The Temptation (Kindred) Read online

  Kelsey nodded, fear in her eyes. “I think so.”

  Minerva stared Kelsey down. “You think so? We cannot do it without your cooperation, love. Are you in, or not?”

  “In,” said Kelsey weakly.

  This seemed to satisfy Minerva. “Give me a couple of days to sort this all through and to consult with some people and guides and spirits I know, and I will come up with a plan for us.”

  “Can I come with you guys?” asked Kelsey.

  “No,” I said.

  “I’m afraid not,” said Minerva. “It’s far too risky as it is. I cannot reasonably put two young girls in danger, besides which, your energy tells me that you are needed here, for important purposes. We all have a journey, and all of us must honor it to the best of our abilities with as much dignity as we can muster.”

  “What are the risks of Shane going to the Underworld or Hell or whatever it is?” asked Kelsey, her eyes watering up.

  “Worst-case scenario, we don’t come back,” said Minerva.

  “Shane, you can’t do this,” shouted Kelsey. “I know you love him and he’s very special to you, but you have a life here. You can’t throw it all away to, to . . .”

  Kelsey couldn’t finish the thought, so I finished it for her. “To save Travis’s soul. That’s what I’d be doing.”

  “Yeah,” said Kelsey in defeat. “I know it sounds noble, but I can’t lose you. You’re my best friend. You have so much to live for. It’s not worth it, Shane. It really isn’t.”

  I thought of Travis, and of the powerful love we shared, of the electricity between us, and the fact that he had risked his own soul just to see me one last time, and I said, without hesitation, “Yes, Kelsey, it is worth it.”

  Acknowledgments

  I wish to thank Antonia Markiet, senior executive editor at HarperCollins, for believing in this book from the start, and for editing with diligence, brilliance, and patience. You are one in a million, and I am glad you’re mine. Thank you.

  I’d also like to thank Jayne Carapezzi, Sasha Illingworth, Tom Forget, and Jessica Berg for their work on this book.

  About the Author

  Alisa Valdes is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of six commercial women’s fiction novels, including THE DIRTY GIRLS SOCIAL CLUB. She has a Masters in journalism from Columbia and is a Pulitzer-nominated, award-winning former staff writer for the Boston Globe and Los Angeles Times. Alisa has written and sold pilot scripts to Nickelodeon, NBC, and Lifetime Television, as well as a teen crossover feature film based on The Kindred.

  Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins authors.

  Credits

  Cover photograph © 2012 by Thinkstock/iStock

  Cover design by Sammy Yuen

  Back Ad

  Copyright

  The Temptation

  Copyright © 2012 by Alisa Valdes

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

  * * *

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Valdes-Rodriguez, Alisa.

  The temptation : a Kindred novel / by Alisa Valdes. — 1st ed.

  p. cm.

  Summary: Rescued from a car crash in New Mexico, sixteen-year-old Shane meets her soul mate, only to discover that he is dead.

  ISBN 978-0-06-202420-6 (pbk. bdg.)

  [1. Love—Fiction. 2. Ghosts—Fiction. 3. Soul—Fiction. 4. Dead—Fiction. 5. New Mexico—Fiction.] I. Title.

  PZ7.V2158Te 2012

  [Fic]—dc23

  2011022939

  CIP

  AC

  * * *

  12 13 14 15 16 CG/BV 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  First Edition

  EPub Edition © February 2012 ISBN: 9780062114594

  About the Publisher

  Australia

  HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty. Ltd.

  25 Ryde Road (P.O. Box 321)

  Pymble, NSW 2073, Australia

  http://www.harpercollins.com.au

  Canada

  HarperCollins Canada

  2 Bloor Street East -20th Floor

  Toronto, ON, M4W, 1A8, Canada

  http://www.harpercollins.ca

  New Zealand

  HarperCollins Publishers (New Zealand) Limited

  P.O. Box 1

  Auckland, New Zealand

  http://www.harpercollins.co.nz

  United Kingdom

  HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.

  77-85 Fulham Palace Road

  London, W6 8JB, UK

  http://www.harpercollins.co.uk

  United States

  HarperCollins Publishers Inc.

  10 East 53rd Street

  New York, NY 10022

  http://www.harpercollins.com

  Table of Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Credits

  Back Ad

  Copyright

  About the Publisher