Read Online The War of Roses by L. J. Smith - Free Book Online Page B

annoyed to feel a prickling in her eyes.   She reached blindly for Stefan, who, as always, was quick to console her with strong arms and soft kisses on her hair, and without asking what she was unhappy about.
    Mrs. Flowers was tiptoeing out of the kitchen.  Elena and Stefan foll owed, holding hands.
    “ She’ll sleep for a few hours,” the old woman said when they were in the foyer of the boardinghouse.  “She’ll wake up stiff, but much refreshed, and then we can begin with the atlas.”
    Stefan nodded.  “Thank you for all your help,” he said.  Then, more slowly, with a glance at Elena: “Do you have any more of that vellum?  Because I think I could make a map of the entryway to the Nether World—not that there would be much to put on it.  A lot of snow.  Some rocks; some cliffs.  That Silver Lake where Elena got hypothermia and nearly died.  That ridiculous suspension bridge—”
    “Where Elena got terrified and nearly died,” Elena contributed wryly because Stefan would never say it. “A trail and then that cavern and the Gatehouse of the Seven Treasures, where all those doors were,” she finished.
    In a distant place Damon stirred.  He had been too enthralled by this moving-picture-with-an-open-window-on-Elena’s-soul to react in any way, with pity or with pleasure.  But now, suddenly, emotion returned to him. 
    I’m saved , he thought.  Now they just have to list where they went after the Gatehouse.  It’s only logical.  I’m rescued.  Hooray.
    He should have known better.  His little brother wasn’t known for his logical thinking, and Elena was exhausted, physically and mentally.
    “And that’s it,” Stefan said.  “If you happen to have the vellum.”
    I’m not saved after all, Damon thought .  I’m doomed.  Alas. Woe is me.
    “ Of course, my dear boy,” Mrs. Flowers said to Stefan, leading the way into a second-floor bedroom.  “The vellum is here, in the closet with the rest of the art supplies.  I used it because it was the biggest thing I had to draw on.”
    In the closet of what Elena had always thought of as “the dull blue room” was a collection to intrigue any amateur artist.  Pastels, charcoals for quick sketching, tins of water-colors, boxes of oil paints, a palate, a container of clean brushes, blank canvases, half-finished pictures, and various sizes of poster-board were all neatly arranged and dust-free.  Tucked in a corner was a thick roll of vellum.
    Stefan took three pieces, while Elena quickly chose a calligraphy kit with ink that looked as if it were still liquid and also a set of colored pencils.
    “Maybe we could use the dining room table as a flat surface to draw on—if we’re careful,” Stefan suggested, and Mrs. Flowers smiled.
    “What a good idea, my dear.  Please do use it.  Meanwhile, I think I might go to my own room for quick catnap.”
    “Thank you, Mrs. Flowers.  You certainly deserve it,” Elena said.  “Stefan, could you grab some books to use to pin down the corners of the vellum so they don’t roll up?”
    Stefan hastened to the bookcase (every room in Mrs. Flowers’s house had at least one) and returned with four chunky volumes.
    “What?  Oh, no!” Elena exclaimed, staring at the title on the jacketless spine of one of the books.  She began to laugh helplessly, and after a moment Stefan and Mrs. Flowers joined in.
    The top hardback Stefan was holding was a very old-fashioned school geography text, practically dust-free and plainly labeled.
    * * *
    Three days after the discovery of the geography book and the drawing of the entrance to the Nether World, Elena sat with her head on her hand.  Mrs. Flowers was pouring herbal tea with a look of forced cheer on her face, and Stefan was leaning back in his chair with his eyes shut.  Bonnie was slumped across the crowded kitchen table, the quartz crystal necklace lying abandoned near the atlas.
    “It’s no good,” she said huskily.  “ Or maybe I’m no good.