Read Online First Destroy All Giant Monsters (The World Wide Witches Research Association) by D.L. Carter - Free Book Online Page B

giant spider’s web on this guy’s bookstore. Could you check it out?”
    Yeah, that would fly.
    Like a lead balloon.
    Oh, wait, didn’t the Mythbusters bust that one?
    Exhaustion was making her ditzy.
    “Uh, just to help, do you have a photo of your aunt?” asked Karl.
    “Actually, I don’t,” Amber glanced across to Smoke who picked up his cue.
    “She’s five ten, looks young despite being in her fifties. Her hair is silver and reaches all the way down to her knees. This time of year she wears a denim duster with flowers painted all over it. Walks with a limp. She usually carries a walking stick with a carving of a bear on the handle. More a strutting stick than a walking stick. She just likes to carry it around. Stylish! Oh, and a black fedora.”
    “Are you crazy, or is she?” demanded Karl.
    “Perfectly sane, I assure you,” said Smoke.
    Karl stared at Smoke for a moment before shaking his head.
    “I can tell you right off that lady never came in my store. I’m there every day from opening to after hours; if she’d come in, I’d remember.”
    “Thanks, but if you could …”
    “Okay, I’ll ask, but if someone came in like that you could be sure my staff would have gossiped about it and I’d have heard.”
    “Okay,” Amber and Smoke exchanged a glance. “Still …”
    “I said, I’ll still ask,” said Karl, impatience coloring his voice. “So, tell me. What book did she order?”
    “ First Destroy All Giant Monsters . It’s a …”
    “I remember that one going out,” he interrupted coldly. “It was months ago.”
    “Almost three months,” agreed Amber.
    Karl regarded them with suspicion. Amber guessed he was wondering why they’d left it so long to search for them. With hope he wouldn’t ask; there was no satisfactory answer she could give. Either Smoke or she would sound … odd. Odder.
    “And how do I get in touch with you?”
    Smoke tried to catch her attention. Amber acknowledged his concern with a slight nod.
    “I’m staying in my aunt’s house right now. Same address, same phone number as I’m sure she entered on your site. Can you still pull it up?”
    “Yeah.”
    “Well, thank you.” As Karl turned to go she called after him, “And thanks for calling the ambulance.”
    Karl paused at the door, glanced at her, then at the candy still in his hand. Without turning he dropped the box into the sink near the door.
    “I didn’t call. One of the concerned bystanders did.”
    Smoke waited until the door clicked shut and muffled footsteps told them Karl Benn had left before turning to scowl at Amber
    “Why the hell did you tell him all that? What possessed you …?”
    Amber considered her answer for several long minutes.
    “Because he looks closer to death than I feel.”
    Getting out of the hospital took hours. It didn’t help that now she’d regained consciousness Amber couldn’t go back to sleep. Her soul deep exhaustion frightened her. Whenever she felt herself slipping down into sleep she also felt as if she were slipping free of her body. Smoke sat on the bed, holding her hand and talking to her to keep her awake. Keep her anchored.
    When they got back to Five Corners Farm having survived Lightning’s erratic driving, the front door wouldn’t open.
    Amber clung to the carved wooden stair rail while Smoke wrestled with the front door. Despite his efforts the stained-glass door stayed firmly shut. He grabbed the knob again, shaking it, twisting it with enough force to turn the house upside down, but it refused to yield. Behind him Amber swayed and leaned harder on the rail. Lightning caught her about the waist and pushed her into a rattan chair, forcing her head down.
    “I’m fine,” said Amber, her hair falling over her face.
    “Sure and I believe you, too,” said Smoke. “I also believe the sun rises in the north, snow falls up and you can be allowed to wander around bookstores unsupervised. Now stay sitting down until I fix this.”
    “Okay,” she