Crow Boy by Maureen Bush Read Free Book Online

“I’ll have to call the warden, who will legally charge you. What are your names?” he demanded, staring at Aleena.
    Aleena just turned and dove into the water. Fog began to build around her, hiding her as she retreated to the far corner of the pool.
    “Hey,” shouted the man. “Where did she go?” He shone his flashlight around the pool, trying to see into the fog.
    “Aleena, take us with you,” I called to her.
    She stepped further back as the fog deepened.
    “We rescued you from Gronvald!” I cried. “You can’t just leave us here!”
    The fog was still. The man stepped closer to us.
    “Aleena, please!” I said.
    The dark figure in the fog moved towards us, the fog flowing with her. A delicate hand reached out, the nexus ring gleaming darkly on one finger. I grabbed Maddy’s hand and reached for Aleena’s.
    She yanked us into the pool and drew us down into the water. As we touched the water we began to shrink. The last thing I saw was the man’s stunned face staring as we disappeared into the pool. I laughed as I thought, How is he going to explain this to the warden?

Chapter 7
    Storm Mountain
    A leena pulled us down through warm water, flowing into smaller and smaller spaces. Then the water became bitterly cold and we squeezed up and up. We arrived in an icy stream in a moonlit meadow.
    As I grew I stepped over the rocks to the shore, Maddy beside me. Once I’d reached my full size I was almost dry – only my runners were damp.
    I was cold anyway. A sharp wind blew down the mountain behind us. We were surrounded by mountains lit by an almost full moon. A few lights flickered in the valley far below us, and a sheer rock wall towered to our left.
    Aleena said, “There was a fire here, years ago.” I could hear the fear of fire in her voice. “It was started by a lightning strike.”
    I looked down the mountain at tree trunks burnt clean of branches, still standing long after the fire, with new growth surging up from below. In the moonlight it was all in black and white and shades of grey, but I didn’t think it would be much different in daylight. To paint it, I’d just need to add deep green for the new growth, and a few spots of colour for late-blooming wildflowers.
    The wind gusted and we shivered. “We need to cross the veil back to the magic world,” said Aleena. “I can keep you warm there.”
    “We can’t keep taking the ring across the veil,” Maddy said, her teeth chattering. “Why won’t you listen?”
    Aleena sighed. “I’m going to cross, and I’m not leaving the ring here. Not for that troll to sniff out.” She walked towards the sheer cliff face.
    I squeezed Maddy’s hand. “I’ll open it,” I said. I ran to catch up with Aleena. Drawing magic into my lungs, I exhaled a patch of mist near the base of the cliff.
    On the magic side of the veil, the mountains were the same but the slope below us was dark with tall trees. There’d been no devastating fire here.
    The wind was just as sharp, though. Maddy shivered.
    Aleena said, “If you’d like, we can use the veil to cross time to morning, when it’ll be warmer.”
    “No,” Maddy almost shouted. “No,” she said, a little more softly. “No more crossing the veil. We can wait for morning.” She yawned. “We need to sleep.”
    We lit a fire, carefully clearing a site on rock, with nothing that could burn nearby. Once it was burning, Maddy and I lay down near the fire. Aleena surrounded us with a blanket of magic to keep us warm while we slept. It was an oddly gentle gesture, for her.
    I slept dreaming of failure, of gaping tears in the veil, of Keeper’s disappointment, of magic slowly leaking out of the magic world.
    ~
    When I woke at dawn, Aleena had fish ready to cook for breakfast, but she asked me to light the fire.
    While we ate I realized where we were. I’d sketched near here last summer. Behind us loomed Storm Mountain, partially hidden by deep grey clouds. Below us lay a wide valley, with a river