Read Online Lost in Mist and Shadow: A Between the Worlds Novel by Morgan Daimler - Free Book Online
Authors: Morgan Daimler
Ads: Link
parking spot in front of the house. She had forgotten in the weeks they’d been apart how wonderful it felt to draw on his emotions for her own energy and strength and she had to admit it was tempting to think of accepting his offer just so she could always feel like she did now.
When she walked in the door of the house, still a bit euphoric, Liz was standing in the hallway with a stranger, gesturing towards the living room expansively and saying something about how much room there was. Her voice was unusually warm and bubbly for Liz, and it made Allie tense despite her own good mood. As soon as she saw the door opening Liz turned towards it; the expression on her face reminded Allie of when they’d been in high school and Liz had been trying to impress the other popular kids: fake and overeager.
“This is Shawn, he’s going to be moving in to fill the spare room,” Liz said smiling widely at the stranger. “He works with me at the theater – he’s an actor! – and his old roommate packed it in and moved back to regular earth, so he couldn’t keep up with the place he was at. And I said I had a room open, and viola, here he is.”
Liz sounded exuberant as she spoke, and Allie had to fight to keep her face neutral as her cousin fawned over the new arrival. Allie guessed he was in his mid-20’s. A bit under six feet with a medium build, brown eyes and brown hair that fell to just above his shoulders; he was wearing jeans and a black turtleneck, and oozed artist. His smile was friendly but there was something overly cheerful in his face that made Allie uneasy, although she thought perhaps he was merely putting on his stage persona to meet new people. She knew from the times she’d gone with Liz to the theater that many of the actors were actually very insecure; after only a moment’s hesitation she extended her senses to read his emotions. Normally she wrestled with the ethics of using her ability to read people but since this person was going to be living with her this time felt justified. She found a mix of excitement, nervous tension, and fear, all of which could be explained by his own worry about fitting in with the established roommates.
“Well it was hard to resist,” Shawn said looking around in open curiosity, “after Lizzie told me about how tricked out this place was.”
Lizzie? Allie thought, amused, “Yeah, we do have all the electrical stuff most people don’t. We’ve even got a microwave.”
“A microwave? Really?” he looked suitably impressed at the mention of a bit of earth technology rarely found in the Bordertowns because of the difficulty keeping them running in the magical environment.
“Yeah,” Liz said eagerly, “Allie’s a witch and we have another roommate who’s away right now but he’s also good with magic and he helps out. They keep up with all the enchantments and they deal with any magical issues that come up.”
Shawn looked her over skeptically, “Really? I was kind of worried about being so far out in the woods – I mean you hear about some pretty dangerous stuff roaming around in the less settled areas. It’s good to know you guys have magical security, but, no offense, you don’t look like the sort to be out tackling fairy wolves or whatever.”
Fairy what? Allie wondered, but before she could ask what a fairy wolf was, if there even was such a thing, Liz was talking again, “Oh Allie’s not as young as she looks, she’s only half human you know, her mother wasn’t, er, she was an elf. And she’s not a really powerful witch but she’s very good at basic stuff and she knows all about the sorts of dangerous creatures we have to deal with.”
Allie couldn’t stop herself from giving Liz a puzzled look, but she nodded and agreed, “I’m no super witch but I’m pretty effective as magical animal control and I can keep all the electrical stuff running.”
To her surprise Shawn stepped forward peering closely at her, “Wow, you’re a half elf?
When she walked in the door of the house, still a bit euphoric, Liz was standing in the hallway with a stranger, gesturing towards the living room expansively and saying something about how much room there was. Her voice was unusually warm and bubbly for Liz, and it made Allie tense despite her own good mood. As soon as she saw the door opening Liz turned towards it; the expression on her face reminded Allie of when they’d been in high school and Liz had been trying to impress the other popular kids: fake and overeager.
“This is Shawn, he’s going to be moving in to fill the spare room,” Liz said smiling widely at the stranger. “He works with me at the theater – he’s an actor! – and his old roommate packed it in and moved back to regular earth, so he couldn’t keep up with the place he was at. And I said I had a room open, and viola, here he is.”
Liz sounded exuberant as she spoke, and Allie had to fight to keep her face neutral as her cousin fawned over the new arrival. Allie guessed he was in his mid-20’s. A bit under six feet with a medium build, brown eyes and brown hair that fell to just above his shoulders; he was wearing jeans and a black turtleneck, and oozed artist. His smile was friendly but there was something overly cheerful in his face that made Allie uneasy, although she thought perhaps he was merely putting on his stage persona to meet new people. She knew from the times she’d gone with Liz to the theater that many of the actors were actually very insecure; after only a moment’s hesitation she extended her senses to read his emotions. Normally she wrestled with the ethics of using her ability to read people but since this person was going to be living with her this time felt justified. She found a mix of excitement, nervous tension, and fear, all of which could be explained by his own worry about fitting in with the established roommates.
“Well it was hard to resist,” Shawn said looking around in open curiosity, “after Lizzie told me about how tricked out this place was.”
Lizzie? Allie thought, amused, “Yeah, we do have all the electrical stuff most people don’t. We’ve even got a microwave.”
“A microwave? Really?” he looked suitably impressed at the mention of a bit of earth technology rarely found in the Bordertowns because of the difficulty keeping them running in the magical environment.
“Yeah,” Liz said eagerly, “Allie’s a witch and we have another roommate who’s away right now but he’s also good with magic and he helps out. They keep up with all the enchantments and they deal with any magical issues that come up.”
Shawn looked her over skeptically, “Really? I was kind of worried about being so far out in the woods – I mean you hear about some pretty dangerous stuff roaming around in the less settled areas. It’s good to know you guys have magical security, but, no offense, you don’t look like the sort to be out tackling fairy wolves or whatever.”
Fairy what? Allie wondered, but before she could ask what a fairy wolf was, if there even was such a thing, Liz was talking again, “Oh Allie’s not as young as she looks, she’s only half human you know, her mother wasn’t, er, she was an elf. And she’s not a really powerful witch but she’s very good at basic stuff and she knows all about the sorts of dangerous creatures we have to deal with.”
Allie couldn’t stop herself from giving Liz a puzzled look, but she nodded and agreed, “I’m no super witch but I’m pretty effective as magical animal control and I can keep all the electrical stuff running.”
To her surprise Shawn stepped forward peering closely at her, “Wow, you’re a half elf?
Similar Books
