Read Online Djinn Justice (The Collegium Book 2) by Jenny Schwartz - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Jenny Schwartz
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response. It wasn’t as if porters had to be available twenty four seven, so Fay decided to allow thirty minutes. After that, she’d reluctantly request Faroud to contact Paul O’Halloran.
After twelve minutes, Cynthia’s voice echoed through the portal. “You called?”
“Cynthia, a Fay Olwen requests travel to New York,” Faroud said.
“Yolanthe’s girl?”
“Yes, it’s me,” Fay said, deciding etiquette allowed her to answer a question at Faroud’s portal. . Yolanthe was her mom.
“Oh, very well. Send her through.” Cynthia had a snippy attitude.
Faroud took Fay’s hand. He didn’t offer her a token to ensure her safe, independent return.
No reason he should. Fay shrugged it off. Before her stepfather had explained things to her, no other porter had given her a token. Trust was a gift.
Fay walked into the in-between. In its chaos, there was no up or down. Three dimensions split into twenty one, or so she imagined. She closed her eyes in an attempt to limit her sensory overload. She felt Cynthia grip her free hand and Faroud release her. She stepped out of the in-between into Cynthia’s New York basement.
A circle of fluffy toys regarded her suspiciously, their glass eyes sparkling. The most frightening of them, a stuffed toy lamb, butted her ankle.
“Hello, Squiffy.” Fay bent and touched its head.
The lamb gamboled back to Cynthia Nguyen who picked it up.
“Thanks, Cynthia. I appreciate your kindness in accepting my entrance.”
“I’ve set up an account for you,” the other woman said.
“Thank you,” Fay said devoutly. An account gave Fay independence in portal travel to New York. It meant that rather than having to trade on her stepfather’s porter reputation, Fay had been recognized and accepted as a private client.
“I figure you’ll be travelling to the Collegium a fair bit, even if you’re no longer one of them.” Cynthia sat down on a recliner in a corner of her basement. She switched on a television. “I’m waiting on another client. Go on up. Let yourself out.”
Fay started up the stairs.
“The Collegium guardians are watching my house, now.”
“Thanks for the warning.”
“I gave them hives when they came too close.” At their portal, porters were powerful. “You have a five house radius, then they’ll sense you.”
Fay wondered how Cynthia’s other clients dealt with the surveillance. Everyone had their own tricks. She slipped on a cloaking spell and amped it up. As she exited the front door, hearing it lock behind her, anyone observing would see an elderly woman. Fay kept her pace slow to match the illusion as she approached and passed through Cynthia’s five house safe zone. Now, a magical watcher would see an elderly woman with the green aura of a healer.
She paused at the corner. Late afternoon, blurring into evening, meant heavy traffic. Even an elderly woman might tackle the subway rather than attempt the impossible: hailing an empty cab.
But miracles do happen.
A cab appeared. Fay hailed it and it stopped. Disbelieving her luck, she scanned it for magical traps. Nope, nothing. It smelled a bit of wet dog and garlic, but she could live with that. A touch of her own magic would help clear its path through traffic to the Collegium. She gave the address and sank back.
Behind her, the two junior guardians she’d sensed were probably making a professional and bored note of her appearance. Thanks to the small secrecy spell she’d used, they would have misheard her stated address as Mercy Hospital.
She’d at least have surprise on her side when she met Lewis.
Chapter 4
It was bizarre to stand on the steps of the Collegium’s headquarters and feel the hum of its magic, the power of its wards, and not be tied to any of it. Well, not magically tied. Emotionally, Fay knew she hadn’t truly cut her old loyalties. Perhaps her training as a Collegium guardian had indoctrinated her. Perhaps it was that her great-grandparents had founded the
After twelve minutes, Cynthia’s voice echoed through the portal. “You called?”
“Cynthia, a Fay Olwen requests travel to New York,” Faroud said.
“Yolanthe’s girl?”
“Yes, it’s me,” Fay said, deciding etiquette allowed her to answer a question at Faroud’s portal. . Yolanthe was her mom.
“Oh, very well. Send her through.” Cynthia had a snippy attitude.
Faroud took Fay’s hand. He didn’t offer her a token to ensure her safe, independent return.
No reason he should. Fay shrugged it off. Before her stepfather had explained things to her, no other porter had given her a token. Trust was a gift.
Fay walked into the in-between. In its chaos, there was no up or down. Three dimensions split into twenty one, or so she imagined. She closed her eyes in an attempt to limit her sensory overload. She felt Cynthia grip her free hand and Faroud release her. She stepped out of the in-between into Cynthia’s New York basement.
A circle of fluffy toys regarded her suspiciously, their glass eyes sparkling. The most frightening of them, a stuffed toy lamb, butted her ankle.
“Hello, Squiffy.” Fay bent and touched its head.
The lamb gamboled back to Cynthia Nguyen who picked it up.
“Thanks, Cynthia. I appreciate your kindness in accepting my entrance.”
“I’ve set up an account for you,” the other woman said.
“Thank you,” Fay said devoutly. An account gave Fay independence in portal travel to New York. It meant that rather than having to trade on her stepfather’s porter reputation, Fay had been recognized and accepted as a private client.
“I figure you’ll be travelling to the Collegium a fair bit, even if you’re no longer one of them.” Cynthia sat down on a recliner in a corner of her basement. She switched on a television. “I’m waiting on another client. Go on up. Let yourself out.”
Fay started up the stairs.
“The Collegium guardians are watching my house, now.”
“Thanks for the warning.”
“I gave them hives when they came too close.” At their portal, porters were powerful. “You have a five house radius, then they’ll sense you.”
Fay wondered how Cynthia’s other clients dealt with the surveillance. Everyone had their own tricks. She slipped on a cloaking spell and amped it up. As she exited the front door, hearing it lock behind her, anyone observing would see an elderly woman. Fay kept her pace slow to match the illusion as she approached and passed through Cynthia’s five house safe zone. Now, a magical watcher would see an elderly woman with the green aura of a healer.
She paused at the corner. Late afternoon, blurring into evening, meant heavy traffic. Even an elderly woman might tackle the subway rather than attempt the impossible: hailing an empty cab.
But miracles do happen.
A cab appeared. Fay hailed it and it stopped. Disbelieving her luck, she scanned it for magical traps. Nope, nothing. It smelled a bit of wet dog and garlic, but she could live with that. A touch of her own magic would help clear its path through traffic to the Collegium. She gave the address and sank back.
Behind her, the two junior guardians she’d sensed were probably making a professional and bored note of her appearance. Thanks to the small secrecy spell she’d used, they would have misheard her stated address as Mercy Hospital.
She’d at least have surprise on her side when she met Lewis.
Chapter 4
It was bizarre to stand on the steps of the Collegium’s headquarters and feel the hum of its magic, the power of its wards, and not be tied to any of it. Well, not magically tied. Emotionally, Fay knew she hadn’t truly cut her old loyalties. Perhaps her training as a Collegium guardian had indoctrinated her. Perhaps it was that her great-grandparents had founded the
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