Read Online A Quill Ladder by Jennifer Ellis - Free Book Online Page A

went to the college? ” Mantis asked, looking up from his phone, a pair of black reading glasses perched on his nose.
    “ Yes. Well, pretty sure. He said he wanted to talk to Dr. Ford about something... ” Abbey trailed off. She didn ’ t think it was a good idea to mention the map, since Mantis also owned a copy of the same map.
    “ Are you sure he didn ’ t go to the stones? ”
    “ I don ’ t know, ” Abbey said. “ But I don ’ t think he ’ d go alone. ”
    “ Only one way to know for sure. ”
    “ What ’ s that? ”
    “ We go check the stones, of course, ” Mantis said.
    “ We ’ re not allowed, ” Abbey said. But somehow even the suggestion of a sanctioned trip to the stones, even if it was a non-trusted adult doing the sanctioning, made her heart perform a small leap. Maybe she was already addicted.
    Mantis tucked his phone into the front pocket of his suit jacket, rose, and donned the jacket. “ We need to know whether Mark is in the area. If he ’ s not, and he ’ s been gone for a while, the stones won ’ t work. We ’ ll know right away. Then we can go looking for him. ”
    Caleb had come to stand behind Abbey.
    “ We should call our parents, ” Abbey said.
    “ I assure you, young lady, that isn ’ t necessary. I ’ m a responsible adult. ” Sylvain ’ s face shone with sincerity, but Abbey experienced a deep squeeze of distrust. His eyes contained a gleam of excitement, as if the mere prospect of approaching the stones filled him with energy.
    “ We should go check, ” Caleb said.
    Abbey whirled. There was something about his tone — some strange new flatness — that suggested he, too, was feeling the pull of the stones and was trying to suppress it.
    Perhaps they all were.
     

4. Finding the Center
     
     
    The woman had disarmed and flattened Mark against the wall with ease, her breasts pressed perilously into his chest while she held his arm in a painful twist behind his back. Tears came to Mark ’ s eyes. Dr. Ford ’ s mouth had fallen open when Mark grabbed his shirt, and remained open now as the woman pulled Mark ’ s arm farther up his back.
    Mark let out a moan and his face crumpled. All of this — the harrowing bus ride, the long wait in the brightly lit hall, the lack of food, and now being pinned by a woman half his size — was too much.
    His tears seemed to snap Dr. Ford together.
    “ Into my office, ” he said. “ And let him go, Selena. ”
    The woman slitted her eyes at Dr. Ford, but nonetheless loosened her hold on Mark. His knees buckled under him, and he started to sink to the floor to form a ball, when the two men appeared on either side of him, hauled him to his feet, and dragged him into the office.
    After Mark was settled in the chair in front of Dr. Ford ’ s desk with some arrowroot cookies and a glass of water, Dr. Ford perched on his desk with his hands pressed against his knees. (Being able to see the map again was what calmed Mark more than the cookies, but he was hungry, so he decided not to mention that). The woman and the two men huddled in a corner muttering to themselves in hushed voices. The woman had a star tattooed on the inside of her wrist.
    “ Now, Mark, ” Dr. Ford said with exaggerated enunciation. “ This is a place of important business. I appreciate that you were upset that I couldn ’ t help you with the map immediately, and that you have certain difficulties, ” Dr. Ford said the last word delicately. “ But that doesn ’ t mean it is appropriate to make a scene and physically attack someone. Do you understand? ”
    Mark nodded, straining his eyes to see the map on the wall behind Dr. Ford ’ s desk. He needed to make out whether the faint five-meter contour line was on Dr. Ford ’ s map too, or just on the one that belonged to Mantis. Dr. Ford had moved on to talking about consequences and adult behavior. Mark leaned to the right in his chair to try to see the portion of the map being blocked by Dr. Ford ’ s