Read Online Lost in Mist and Shadow: A Between the Worlds Novel by Morgan Daimler - Free Book Online Page B

And magical in that alluring/repulsive way that consumed him. His own magic was a rough, clumsy thing, something learned by rote. It depended on manipulating energy he could barely sense and trusting that the spells would work because their method was sound. He lacked his own innate ability, but like a blind man painting he could succeed through skill and practice. Not like these magical creatures. They had no appreciation for the gift they were given, he thought bitterly.
    It almost seemed a waste not to keep her, but then, she was needed for a greater cause. He watched the sun set and the sky fade to a moonless darkness. The streetlights flickered on, illuminating the nearly empty parking lot. Almost time, almost dark enough to move her, and then she would truly serve her purpose. Oh well, he thought, trying to console himself even as his excitement grew, there are always more like her.
    Even as he thought it he watched a girl walk past his window who had that certain glimmer, that glow, of Fairy to her. He tensed. She wasn’t as good as the girl bound in his bedroom but she wasn’t bad either. He felt that stirring of interest, the kind that had gotten him in trouble before but was serving a greater good now. As he watched the girl – maybe 14, although it was hard to judge when they weren’t fully human – sat down on the low stonewall bordering the parking lot, directly under a light, and took out a book. He licked his lips. She was alone. It would be so easy…but he already had a girl for tonight….Torn, he took a step towards his door and then stopped. Should I? he wondered, as the girl in the bedroom fell silent and time ticked by.
    **************************
    Allie was dreaming and she knew it. Outside the living room window there was snow on the ground, visible against the darkness, and a fire crackled cheerfully in the fireplace, but the thing that told her this wasn’t real was that Syndra was sitting on the couch in the rumpled t-shirt and sweatpants she always used to wear around the house on her days off. Her short blond hair was loose and her feet were bare; she looked exactly as she had so many mornings when she and Allie had hung out talking and being lazy. Allie felt a surge of raw grief at the familiar sight and quickly turned away, trying to will herself to dream of something else.
    “What, no hello? No big hug? I was expecting more Al, after all the effort it took to get you here,” Syndra’s voice was exactly as Allie remembered it and for a moment all she could do was feel her heart racing to hear it – and then the other woman’s words finally registered.
    “What? To get me where?”
    “To get you here, where you can talk to me,” Syndra said as if that was obvious. “I’ve been trying to come through to you in the waking world for weeks but you refuse to see me. And cut out that sage crap at the store by the way, I can’t go anywhere around that stuff.”
    “What?” Allie said again, feeling like she’d been punched in the gut.
    “I…have…been…trying…to…talk…to…you,” Syn said slowly as if she were talking to a small child. “But you won’t see me. Won’t acknowledge that I’m there. It’s really fucking obnoxious. Then I realized I can reach you here, in your sleep. Maybe because it’s the only time when your brain isn’t full of stress and drama.”
    “Excuse me?”
    “You heard me. You’ve got yourself so fucking worked up about everything I’m amazed your head hasn’t popped off. And not even about anything important – you let all the stupid little shit mess up your head but the big stuff gets right by you.”
    “Well I’d ask you how you’re doing, but since you’re dead it’s pretty obvious,” Allie snapped.
    Syndra’s eyebrows shot up and she barked out a laugh. “Well someone’s gotten a major bitch upgrade since I’ve been gone.”
    “This isn’t funny, Syn. You think I want your spirit trapped on earth?”
    “Newsflash Al,