance, my body can’t process meat?”
    â€œSure. Anything like that.”
    â€œMy body can’t process meat.”
    â€œReally?”
    â€œYes. It sounds strange, doesn’t it?” Humans tore down rainforests just to make grazing ground for cattle—how could they understand that too much iron was poison in my veins?
    But Taylor just smiled, a lopsided grin that made me want to dance a jig. “It’s not strange at all. Last summer I worked at a fast food place. Ever since, I haven’t been able to eat red meat without feeling sick.”
    I fought to contain my relief. “Spinach isn’t great, either.”
    â€œTell me about it. I’ll see what I can find.”
    The moment he was gone, I