Free Redheads are Soulless by Heather M. White Page B

another bite. Sweet C ream ice cream, with strawberries, white chocolate chips , and cookie dough, all blended together and put in a chocolate dipped waffle cone with sprinkles .
    I forced myself to take slow, small bites, but it was hard. It tasted so good, I w anted to eat it all in one bite, but shoveling ice cream down your throat isn’t exactly “lady like”.
    Jason held out a napkin. “You got some…” he cut off his sentence and wiped off my chin.
    “Thanks,” I said embarrassed .
    No matter how many times I was with Jason, I still got nervous when I was around him. For those few moment s , I forgot that Robbie was watching us, and it felt good .
    After we ate our ice cream, we headed back to Peckville and walked around the park. Jason held my hand as we made our way to the swing set.
    “I have a question, about what I am.”
    “Ask away,” he encouraged me.
    “Do all roggeras have red hair?”
    He nodded. “Yes. Just like all quartheras have black hair.”
    “Are there any other… immortals … like us?” I asked.
    “As far as I know, we are the last of our kind in existence.”
    “Why? What happened to everybody else? I thought we were immortal.”
    Jason sighed. “We are, but we can still be killed. About a thousand years ago, there was a war, brought on by the hortribue s .”
    “What are the hortribues?” I asked.
    “They are not important. They are all extinct. We fought back, and we won,” Jason said before pushing me on my swing.
    As I moved back and forth, I looked at the ground thinking. I couldn’t just blow off what he said. I decided I should probably ask Robbie about them later on, if I get the chance.
    Sneaking behind Jason’s back probably i sn ’t a smart idea when it c omes to Robbie. He is a lot older than me, and a lot smarter. He could probably kill me before I had the chance to yell for help, but for some reason, I don’t think he will.
    That’s probably his idea , a voice warned me. He wants you to trust him, and then he will kill you when you least expect it .
    I pushed the voice away. Either way, I need to know what I’m up against. If Jason won’t tell me, Robbie will.
    But he could lie .
    But, he won’t.
    “Was Robbie always a bad guy?” I asked.
    Jason seemed stunned by my question. He hesitated before answering. “No. My brother has always been a very kind-hearted guy… Or at least he was, until about a thousand years ago until the war started . It was right around the time your dad put a curse on him.”
    “Do you think the curse my dad put on him made him like this?” I didn’t want to believe that my dad would ever do anything so vile, but I had to know.
    “No. I believe your dad put the curse on him after he turned to his evil ways,” he answered. “Your dad didn’t cause this.”
    “What did?”
    “I don’t know,” Jason shrugged. “I would give anything to have my brother back, but I truly believe the good in him is gone.”
    “I can’t believe that.” My words shocked me. “Maybe there is something that we can do?”
    He shook his head. “No, Sofia, I’ve tried everything. My brother is forever gone.” He looked at me for a moment, surprised. “Why would you want to help him anyway? Robbie was the one who killed your father.”
    “I don’t know. I just… maybe I can see the good in him. I can see the potential.”
    “My brother had no good left in him. He is a monster,” Jason insisted. “You can’t let my brother’s lies get to you . He is a very good manipulator. D on’t let him get to you . Please fight it.”
    “I will,” my voice sounded convincing enough, but I wasn’t sure if it was the truth. I didn’t know how hard I could fight it. I feared that Robbie was already in my head. I could feel him everywhere. In that moment, I knew exactly where he was. He was watching us from behind a big oak tree, about 50 feet from the swing set. I allowed my eyes to glance in that direction, and I was right. He was right