Read Online The Witch and the Huntsman by Rod Kierkegaard Jr J.R. Rain - Free Book Online
Authors: Rod Kierkegaard Jr J.R. Rain
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try,” he said, after we all trooped through the snow to get our arrows back. “Now listen up! Today, you’ll all be shooting from blinds, everybody but you, Allison—you’ll be in charge of feeding us. Watch your fingers and thumbs with the drawstring, and do not try to shoot one-handed! Disable the sound on your cell phones; you can text, but no voice calls. Is that clear? And do not pull the trigger until your prey is less than thirty yards away—we have range-finders you can use. Most of the animals you’ll hopefully be seeing today are legal this time of year, pretty much, except feral pigs and wolves. And do not shoot at bears or cougars, okay? Seriously!”
Eric looked pretty scary when he was being serious.
“ What about squirrels?” someone yelled, obviously making a wisecrack.
“ No more than three,” he said with a smile.
The rest of the afternoon was long and boring. My job was to show up and serve refreshments whenever I was signaled that there was no game around. I wore a brilliant orange ‘La Chasse’ cap to make sure no one thought I was fair game. Along the way, I spotted a few wild turkeys and some deer, and I’m pretty sure a fox, but nobody managed to bag anything. Not even the gray squirrels that kept stealing the salt and mineral blocks that were supposed to attract deer. But there had been enough time spent with Eric to make the whole afternoon feel almost like a date. He’d never lost that smitten look in his eyes every time he looked at me, and just before I knocked off and drove back to the lodge, he said that his new ambition in life was to teach me how to ski.
“ It might be safer if I stick to the Ski-doo,” I said.
He laughed. “Hey, if you can dance, you can ski. You do know how to dance, don’t you?”
“ You have no idea,” I told him with a grin. I had moves he’d never seen even in his dreams. Especially if he had a pole in his room...
Which was pretty much all I thought about during my shift at dinner. I guess I must have been just gliding around on air all evening, because Brittany and Kev and even the dreaded Schreich noticed and kept staring at me like I was high on crack or something. And man, did I ever clean up on tips!
I guess they’d never had another waitperson around there who smiled so much.
Chapter Ten
“ Sam ! How was your trip?”
I was back in my room—or should I say Marisa’s room, after cleanup later that night—when my vampire soulmate Samantha Moon called. She had been off on a camping trip in the San Gabriels with her on-again off-again gentleman friend Kingsley Fulcrum, who was a local lawyer. And a werewolf. I know, I know— weird .
“ Oh my God, it was so great, Allie! Things just feel so... right again between us now.” Only, because of the deep psychic link between us, I could sense the worm of doubt that lay behind her optimistic words. Or maybe it was just wishful thinking. Kingsley had cheated on her. Sure it happened only once and that was a while ago, but, due to her lousy marriage, my friend had been left scarred with deep trust issues.
But my “Oh wow, that’s so awesome!” was totally sincere. If there was any couple in the world I wanted to see make it, it was Sam and Kingie, as she recently started calling him.
“ Okay, cut the bullshit and tell me what’s going on, girl. You’re off somewhere in Oregon? When did that happen? And why?” But even as she asked, I could feel the answers flowing from my consciousness into hers. It’s weird how that works—sometimes we have no connection at all, and other times it’s hot and strong, no matter how much physical distance lies between us. I could tell she needed me, although she would never admit it. At least, not without a lot of prodding.
Samantha said, “And what’s this about a guy...Eric, is that his name? Whoa, he is majorly cute,” she said, as images of him danced from my mind into hers. “Just don’t...well, please just don’t get hurt,
Eric looked pretty scary when he was being serious.
“ What about squirrels?” someone yelled, obviously making a wisecrack.
“ No more than three,” he said with a smile.
The rest of the afternoon was long and boring. My job was to show up and serve refreshments whenever I was signaled that there was no game around. I wore a brilliant orange ‘La Chasse’ cap to make sure no one thought I was fair game. Along the way, I spotted a few wild turkeys and some deer, and I’m pretty sure a fox, but nobody managed to bag anything. Not even the gray squirrels that kept stealing the salt and mineral blocks that were supposed to attract deer. But there had been enough time spent with Eric to make the whole afternoon feel almost like a date. He’d never lost that smitten look in his eyes every time he looked at me, and just before I knocked off and drove back to the lodge, he said that his new ambition in life was to teach me how to ski.
“ It might be safer if I stick to the Ski-doo,” I said.
He laughed. “Hey, if you can dance, you can ski. You do know how to dance, don’t you?”
“ You have no idea,” I told him with a grin. I had moves he’d never seen even in his dreams. Especially if he had a pole in his room...
Which was pretty much all I thought about during my shift at dinner. I guess I must have been just gliding around on air all evening, because Brittany and Kev and even the dreaded Schreich noticed and kept staring at me like I was high on crack or something. And man, did I ever clean up on tips!
I guess they’d never had another waitperson around there who smiled so much.
Chapter Ten
“ Sam ! How was your trip?”
I was back in my room—or should I say Marisa’s room, after cleanup later that night—when my vampire soulmate Samantha Moon called. She had been off on a camping trip in the San Gabriels with her on-again off-again gentleman friend Kingsley Fulcrum, who was a local lawyer. And a werewolf. I know, I know— weird .
“ Oh my God, it was so great, Allie! Things just feel so... right again between us now.” Only, because of the deep psychic link between us, I could sense the worm of doubt that lay behind her optimistic words. Or maybe it was just wishful thinking. Kingsley had cheated on her. Sure it happened only once and that was a while ago, but, due to her lousy marriage, my friend had been left scarred with deep trust issues.
But my “Oh wow, that’s so awesome!” was totally sincere. If there was any couple in the world I wanted to see make it, it was Sam and Kingie, as she recently started calling him.
“ Okay, cut the bullshit and tell me what’s going on, girl. You’re off somewhere in Oregon? When did that happen? And why?” But even as she asked, I could feel the answers flowing from my consciousness into hers. It’s weird how that works—sometimes we have no connection at all, and other times it’s hot and strong, no matter how much physical distance lies between us. I could tell she needed me, although she would never admit it. At least, not without a lot of prodding.
Samantha said, “And what’s this about a guy...Eric, is that his name? Whoa, he is majorly cute,” she said, as images of him danced from my mind into hers. “Just don’t...well, please just don’t get hurt,
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