Fractured Soul Read Free Page B

seen and experienced so far, serving pampered Auras was the last job I’d ever want.
    “Like what?” Ashlyn said.
    “Serving Auras,” May said, apparently thinking the same thing.
    Ashlyn looked at us like we’d just told her the world was flat. “Of course they like it. We’ve made their lives dramatically better. What more could they ask for?”
    I glanced around, still in shock. “Yeah, what more.”
    Throughout the rest of dinner, the girls spoke mostly to May. I was surprised by how boastful and prideful they were. No wonder my mother had left early and refused to be a part of their organization. Some people thought she took it too far by marrying her Guardian, a big no-no, but I didn’t.
    “You should take that,” Valerie said while Ashlyn was speaking to May.
    I followed the direction of her pointed finger. Next to my glass was a blue pill. “What is it?”
    “It’s our vitamin. We all take it. It keeps us at optimum health.”
    I picked it up and looked at it. “Really?” A memory stirred. My mother used to take them too. I wondered why my father never gave them to me. Maybe he was too proud to ask the Council for them, or maybe he had and they’d refused.
    “Isn’t that right, Valerie?” Ashlyn said, interrupting us.
    Valerie turned away from me and joined in their conversation. Whatever. If these vitamins were good enough for my mom . . .  I popped the pill into my mouth and washed it down with water.
    My attention wandered away from the Auran girls and over to the Lizens who were lined up against the walls, hands behind their backs, waiting for us to finish. They looked like regular girls, no different than the rest of us, except for the occasional patches of scales, some more noticeable than others.
    I studied them for a moment, specifically their eyes, which always seemed to be looking down. And none of them were smiling.
    “Llona?”
    I turned around.
    Sophie was standing behind me, smiling. “There are some people I would like to introduce you to. Are you about finished?”
    I glanced down at my half-eaten chicken. Usually I had a great appetite, but the atmosphere in the dining room made me ill. “Sure.” I stood up and followed Sophie back to her table.
    “Everyone, I’d like to introduce you to my niece, Llona,” Sophie said.
    All eyes turned on me as if in slow motion. They all looked friendly enough, smiling and nodding their heads, but something about the way they did it looked forced.
    Sophie motioned around the table. “Llona, here are a few of your teachers. Ms. Ravitz, Ms. Crawford, Ms. McBride, and Ms. Haddy. And over there next to the podium,” she pointed to an older-looking Chinese man who was speaking with a student, “is Dr. Han. He sits with me on the Auran Council.”
    The Auran Council. I almost grimaced. They were a group of nine people, three overseeing each Auran school, who set the rules. As far as I was concerned, they were responsible for the Aurans’ weakened state. “Nice to meet you all.”
    “You’ll have an opportunity to get to know each of them in your classes,” Sophie said.
    “We’re glad you’re here, Llona,” said Ms. Crawford. She was a beautiful African American woman in what looked like her thirties. Her smile actually seemed genuine.
    Sophie turned me around and said quietly, “After dinner I want you to go to the medical room on the first floor to have your blood drawn.”
    “Why?”
    “An Aura’s blood is special. If something were to ever happen to one of us and, heaven forbid, someone needs blood, we store it here. We draw everyone’s blood once a month.”
    “That seems like a lot. Can I refuse?”
    She took hold of my hand and squeezed. “Of course you can, Llona, but it’s frowned upon. We do things here that you may not like, but they are for your protection, and the protection of the whole Auran race. Because we are so few, we have to be careful. We must survive.”
    Funny. That’s what I had always tried to do