Read Online The Witch and the Huntsman by Rod Kierkegaard Jr J.R. Rain - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Rod Kierkegaard Jr J.R. Rain
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themselves over all three of us! Unlike you, I always preferred the steady love of a good man and the role of mother, not temptress. Something has changed for me now, though. Do you know where I normally draw my powers from to manifest myself like this, Allison?”
“ From the moon?”
“ From moon— and earth. Mother Gaia must give her consent for me to walk upon her again. But now I sense a third source, so great that I may soon be able to take solid physical form here at times, just as my dear son did in the throes of his grief.”
“ And what is this new source?”
Millicent walked over to my bed and pulled the blanket from it, then draped it around herself. I blinked. There were two blankets now; one was the etheric double of the first.
“ You ,” she said. “I think I’ve begun to act as a kind of psychic vampire lately without being able to control it, drawing on your life-force, your ethereal energy, just as Sam has done all these months by feasting on your blood.” Her tone was disapproving; Millicent hated vampires, even though I knew she still felt love for Sam. “I think that as Sam wants less and less from you, your need to nurture is slowly bringing me not to life itself, but to a more lifelike form whenever I choose to materialize. A form that not only you but others can also see.”
“ So what you’re saying is that you’re taking Sam’s place.”
Millicent nodded. She was looking more alive and real by the minute. The red in her long unkempt mane of hair was brighter than ever, and I could see freckles on her skin. For the first time, I noticed that her eyes were bright green, like a cat’s.
“ In every way. A triad has its own natural equilibrium, but when our sister-witch Sam abandoned us, that delicate balance was lost.”
Have I mentioned that Millicent loved big words? I guess that was because she’d never been reborn in the modern age—her last life had ended like back in the nineteen-seventies or something. Like, prehistory .
“ Well, now we have a third sister-witch again,” I said firmly. “Ivy texted me earlier. She says the shoot is wrapping tomorrow, so she’s going to fly up here stat. I guess maybe you’ll be able to draw from her ethereal energy, too. Now, for crying out loud, will you please let me do something about your hair! It’s driving me crazy.” I paused. “Now, can ghosts do styling conditioner?”
Chapter Eleven
That night, I was woken up from a bad dream by strange noises. But for a minute, I stayed trapped in the dream, which was about being hunted in the dark by monsters with the heads of animals like wolves and mountain lions and even stags and elks with savage teeth.
Except when I opened my eyes, my heart racing and pounding in my chest, I still heard the same sounds of pursuit as in the nightmare—blaring hunting horns and howling off in the distance. I sat straight up in bed and saw by the faint glow from the window that the new, red-haired, witch-girl version of Millicent was sleeping on the floor beside me on a mattress that was obviously a psychic echo of the one I was sleeping on. As I stared in surprise at the sight of her, her eyes shot wide open.
“ Ghosts can sleep?” I said.
“ This body seems to need a lot of it. I’d forgotten about bodies. But I couldn’t leave you here alone and unprotected, Allison—I hope you don’t mind my watching over you in this way.” If being sound asleep was watching over me...
“ Nope, it’s just like a slumber party,” I said, clambering over her to go look out the window. I had the weird feeling that if I accidentally stumbled, I might put a foot through her. But her hair had felt real when I combed it out earlier.
Meanwhile, the noises outside were coming closer. And when I went to the window, I could see tiny bobbing pinpricks of light stabbing the darkness way off in the trees.
“ The Wild Hunt ,” Millicent said in my ear. She had appeared suddenly beside me at the
“ From the moon?”
“ From moon— and earth. Mother Gaia must give her consent for me to walk upon her again. But now I sense a third source, so great that I may soon be able to take solid physical form here at times, just as my dear son did in the throes of his grief.”
“ And what is this new source?”
Millicent walked over to my bed and pulled the blanket from it, then draped it around herself. I blinked. There were two blankets now; one was the etheric double of the first.
“ You ,” she said. “I think I’ve begun to act as a kind of psychic vampire lately without being able to control it, drawing on your life-force, your ethereal energy, just as Sam has done all these months by feasting on your blood.” Her tone was disapproving; Millicent hated vampires, even though I knew she still felt love for Sam. “I think that as Sam wants less and less from you, your need to nurture is slowly bringing me not to life itself, but to a more lifelike form whenever I choose to materialize. A form that not only you but others can also see.”
“ So what you’re saying is that you’re taking Sam’s place.”
Millicent nodded. She was looking more alive and real by the minute. The red in her long unkempt mane of hair was brighter than ever, and I could see freckles on her skin. For the first time, I noticed that her eyes were bright green, like a cat’s.
“ In every way. A triad has its own natural equilibrium, but when our sister-witch Sam abandoned us, that delicate balance was lost.”
Have I mentioned that Millicent loved big words? I guess that was because she’d never been reborn in the modern age—her last life had ended like back in the nineteen-seventies or something. Like, prehistory .
“ Well, now we have a third sister-witch again,” I said firmly. “Ivy texted me earlier. She says the shoot is wrapping tomorrow, so she’s going to fly up here stat. I guess maybe you’ll be able to draw from her ethereal energy, too. Now, for crying out loud, will you please let me do something about your hair! It’s driving me crazy.” I paused. “Now, can ghosts do styling conditioner?”
Chapter Eleven
That night, I was woken up from a bad dream by strange noises. But for a minute, I stayed trapped in the dream, which was about being hunted in the dark by monsters with the heads of animals like wolves and mountain lions and even stags and elks with savage teeth.
Except when I opened my eyes, my heart racing and pounding in my chest, I still heard the same sounds of pursuit as in the nightmare—blaring hunting horns and howling off in the distance. I sat straight up in bed and saw by the faint glow from the window that the new, red-haired, witch-girl version of Millicent was sleeping on the floor beside me on a mattress that was obviously a psychic echo of the one I was sleeping on. As I stared in surprise at the sight of her, her eyes shot wide open.
“ Ghosts can sleep?” I said.
“ This body seems to need a lot of it. I’d forgotten about bodies. But I couldn’t leave you here alone and unprotected, Allison—I hope you don’t mind my watching over you in this way.” If being sound asleep was watching over me...
“ Nope, it’s just like a slumber party,” I said, clambering over her to go look out the window. I had the weird feeling that if I accidentally stumbled, I might put a foot through her. But her hair had felt real when I combed it out earlier.
Meanwhile, the noises outside were coming closer. And when I went to the window, I could see tiny bobbing pinpricks of light stabbing the darkness way off in the trees.
“ The Wild Hunt ,” Millicent said in my ear. She had appeared suddenly beside me at the
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