Read Online Nevermor by Lani Lenore - Free Book Online Page A

fellow.”
    “Yes,” Wren
confirmed.  “He is very brave.  He is a bit full of himself and he thinks that
he is always right, but no one could accuse him of being a coward.”
    Wren wasn’t sure
that this was true, but she thought it might have been. 
    “Is Rifter very
handsome?” Laura, who was six, asked.  “I think I should like to marry him.”
    Wren thought
that was adorable, but within her heart she had also begun to feel fond of
Rifter because of her own story – but that seemed very ridiculous to her.  He
was not even real – just something she had dreamed up.
    “Could we really
go to Nevermor?” Lewis asked.  “Could we run away there?”
    Wren knew she
should not entertain these ideas.  She should tell them that it was all just a
story and that none of it was real, but yet she saw that glimmer in their eyes
– a sparkle of hope that she had not seen in a while – and she could not crush
them.
    “Perhaps if you
are very good and brave children, then the Rifter will choose you to join him
there.” 
    “I want to go to
Nevermor,” Max said, and all the others agreed.
    Wren wasn’t sure
what she had done by this, but they all seemed very happy to hear it.  They had
forgotten their troubles and the storm outside, and they were peaceful now,
hoping for a new dream.  Wren felt guilty for telling them lies.
    But what if it
was real?
    Her mind kept
shifting back to that, and Wren understood that even though she knew better,
she wanted to believe in it just as they did.  Hadn’t she been hearing
the sound of that flute calling her for two nights already?  She had a vague
memory of flying over the sea, and then tonight she had finally found what she
had been seeking.  She couldn’t deny that it was one of the most brilliant
dreams she’d ever had, and if given the choice, she probably would have stayed
there in it forever.
    Nevermor.   It was
hovering in her mind like the thunderheads looming outside.  Inside herself,
Wren felt a sprig of new hope as she tried to keep the images of that place
with her.  She thought that maybe, if she held onto that, she might be able to
find her way back.

Chapter Five
    1
    The next day,
Wren was no longer employed at the cotton mill.  Inside, she felt a little happier
for that, even if the image of blood was still fresh on her mind, but she did
not lack for things to do at the Home.  Nora had given her plenty of chores,
which included mending and scrubbing floors, sweeping and chopping vegetables,
but all the while, thoughts of the island had not left her. 
    Her dream of
Nevermor had begun to fade so that she could not remember the tiny details,
like the way the wind had felt, only that she had felt it.  She
remembered the Rifter – his coat of leaves and his cocky expression – but she
wasn’t sure she could have painted his picture, if asked.  He was like a blur
at the corner of her vision, but when she tried to focus on him, he faded
away.  Had he been real?  Had any of it actually happened? 
    The more she
thought about him, the more she believed.  The more she believed, the clearer
the images became.  She could see him in her mind’s eye, unkempt yellow hair
and blue eyes – could remember the way he had smiled at her.  The sand and the
water were not so far away anymore, as if she could close her eyes and go back
there.  This convinced her.  The Rifter was real and Nevermor existed.  She had
as much faith in that as she’d ever had in heaven.
    Perhaps it was
her own story that had influenced her – merely foolish optimism – but Wren
believed that if she had seen Nevermor once, she could find it again.  She felt
excited, more awake than she had in a long time, yet she could think of nothing
but going to sleep so that she could dream.  It was as though she had found the
hidden solution to her troubles, but it had been in front of her face all
along.  She’d only had to open her mind a bit.
    As the morning
passed on, she decided