Read Online The Last Days of Lorien by Pittacus Lore - Free Book Online Page B

biggie for me to be on a first-name basis with a member of the headlining performer’s entourage. I snuck a glance in their direction, and saw that they were looking at me with stunned eyes. Mission accomplished.
    “Devektra wants to see you,” he said.
    As well as things had been going tonight, I still hadn’t expected it to be this easy. How had Devektra even known I was here?
    Mirkl must have seen the surprise on my face. “Telepathy, remember? Neat little trick to have. I think you know where the dressing room is. Here—bring her these.” He pushed the ampules into my hands and began to walk away.
    “You’re not coming in?” I asked after him, suddenly nervous about waltzing into Devektra’s dressing room unaccompanied. It seemed too good to be true. With Devektra you never knew what you were getting into.
    He turned, looked over his shoulder and waved me off. “I’m on a break. Those ampules were my last errand for her until showtime.” He smiled wryly. “She’s all yours.” Then he disappeared into the crowd.
    Devektra faced her reflection in the vanity mirror, her back to the door. She was wearing slim-fitting red metallic pants and a shimmering top made out of a liquid-like material that I’d never seen before. Her shirt flowed around the curves of her body in undulating cascades as she stood tall, stared straight ahead and gently massaged her temples with her fingers. She didn’t acknowledge me.
    But she knew I was here—last time I’d been in this room, I’d had to bust through the entrance with all the strength I could muster. This time I hadn’t even had to knock. The door had just swung open for me as I’d approached it, clutching the ampules Mirkl had given me to deliver. It suddenly occurred to me that maybe Devektra had used her telekinesis to “help” me get through the locked door last time too.
    It was ironic that I’d been more comfortable making my entrance breaking down a door and crashing through an entire rack of clothes than I was just walking right in. I just stood there, feeling a few steps beyond awkward as Devektra gazed at herself in the mirror and rubbed her forehead.
    “Did you bring them?” she asked without turning.
    “Yeah,” I said. I walked over and handed her an ampule. She took it, downed it in one gulp, then reached out for the second and downed that too. She still hadn’t bothered to look at me.
    When she tossed the second spent vial aside and onto the floor, I understood what her deal was. I had to hold back a laugh. For once, I was the one who knew what she was thinking instead of the other way around. Or, at least, I knew what she was feeling. You didn’t need to be a telepath to figure it out.
    “Wow. You’re actually nervous,” I said.
    “So?” She finally turned her attention from the mirror and locked her gaze on mine. Her eyes were hard, but underneath the steel, I saw a hint of fear. Of vulnerability. “Who wouldn’t be?”
    “You weren’t nervous last time,” I pointed out. “I didn’t know you got nervous. I kind of thought that was, like, your whole thing.”
    “Last time was different.”
    “Why?”
    “It just was,” she said. “It was a smaller crowd. It wasn’t Quartermoon. It was just different. Plus, there’s just something about tonight. I don’t know. I sort of have a bad feeling I guess.”
    “It’s just nerves,” I said.
    “I know. I’ll be fine.”
    Then it was like I wasn’t there anymore. Devektra’s attention was back on herself as she ran her fingers through her hair and gingerly began to pile it, one tendril at a time, on top of her head. Each carefully arranged lock somehow managed to stay perfectly in place. She looked more frightened than ever.
    I didn’t know what to say, so I decided to try something else. I decided not to talk. Out loud, at least.
    How does it work? I thought. Can you hear everything I think? What about the people outside? Can you hear them? What about the whole world? Can you