Third Strike Read Free Page B

line. “I assume you’re not just here for the barbecue.”
    The corner of Abraham’s mouth lifted in a small, knowing smile. “I have your next assignment.”
    Relief flooded over Joss. His next assignment. That meant that he’d be leaving Santa Carla for the summer. It meant he’d be spending time with his Slayer family, the few people on this planet who could actually understand the enormous pressures and responsibility that Joss was facing on a regular basis. It meant that he was going home. For the summer, at least.
    From inside his sports coat, Abraham pulled a small parchment envelope bearing the red wax seal of the Slayer Society. As he handed it to Joss, he said, “This mission will require stealth in a way that you’ve not yet achieved, nephew. You’ll have to decide exactly how to remain hidden in this scenario, and it won’t be easy for you, I’m afraid.”
    â€œIs it ever?” The words passed over his lips in a whisper before he’d had a chance to truly examine how they might sound to his uncle, his mentor. Fortunately, Abraham either hadn’t heard them, or ignored them completely.
    â€œYou’re on your own this time, Slayer. Your team has assignments in other cities, myself included. This task falls to you and you alone, by the bequeath of the Society. Only Paty will remain behind with you, but strictly to act as liaison between you and the Society elders. She cannot help you in your task.”
    Joss furrowed his brow and turned the envelope over in his hands curiously. He rubbed his thumb along the wax seal and pondered, “What’s my assignment, exactly?”
    â€œIntel has shown that there are vampires running wild in a certain small town, picking off human townsfolk whenever the mood takes them. You need to track down the creatures and stop as many of them as you possibly can before a cleansing of the town becomes necessary.”
    A cleansing. The Slayer Society would sweep through the town, killing everyone—both vampire and human alike—wiping the slate clean. It had been done before, but not for a hundred years. Joss hoped that it would never be done again.
    â€œWhere am I going?”
    â€œNowhere.”
    Joss snapped his eyes to Abraham’s.
    Abraham cracked a smile, but Joss was damn certain that it wasn’t a reflection of inner peace or joy. It was sadistic, that line in his mouth. It was cruel. The way that Abraham had been cruel. The way that Abraham was still cruel.
    Then, as if to erase all doubts as to what he was saying, Abraham said, “The town of which I speak is the one in which you currently reside.”
    Joss’s chest suddenly felt empty, hollowed out by the realization of what it would mean if he failed. His family was here. His parents. He swallowed hard, the name of the town escaping his lips in a disbelieving breath. “Santa Carla?”
    Abraham tipped the brim of the brown fedora he was wearing in Joss’s direction and smiled before turning to walk away. Over his shoulder, he confirmed Joss’s query with a matter-of-fact tone and an almost singsong voice that grated on Joss’s every last nerve. “Santa Carla. You’d think that with your training and keen eye, you might have noticed.”
    But Joss hadn’t noticed. He hadn’t noticed anything that suggested that vampires had infested the town in which he lived. Was he losing his touch? Or had he never really had one in the first place?
    As his uncle walked away, Joss watched him, clutching the envelope in his hands, so tight between his fingers that he was amazed that the pages didn’t crumble. Uncle Abraham joined the men who were still standing around the grill, even though Joss’s dad had closed the lid and just begun to carry the plate of cooked food back into the house. Abraham smiled at them and they smiled back, sweeping him easily into their casual conversation. Joss realized