Boreal and John Grey Season 1 by Chrystalla Thoma Read Free Book Online Page B

Ella.”
    “Then when?”
    “Just relax, okay? The world won’t end tonight, I promise. Come tomorrow morning and I’ll tell you all I know.”
    He hung up before she could tell him what to do with his promises. She punched the wheel. Dammit . Was she overreacting? Was she rushing to conclusions? The talk of Gates and Aelfheim , what else could it mean?
    Many shops looked closed and shuttered as she drove home. A woman ran, her handbag swinging. Late for an appointment or pursued by a Shade? Ella rolled down the window, but the air was quiet.
    Great, now she was seeing Shade attacks everywhere. She patted the charms around her neck. They chimed softly, calming her.
    Countless worlds hang on the Tree; its mighty roots stab the Grey. Andlangr which some call the Aelfheim, is closest of all, but the Gates have been locked and lost .
    A place she hadn’t heard discussed in years — ever since she’d joined the Bureau. A place grown mythical for lack of contact in the long centuries since the Gates were reported closed. Sealed and hidden, and for good reason, if the stories were anything to go by. Earth had barely avoided total annexation back then. If the Gates opened again...
    Who knew the thinning of the Veil would look like a tiny hiccup in the big scheme of things? If Sarah had heard correctly. If it really meant what Ella feared. If worst case scenarios didn’t make the most sense right now.
    But as long as Dave refused to talk, there wasn’t much she could do, and she was dead tired. Time-out to lick her wounds.

    ***

    Throwing her keys on the kitchen counter, she opened the fridge, stared blankly at its empty contents and her last bottle of beer. She closed it again. God, she needed a vacation. And a life.
    Missy wandered by, meowing and stopping to rub herself on the chairs and walls. Crap, she’d forgotten to get more cat food. She fished out the last can from her cupboard and grabbed the can opener.
    “See, Missy, there’s food for you in this apartment, but not for me. What does that tell you about me, huh? No sense of self preservation, Simon always says.” She paused, her chest heavy. “But what does he know? I’d much rather pass out drunk on my sofa, thank you very much.”
    Missy watched intently as Ella dished out the smelly food, waited until she moved away, and then approached the bowl.
    Ella sank in a chair, watching the kitty feed, and unscrewed the lid off the beer. “Glad to see me, Missy? Because you sure don’t look like it.” She took a swig of cold beer and shivered. Damn, the heater. She lurched to her feet and went to flick on the switch. Hot air hit her face and she turned, letting the warmth work on the knotted muscles in her back.
    Missy growled softly, making small slurping noises.
    “Simon is missing, you know. It’s been...” Ella shook her head. “Two days now. I’m scared.” She staggered back to her seat, put the bottle on the table. “Can’t be a coincidence, can it? That he’s vanished just as the world went out of spin.”
    Missy didn’t seem interested in listening or answering, which reminded her of someone. “He hasn’t called me, you know. Finn. Not that he said he would. Or even that he needs my help.” She swallowed more beer. She still had to get that pleasant buzz that softened the edges of the world. A second beer might do the trick, and she didn’t have another, dammit. “But I’m worried. I’ve a right to be worried about him, okay? He saved me twice; we’re practically family. Like you and me.”
    Missy didn’t seem impressed. With typical feline focus, she finished her food, sniffed around the bowl in case she’d missed any, and settled down to give herself a bath.
    Ella pulled out the piece of paper she’d found in Simon’s apartment and stared at it. The letters and numbers swam in her eyes. God, she was tired. And she hadn’t had a chance to show the paper to Jeff, see what he thought. Who else could she ask? Dave was avoiding her,