Read The Reverence of One: Book Three of the Shadow Series for Free Online

being replaced by a look of concern. “Is everything okay?” he asked.
    Alyssa glanced back to Maggie. “Yeah,” she replied timidly . “ E verything is fine.”
    Sensing that everything wasn’t ‘fine’, Test answered. “Are you sure? You don’t seem…”
    “She said everything’s fine, honey,” Maggie interrupted. She glanced to Lauren who stood at the foot of the stairs leading up to the porch. “What have you two been up to? Go for a morning walk in the woods?”
    Test quickly glanced to Lauren and then back to his mother. “Yeah, something like that,” he replied with a chuckle.
    Fro m behind, Lauren bumped into him as she passed. “You might as well tell them,” she said in her now familiar bitchy tone. “If they’re going to hang around and suck the life out of you, they should know what it could mean.”

    Chapter 5
     
    All of them entered the house and found a seat in the living room. Lauren started a fire and then plopped down on the couch, resting her head against the back. The room, as homey and quaint as it was, now became a breeding ground for anxi ety and tension.
    “ So,” asked Maggie of Lauren. “ What do you mean we ‘re sucking the life out of him’?”
    Lauren rolled her eyes. “You guys are like freaking vampires. You’re constantly draining his energy just so you can stay on this side.”
    Knowing that they were just outside of Forks, Test found her comment somewhat ironic and wondered if she’d been waiting to use that for a while now. “Oh come on ! T urn down the drama, will ya?” said Test.
    Lauren leaned forward in her seat and ran her fingers through her hair , pulling a stray leaf from between several strands . “Look,” she said as she stared at the floor. She raised her gaze and glared intently at Alyssa. “This thing is far from over.” She watched with a twisted pleasure as Alyssa fidgeted uncomfortably in her chair. “That thing at the hotel, with Anil, that was a walk in the park compared to what is going to happen.”
    “Lauren ! ” exclaimed Test.
    With a hand raised in his direction to shut him up, she continued. “Anil was my mentor, and I knew him well. As powerful as he was, he was just a soldier. Killing him did nothing but delay the coming of Isaac.”
    Trembling, Maggie asked. “Lord, that sounds so biblical. Who is this Isaac?”
    Lauren laughed at Maggie’s ignorance. “It may as well be biblical as far as Test and I are concerned. Isaac is the oldest and most powerful Reaper that has ever been. It was important to him to either convert Test, or destroy him. His right hand man failed to do either. He will come for us; it’s just a matter of time.”
    “Why do they want him so badly?” asked Alyssa.
    “I don’t know for sure, but I have a theory. It has something to do with him showing his powers when he was so young. Most Shadows don’t show their abilities until they are older, in their early to mid-teens.” There was a brief pause. “I think Isaac is afraid of him.”
    Test’s heart skipped a beat. His mind w ent blank, speech was impossible.
    As Lauren’s eyes focused on Test, Alyssa asked a question. “If Anil was your mentor, wouldn’t they know where you live? Why haven’t they found us yet?”
    Lauren stood and walked to the fire place, poking and prodding at the logs to intensify the flame. “I was assigned to hunt Test years ago, when he was a small child. My mission was to find and convert him or to kill him . I found him quickly.”
    Maggie let out a gasp. “How did you know where—how did Isaac know?”
    Lauren returned to her seat and responded. “Whenever a new Shadow comes into their power, Isaac can sense it.” She turned to Test. “Just as you were learning to feel my presence this morning, Isaac has that capacity times infinity. That’s why it is so important for you to not lose control. Typically, when a new Shadow matures, they don’t know how to control their powers and they have a tendency to use