Read Titans for Free Online Page B

for good measure. I’m not sure what’s in his work shed, but I do know fifteen minutes ago I felt like the world was ending. And now my lungs are pumping and my blood is warming and I’m walking toward the thing he’s motioning to.
    He steps all the way inside, and I follow him in. After he flips the light switch, I make out a lumpy figure on the dirt floor, covered by a burlap blanket.
    Yep, dead body.
    “Can I trust you?” he asks.
    “Can you trust me?” I repeat. “I’m standing in your Creep Dungeon staring at what looks like neatly arranged corpses. I think the question is whether I can trust you .”
    He shakes his head. “I’m an idiot for doing this, but I’m getting too old to stand still.”
    He bends down, knees creaking, and pulls back the blanket.
    I gasp when I see what he’s revealed. A Titan like I’ve never seen before, with smooth black steel and silver hooves dirtied by years of neglect. The animal’s legs bend at awkward angles, and its head is thrown back as if in pain. Though its eyes are closed, soft faux lashes encircle the sockets, giving the horse a kind appearance despite its intimidating black coat.
    I circle the creature, and my eyes land on the control panel at the base of its neck. The dials are different from today’s Titans, but I could figure them out.
    I could figure them out .
    That’s how quickly I go from studying this broken-down Titan to thinking about the one rider who will be allowed to enter the circuit this year, free of charge.
    I could figure them out.
    I could race in the Titan Derby.
    I could win and save my family’s home.
    I can hardly keep my legs beneath me when I look at Rags and utter, “Are you going to race this thing this year?”
    “Me?” He shakes his head like that’s preposterous. “No way. I’m an architect, not a jockey.”
    I swallow the lump in my throat, and ask the question I’m terrified to ask. “Can I race it?”
    He hesitates. “I’m not even sure this model would qualify.”
    “Course it would,” I argue. “It’s clearly a Titan.”
    The old man teeters on the edge of indecision. Though why bring me here if not for a reason? So I give him a nudge.
    “I could win,” I whisper. “No one would want it more than I would.”
    Rags scratches his chin. Looks at me. Looks at the Titan. “Okay.”
    “Okay?”
    “That’s what I said.”
    I slap my hands together and jump a foot off the ground. “No way! This is not happening. I mean, it is. But what are the chances?” I run a hand through my hair, struggle to pull in a deep breath. “How do you even have this machine? Don’t they cost like a quarter of a million bucks?”
    “Do you really care where I got it?”
    Nope. Not really. My mind is racing so fast that I don’t care enough to concentrate on anything except the Titan. I mean, if he stole it, I should probably know so I can fully appreciate what I’m getting myself into. But it doesn’t look like he wants to share this information, so instead, I say, “So, what first?”
    “First? First you get out of here and let me think on the poor choices I’m making and how much bail money I’ll need.”
    I try to contest his backtracking, but Rags won’t hear it. He all but strong-arms me out of the work shed and into the street. But that’s okay, because he says I can return in two days. I can’t feel the asphalt beneath my feet on the return trek to my house. I can’t remember the tears I cried earlier today when I learned my family was losing their home. Because now there’s a chance I can do something to help. Something big.
    Dad may believe this problem is his to handle. But I’ve learned a lot from watching my silent, brooding father over the years.
    Don’t let others do for you what you can do for yourself .
    I head straight home from Rags’s house and locate Zara.
    I tell her everything will be okay.
    I’ll make sure of it.



As Magnolia and I walk toward Rags’s house, she lists the reasons my