Read Online Seeing Magic (The Queen of the Night Series Book 1) by Laura Emmons - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Laura Emmons
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didn’t realize what a high position it was in the social hierarchy. It seemed like a heavy burden to carry on young shoulders. It also explained why the women treated him the way they did. He must be their equivalent of a crown prince. At least Fiona seemed comfortable with her role. She’d probably joined the council after assisting the previous Great Healer for a decade at least. She’d held the position for several decades.
Evan didn’t look like he had that level of confidence, but understanding the political reality certainly explained why I walked away from the farmer’s market an hour later with gifts from almost every vendor. I’d been given homemade fudge, a mason jar of blackberry jam, a bar of oat and lavender soap, a bouquet of fresh wildflowers and a personal-sized seedless watermelon. I couldn’t manage to carry any of it except the flowers while wielding my cane.
Evan had to get an empty produce bucket from Duncan to pack all the stuff. He hefted it back to his SUV and stored it in the cargo area. I limped along beside him.
After he’d closed the hatch he glanced down at my cane and said, “Why don’t we get some lunch?”
Since lunch had consisted of leftovers brought from home every day, eating out sounded like a great idea. Evan took me to the local pizza parlor. They had an old-fashioned juke box and he and I took turns surprising each other by queuing up odd selections and moldy oldies. Each time a new song played the person who had not chosen it laughed and teased the other.
I couldn’t believe I was having a good time. More surprisingly, I couldn’t believe he was having a good time. I pushed my luck by asking him a question. “Evan, why don’t you hate me anymore?”
He looked shocked for a moment, but recovered quickly. “I’m sorry if you thought I hated you.”
I gave him a skeptical look.
“Okay, I hated you, but Fiona reminded me that you are not to blame for your parent’s mistakes. So I’m not going to take my frustration out on you anymore. Besides, these past few days, as I’ve driven you to and from the store, we’ve talked, you know, like normal people. No one ever makes idle conversation with me anymore. For the last two years, people only talk to me if they need something. If they need my vote on a council issue, or they want me to introduce a proposal, then they’re nice to me. I think a couple of the girls want to date me so they can claim status as a council member’s girlfriend. Sometimes I think their mothers want to date me for the same reason.”
I giggled, unable to help it. He told the truth.
“See,” he continued. “You treat me like you treat everyone else. You have no hidden agenda. I really needed someone like that.”
I stopped giggling and looked at him earnestly. He seemed so vulnerable. “Are you sure no one else talks to you normally? What about Fiona?”
He huffed out a breath at hearing her name.
“Fiona was the only person I could talk to before you came here. She’s the only one who’s not afraid of me.”
“Why would anyone be afraid of you?”
“People are afraid of my power of premonition. If they touch me or spend too much time with me, they’re afraid I’ll see something about their future and it will be bad news. People don’t want to know bad things about their future. Unless they need something from me, they stay far away. Fiona is my mentor. She helps me understand all of the politics of the clan council, and she’s teaching me how to be a leader. I’d do anything to repay her.”
Like babysit me , I thought, with a twinge of sadness. At least he didn’t hate me anymore. “So, we’ve spent a lot of time together. Have you seen anything bad in my future?”
“I can’t see your future.”
“Huh?”
“Yeah, it’s weird. I had the one premonition, when you are named the next Great Healer. You’re older, so it’s not for a while, but that’s it. I saw a couple of premonitions of your
Evan didn’t look like he had that level of confidence, but understanding the political reality certainly explained why I walked away from the farmer’s market an hour later with gifts from almost every vendor. I’d been given homemade fudge, a mason jar of blackberry jam, a bar of oat and lavender soap, a bouquet of fresh wildflowers and a personal-sized seedless watermelon. I couldn’t manage to carry any of it except the flowers while wielding my cane.
Evan had to get an empty produce bucket from Duncan to pack all the stuff. He hefted it back to his SUV and stored it in the cargo area. I limped along beside him.
After he’d closed the hatch he glanced down at my cane and said, “Why don’t we get some lunch?”
Since lunch had consisted of leftovers brought from home every day, eating out sounded like a great idea. Evan took me to the local pizza parlor. They had an old-fashioned juke box and he and I took turns surprising each other by queuing up odd selections and moldy oldies. Each time a new song played the person who had not chosen it laughed and teased the other.
I couldn’t believe I was having a good time. More surprisingly, I couldn’t believe he was having a good time. I pushed my luck by asking him a question. “Evan, why don’t you hate me anymore?”
He looked shocked for a moment, but recovered quickly. “I’m sorry if you thought I hated you.”
I gave him a skeptical look.
“Okay, I hated you, but Fiona reminded me that you are not to blame for your parent’s mistakes. So I’m not going to take my frustration out on you anymore. Besides, these past few days, as I’ve driven you to and from the store, we’ve talked, you know, like normal people. No one ever makes idle conversation with me anymore. For the last two years, people only talk to me if they need something. If they need my vote on a council issue, or they want me to introduce a proposal, then they’re nice to me. I think a couple of the girls want to date me so they can claim status as a council member’s girlfriend. Sometimes I think their mothers want to date me for the same reason.”
I giggled, unable to help it. He told the truth.
“See,” he continued. “You treat me like you treat everyone else. You have no hidden agenda. I really needed someone like that.”
I stopped giggling and looked at him earnestly. He seemed so vulnerable. “Are you sure no one else talks to you normally? What about Fiona?”
He huffed out a breath at hearing her name.
“Fiona was the only person I could talk to before you came here. She’s the only one who’s not afraid of me.”
“Why would anyone be afraid of you?”
“People are afraid of my power of premonition. If they touch me or spend too much time with me, they’re afraid I’ll see something about their future and it will be bad news. People don’t want to know bad things about their future. Unless they need something from me, they stay far away. Fiona is my mentor. She helps me understand all of the politics of the clan council, and she’s teaching me how to be a leader. I’d do anything to repay her.”
Like babysit me , I thought, with a twinge of sadness. At least he didn’t hate me anymore. “So, we’ve spent a lot of time together. Have you seen anything bad in my future?”
“I can’t see your future.”
“Huh?”
“Yeah, it’s weird. I had the one premonition, when you are named the next Great Healer. You’re older, so it’s not for a while, but that’s it. I saw a couple of premonitions of your
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