Read Online Solatium (Emanations, an urban fantasy series Book 2) by Becca Mills - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Becca Mills
Tags: Fiction, adventure, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Magic, Action, Fantasy - Series, Science Fantasy, dark fantasy, Monsters, Dragons, Speculative Fiction, Alternative History, demons, female protagonist, Contemporary Fantasy, gods, deities, dying earth, female main character, hard fantasy, parallel world
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Beth to do?”
No one had an answer for that. Andy sat there pushing the crumbs around on his plate. Theo stared off into the distance and drummed his fingers on the back of the couch.
“So we just wait. Wait and let Yellin figure it out,” I said.
“I guess,” Andy said.
“Gwen might have a better idea, when we get a chance to run all this by her,” Theo said.
Maybe. I doubted it, though. If Theo was advising caution, Gwen would probably throw me down and sit on me.
After the terror of my morning in the sewers, the afternoon was far more humdrum. I worked out with Justine, rode down to the southern meadow to photograph the purple asters, made my way through ten pages of my Baasha textbook, and then joined Andy and Theo for dinner.
Afternoons like that weren’t bad: meals with the brute squad were always fun, and riding just couldn’t be beat. Admittedly, Baasha gave me a headache, and the workout had focused on strength-training, which I found tedious. But hey, batting .500 is pretty good — a lot of people spend a lot less of their time than that on stuff they enjoy.
I particularly loved the riding. It had taken more than a month of pestering to convince the estate’s stable master, Patricia, to let me ride. She’d finally said I could use one of the “more manageable” mounts and directed me to a 14.3-hand appaloosa named Copper.
She was probably laughing up her sleeve when she did it — Copper wasn’t all that manageable. Actually, I’d have put him in the “evil-genius” category, myself. He was lazy, stubborn, and deeply in love with his stall. I had a terrible time keeping him from taking off on me. Plus, he bit.
If Graham Ryzik had been right about my having a gift for taming animals, Copper was my kryptonite.
The second time I had to walk back to the stable after he dumped me down near the bottom of the property, it occurred to me that Patricia was probably testing me. After my fifth walk-back, I’d realized she was looking for humbleness, not tenacity, and had asked her for help. Now I didn’t just take Copper out on the estate’s trails. I also circled a ring as Patricia helped me learn to use tools I hadn’t needed as a kid bopping around my friend Janie’s place on placid old farm horses — things like spurs and a curb bit.
The lessons were a revelation. Once I got Copper to listen to me, I discovered he’d been well schooled and was quite able. Soon I was pestering Patricia to teach me more often. She grumbled but agreed to three lessons a week.
After I got to know Patricia better, I started seeing through her gruffness and realized she actually looked forward to our meetings. I seemed to be the only other Nolander on the estate who used the horses, and I’m sure the Seconds wouldn’t have stooped to lessons from a Nolander, even if they needed them. Maybe Patricia liked having someone around who appreciated her expertise.
After dinner, I declined Andy and Theo’s invitation to hang out and drink. I just couldn’t indulge as often as they did and still feel good during the day.
Instead, I headed back to my suite and watched the original King Kong .
The estate’s lending library had a big collection of DVDs, and I’d been on a classic-film kick for the last few weeks. If I had the time and energy, I’d go get something in the evening — something I’d heard of but never seen.
After watching Bullitt , I’d watched a bunch of Steve McQueen movies. There was just something about him, a bad-boy magnetism. You couldn’t look away from him. Andy had declared McQueen “strangely hot” and had joined me for a few of those, but when I moved on to a string of Bogart films, Andy had rolled his eyes and gone back to knocking back beers with his brother.
After Casablanca and Key Largo , King Kong was a real change of pace. It might’ve been the oldest movie I’d ever seen. It held up pretty well, all in all, but it made me sad. To the very end, the woman didn’t seem
No one had an answer for that. Andy sat there pushing the crumbs around on his plate. Theo stared off into the distance and drummed his fingers on the back of the couch.
“So we just wait. Wait and let Yellin figure it out,” I said.
“I guess,” Andy said.
“Gwen might have a better idea, when we get a chance to run all this by her,” Theo said.
Maybe. I doubted it, though. If Theo was advising caution, Gwen would probably throw me down and sit on me.
After the terror of my morning in the sewers, the afternoon was far more humdrum. I worked out with Justine, rode down to the southern meadow to photograph the purple asters, made my way through ten pages of my Baasha textbook, and then joined Andy and Theo for dinner.
Afternoons like that weren’t bad: meals with the brute squad were always fun, and riding just couldn’t be beat. Admittedly, Baasha gave me a headache, and the workout had focused on strength-training, which I found tedious. But hey, batting .500 is pretty good — a lot of people spend a lot less of their time than that on stuff they enjoy.
I particularly loved the riding. It had taken more than a month of pestering to convince the estate’s stable master, Patricia, to let me ride. She’d finally said I could use one of the “more manageable” mounts and directed me to a 14.3-hand appaloosa named Copper.
She was probably laughing up her sleeve when she did it — Copper wasn’t all that manageable. Actually, I’d have put him in the “evil-genius” category, myself. He was lazy, stubborn, and deeply in love with his stall. I had a terrible time keeping him from taking off on me. Plus, he bit.
If Graham Ryzik had been right about my having a gift for taming animals, Copper was my kryptonite.
The second time I had to walk back to the stable after he dumped me down near the bottom of the property, it occurred to me that Patricia was probably testing me. After my fifth walk-back, I’d realized she was looking for humbleness, not tenacity, and had asked her for help. Now I didn’t just take Copper out on the estate’s trails. I also circled a ring as Patricia helped me learn to use tools I hadn’t needed as a kid bopping around my friend Janie’s place on placid old farm horses — things like spurs and a curb bit.
The lessons were a revelation. Once I got Copper to listen to me, I discovered he’d been well schooled and was quite able. Soon I was pestering Patricia to teach me more often. She grumbled but agreed to three lessons a week.
After I got to know Patricia better, I started seeing through her gruffness and realized she actually looked forward to our meetings. I seemed to be the only other Nolander on the estate who used the horses, and I’m sure the Seconds wouldn’t have stooped to lessons from a Nolander, even if they needed them. Maybe Patricia liked having someone around who appreciated her expertise.
After dinner, I declined Andy and Theo’s invitation to hang out and drink. I just couldn’t indulge as often as they did and still feel good during the day.
Instead, I headed back to my suite and watched the original King Kong .
The estate’s lending library had a big collection of DVDs, and I’d been on a classic-film kick for the last few weeks. If I had the time and energy, I’d go get something in the evening — something I’d heard of but never seen.
After watching Bullitt , I’d watched a bunch of Steve McQueen movies. There was just something about him, a bad-boy magnetism. You couldn’t look away from him. Andy had declared McQueen “strangely hot” and had joined me for a few of those, but when I moved on to a string of Bogart films, Andy had rolled his eyes and gone back to knocking back beers with his brother.
After Casablanca and Key Largo , King Kong was a real change of pace. It might’ve been the oldest movie I’d ever seen. It held up pretty well, all in all, but it made me sad. To the very end, the woman didn’t seem
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