Read Online Spirited Legacy (Lost Library) by Kate Baray - Free Book Online Page B

much the professional now, even if he wore tattered jeans and a T-shirt with a Marvel character splashed across the chest.
    Lizzie took a quick, small breath. She wasn’t sure why, but she kept catching herself holding her breath. She wasn’t particularly excited to discuss that night with a stranger, as kind as she suspected Harry was. But if she wanted answers….
    “Do you know who I am?” Before Harry could respond, Lizzie plunged ahead. “Not my name. I mean, about that night? The night Sarah was injured?”
    “I’m not an IPPC agent—not for lack of Harrington trying. I do, however, have the appropriate clearances. And I won’t involve myself without all the facts. So, yes, I’ve read the reports. But a firsthand account might be helpful.” Harry waited with no apparent impatience for Lizzie to decide what she wanted to share. He busied himself making a cup of coffee. Stopping mid-prep, he said, “Sorry. Coffee? Or Tea?”
    That was a question she could answer. “Yes. Tea, please. Strong with a dash of milk.” Once she had her hands wrapped around the thick, sturdy mug, she started to speak.
    “I’m very new to magic. I didn’t grow up knowing about magic-users, spelled books, Lycan. Not like all of you.”
    He shook his head slightly in disagreement. “It happens more than you might think.”
    “Well, the whole thing with my kidnapping and Worth being this super-villain, it came at a really bad time. I didn’t—I still don’t—really know that much about my magic. I didn’t even know I was a spell caster or how to use magic until Pilar explained it to me.” Lizzie paused in her story, looking up at Harry. She’d been staring at her mug thus far, hoping to stay a little detached from the story. “Pilar was also being held. She saved my life.”
    As her eyes were starting to burn with what promised to be the beginning of a deluge of tears, Harry interrupted. “I know Pilar. Her son is a menace. And I’m always happy to tell her that she must be at least partially to blame. He put bugs in my bed at school, and told Sally that I was in love with her.” He paused dramatically. “I was not in love with Sally. I wasn’t in love with any girl. Girls were disgusting.”
    At Lizzie’s curious look, Harry said, “I was eight.” He flashed a cheeky grin. “I grew into my love of women. It took me a whole four or five months after that, if I recall.”
    “Cute,” Lizzie replied. “I knew Pilar had a daughter but didn’t know about her son. What was he doing in England?”
    “Attending boarding school, but that’s a different story. The point is, I do know Pilar. I forgave her the bugs enough to speak with her after I saw her named in the report.” He finally cracked a grin. “You’ll be glad to hear her son turned out to be a good sort. Still likes his bugs but refrains from hiding them in bed linens. Or so I last heard.”
    Lizzie smiled weakly and sniffed a tiny bit. “I’m not usually quite so emotional. It’s just recently, with everything that’s happened—” Lizzie frowned, suddenly distracted by another thought. “Could that be tied to my magic somehow?” With everything that had happened over the last few weeks, it was no surprise that she hadn’t stopped to analyze this one small piece of information.
    “No doubt. From Pilar’s description, your magic was locked up in a way that is contrary to your very nature as a magic-user. You would have seen the greatest effect in times of peak stress or emotion. It wouldn’t surprise me if you had an unusual physical reaction to stress.”
    “Gah.” That explained a lot. “Passing out? Throwing up?” Lizzie clarified.
    “Sure.” Harry, now sitting on a sofa across from Lizzie, scooted a little farther away from her. “Uh, you look angry.”
    “My magic was all tied up in some bizarre ward that no one completely understands, with a side-effect of making me puke and pass out at the most inconvenient moments. My magic is