Guardian of Atlantis (The Children of Atlantis) by Annie Rachel Cole

made it worse. In the middle of another coughing-sneezing fit, Raven got up from the bed and moved away from it, searching for dust-free air.
    “What’s going on? Where did all this dust come from?” grumbled Raven when she could finally breathe without coughing. She stared at the bed for a long time. Slowly she surveyed the entire room. Color drained from her face. Her hands trembled. “No way! No freaking way!”
    She crossed the room to the dresser. Various combs and pieces of jewelry were strewn across the top. Raven swiped a finger across the top of the dull wood dresser. She turned it over so she could see the padded tip. Dust covered her fingertip. She looked down. A dust-free line cut the layers of dust in half, revealing the rich dark mahogany wood hidden underneath years of neglect and dust bunnies.
    Raven took several deep breath s, letting each one out slower than the last. The more she actually looked at everything, the heavier her heart grew and the more her head spun making her already queasy stomach churn worse.
    No one had been in the bedroom for years!
    Raven rushed to the closet. The clothes hanging in there were covered with dust. A few belonged to her mom, but the rest were men’s clothes—her dad’s clothes.
    Raven stepped back from the closet, her eyes wide with fear, her heart heavy with a growing realization she couldn’t deny. She ran to the bathroom, putting on the brakes just inside the doorway . Dust flew up from the floor. It covered everything in the bathroom. Cobwebs hung from the light fixtures over the mirror all the way down to the sink. Raven shook. She gre w paler . Even though they had moved back into the house, her mom wasn’t staying in the master bedroom.
    So where was her mom staying and why? Raven knew no one was in the bedroom next to hers. That left only the attic and the small guest room above the garage. “The room above the garage has its own bathroom,” Raven said aloud.
    She ran out of the room, grabbing her bag as she went down the stairs. She raced into the kitchen and skidded to a stop.
    “Going somewhere?” Jay, the Hellhound from school, stood in the middle of the kitchen. His massive size blocked the back door .
    “How did you get in here? The door was locked.” Fear rippled through Raven. She couldn’t even think of one thing she could use as a weapon.
    “Sure about that?” Jay sneered at her. “And here I thought you were just being hospitable. You know. An open door policy or something like that.”
    “Wow! You actually know a big word? And here I thought you were all muscles and absolutely no brains.” The words flew out of Raven’s mouth.
    Jay growled. “I’ve been here all day with nothing but rabbit food in the refrigerator. I eat rabbits, not rabbit food. I’m starving!”
    Raven’s heart banged against her ribcage. She swallowed, letting the information sink in. “If you’re that hungry, why didn’t you go get a burger or something? It’s kind of stupid staying here with no food when you’re starving.” She took a baby step backwards hoping it wouldn’t look too obvious.
    “And miss your sunny company?” Jay’s lips curled up at the corner. “I’m going to have a very good supper.” His arms dropped to his sides. His chest rumbled with growls, as he slowly stalked toward her. He stopped. “Stupid? Did you call me stupid?” His hands curled into fists.
    “I didn’t say you were stupid.”
    Jay’s face turned several shades of red. “No one calls me stupid,” he said in a lower tone followed by a really low, throaty growl.
    “I didn’t call you stupid.” Raven said a little louder.
    “No. One. Calls. Me. Stupid.” He crouched down. His eyes turned red.
    Raven rolled her eyes. “I think I should’ve called you a moron because you’re acting like one.”
    “What?”
    “Or imbecile? Maybe juvenile delinquent since you broke into the house.” Raven couldn’t stop herself.
    “I’m not a criminal. The door was