Read Online Fathomless by Anne M. Pillsworth - Free Book Online Page B

voice dropping. “I know! Helen didn’t tell us about her. But she died before the accident, when he was eight.”
    â€œDied how?” But when Eddy shrugged, Sean knew. “Cancer, right?”
    â€œLeukemia.”
    Was there a curse on moms who passed magic-capability on to their kids? “That sucks.”
    â€œBig-time.”
    Daniel had dropped neatly to the ground. He walked toward their bench, calling, “That’s an awesome tree. On top there’s a place you could string hammocks. Or you could build a flet, like the elves.”
    In Lothlórien, he meant. “Maybe Helen would let us,” Sean said. “With leftover construction lumber.”
    â€œI’m going to check it out,” Eddy said.
    â€œUm, how about lunch?”
    â€œTree first, lunch second. We decided on the Mexican place at the harbor.”
    That was a we that hadn’t included Sean. It was hard to argue against Mexican, though, especially since Eddy had already swung up into the beech. He expected Daniel would follow her. Instead he took her place on the bench, right down to cradling the sacred Salinger books. “I think Eddy wants to give us a chance to talk shop,” he said. “I already told her how our schedules match. And about Mr. Geldman.”
    â€œWhat about Mr. Geldman?”
    â€œYou know, how he’s going to be my mentor.”
    No, Sean had not known that. In fact, he was so blindsided, he almost slid off his end of the bench. “Your magician mentor?”
    Daniel’s grin lapsed into an uncertain frown. “Is there some other kind?”
    He had to stay cool so he didn’t scare Daniel out of talking. “Not that I know. Anyhow, Geldman’s yours? Solomon Geldman, from the pharmacy?”
    Daniel’s frown deepened. “Right.”
    Good thing they hadn’t eaten yet, the way Sean’s stomach clenched. “That’s great. How’d they pick him?”
    â€œI guess the Order thinks he’d be the best match for me.”
    â€œTo start right now, this summer. Him teaching you practical magic.”
    Daniel shoved Frodo curls from his forehead, hard enough to have pushed a wig askew, if he’d been wearing one. “Are you—?” he began. He gave the curls another shove. Still no slippage. “Did you want to work with Mr. Geldman?”
    Eddy had summited the beech and was on her way down. If she caught them in the middle of a drama, she’d blame Sean, and in this case, she’d be right. Unfair as it was for Daniel to get a mentor (Geldman!) while Sean had to wait (a whole year!), the situation wasn’t Daniel’s fault. “Sure, who wouldn’t want to work with him? But I’m good with—”
    Right, with whom?
    Eddy shinnied along a branch that came close to overhanging their bench. As it dipped, she rolled off into a cat-soft three-point landing. “What’ve you guys been talking about?”
    Daniel cleared his throat. “I told Sean about Mr. Geldman.”
    â€œI’m still geeking out over that. Who’s your mentor, Sean?”
    With Daniel still looking worried, Sean made do with a kinda-sorta truth: “I don’t know yet. The Order’s still thinking about it.”
    â€œBut Daniel’s starting with Geldman on Monday. Every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, three to six. You’ll get behind.”
    â€œNo, he won’t,” Daniel said. “I’ve never done magic, and Sean has. I’m the one who’ll be playing catch-up.”
    Sean almost said it out loud: Dude, stop trying so hard to be nice. We’re going to be your friends—Helen made us promise. Then he remembered what Eddy had said about Daniel’s skin grafts and his mother dying of leukemia, and he was glad he’d swallowed the snark. It came from the Gospel of Joe-Jack: You think when you kick crap at somebody else, you’re making your own pile smaller, but karma