Guardian: Darkness Rising Read Free Page B

never know that book ever left the
drawer.”
    “ The
sleepover’s tonight ? Ian said. Oh, yeah – right.”
    Every first of the month, Luke, his brothers,
and their friends held a sleepover. Mari and Daisy (a girl who was
part of their group of friends) had been the ones to come up with
the idea of the monthly sleepover, and as the teens got older, they
continued the tradition in Mari's honour, as if she was still there
with them. Sometimes, it came off as silly, as they were nearly
adults by now, but no one seemed to want to stop the sleepovers,
either.
    And tonight would be no different. It was
Luke's and his brothers' turn to host the sleepover this time,
which gave them an extra advantage when it came to snatching the
book.
    The triplets' parents usually went
to bed around ten. The teenagers were allowed to stay up until
twelve when they were hosting a sleepover, which meant they could
easily pick the lock of James’s study without getting caught. Emma
probably wouldn’t betray her brothers if she caught them –
right?
    “ Seems like a good plan,” Ian
said. “Don’t let Dad find out.
     
    *
    Later that afternoon, the triplets and
their friends decided to meet up in the park. It was
cold for the time of year, but the sun was shining, which made the
cold temperatures slightly more durable. 
    Without Mari, the main friend group
consisted of seven teenagers; Luke and his brothers, their cousin
Felicity and her brother Anthony (Tony for short, Marco,
and Desireé (Daisy for short). 
    Daisy was actually the triplets’ (and thus
also Felicity and Tony’s) second cousin, but the six teenagers
never truly treated each other differently from their friends who
weren’t related to them. 
    You probably couldn’t imagine yourself
spending time with your cousins for at least five days a week, but
that was regular business for the Riverdales,
the Collins and the Bennetts. They were almost just
as close as their parents were, and did pretty much everything
together. 
    That didn’t mean they didn’t have
any  other  friends – after all, Marco wasn’t related to
them -, but the teens simply preferred the company
of family. It meant that they’d always have someone to rely on; it
gave them a sense of safety no one else could provide. Other
friends were just as good, but never as close. After all,
Marco kind of felt like family, anyway. 
    There was a certain spot in the park
where the teenagers preferred to hang out; underneath the big
oak tree in the middle of the park, on the grass field. Whenever
they met up in the park, the teenagers just simply spent their
days sitting in the tree’s shadow, exchanging news and telling
jokes and stories. 
    And Luke had a particularly exciting story to
tell. 
    “ So guys, for tonight, I’ve got a
special show planned,” the redhead said
mischievously. ”But it’s going to be a
true endeavour to get to it. An... adventure,
I’d say.” 
    Intrigued sounds came from the
others. ”Why, really?” Marco said; his eyes were a
calming grey colour, and his dark, curly hair was always
messy. Marco was popular with the girls at school; his olive
skin was soft, his hands big, and his jawline
strong. 
    “ It’s a
book,” Theodore said, his navy blue eyes
twinkling, ”but a very  special  book. According to
our dad, at least.” 
    “ Really?” Felicity
said. ”What’s so special about it, then?” 
    “ We don’t know,” Luke
chuckled. ”He started freaking out and took it from me before
I got the chance to read it.” 
    “ He locked it up?” Marco
said thoughtfully, sounding moderately surprised as he leant
back on the grass. “I don’t know dude. A book just doesn’t
seem worth all the effort to me.” 
    “ Oh, but it will
be,” Ian reassured him. ”Why else would Dad take it
away from us, just because he doesn’t want us to read
it?” 
    “ I don’t know,” Luke
said, and shrugged. His