Advanced Mythology by Jody Lynn Nye Read Free Book Online Page A

invaluable so many times that it was easy to take him for granted. Now that they were out in the world again after half a century, they ought to learn to be self-sufficient in all their needs. That included working out social pressures that came with their new liberty.
    Perhaps, Holl thought sadly, following the others around the barn, they were not ready to live unprotected. Perhaps the transition ought to have been gradual, though Holl had no idea how that could have been accomplished, with or without Keith Doyle. They’d had to be so very quiet, both physically and magically, while living in the basement of Gillington Library. Now voices were freed and magic was loosed—and people did not like it when they couldn’t feel the protective walls around them. Holl noticed that a few of the Folk no longer went outside except to race between house and barn as though enemies lurked all around them, just out of sight. Not that Holl hadn’t felt the sensation himself, though he put it down to uncertainty rather than scrutiny.
    All the same he wished he could talk it out with a sympathetic and technically disinterested ear. Keith ought to have insights that would be valuable to Holl. If nothing else, it would be good to talk to someone who didn’t live in the middle of the problem. Every time the doorbell rang, everyone jumped halfway out of their skins. Every time a truck drove by on the bumpy country road, everyone braced themselves to scurry to a hiding place. It was at the Conservatives’ urging that the repulsion spell around the property had been strengthened to a point that pained those that must pass through it. Gradually they were turning what was to be a home in touch with nature into a secured camp. They couldn’t go on like that, but Holl didn’t know what to do to turn it back.
    ***

Chapter 4
    Beyond the old barn, now given over entirely to the production of wooden goods, the Folk had built a pole barn to contain their farm equipment. A gravel drive that intersected with the original driveway led out around the front of the house to serve it.
    Keith glanced over his shoulder at Holl, trailing behind them, as he crunched down the slope toward the oversized door.
    “What’s with Holl?” Keith asked Marcy in an undertone he hoped wouldn’t carry over their footsteps.
    “Why do you ask?”
    Keith made a face. “I always get suspicious when people answer a question with a question. There’s something eating everybody. The farm is not as … happy-go-lucky as it ought to be.”
    “Really, there’s nothing specific,” Marcy said, nervously.
    “Uh-huh,” Keith said, with a dubious expression. “Well, it doesn’t seem okay.” She looked so alarmed that Enoch cleared his throat with a pointed “ahem!” Keith relented. “Never mind. I’ll get to the bottom of things, once I’m down here again for the year. What’s this present?”
    “Take a look,” Marcy said. With a flourish, she threw open the pedestrian door beside the large one and flipped a switch.
    “They bought you a car ?”Diane exclaimed, as the overhead lights flicked on. Looking like it was there by mistake beside the muddy animal trailer, the tractor and the rusty, vintage harvester was a dark green Chevrolet Suburban. “Holy cow. Look at the size of the thing. I like the color.”
    “I know it’s not really a car,” Marcy said, with a laugh. “It’s a truck. And it’s really almost more a present to them ,since I run all the errands they can’t. It’s got heavy shocks for carrying wood, high-traction tires, and a trailer hitch. And it gets awful mileage. I don’t mind. It handles well. It doesn’t feel industrial. They’ve done things to the suspension and the seat to make it comfortable, and it’s not noisy at all. It’s nicer to ride in than my parents’ fancy car.”
    “Nice,” Keith said, flipping up the hood to examine the engine with the avid interest of an amateur mechanic. “I’ve seen these going for thirty,