Dimension Fracture by Corinn Heathers Read Free Book Online Page A

would start getting more and more congested the longer we tarried.
    Fortunately the last leg of the trip was uneventful and Misaki parked the car on the street outside. There were two cars in the driveway, a small sedan and a minivan that belonged to my sister and Nicole, respectively. At least someone was home, then.
    “I don't think they know we're here just yet,” I pointed out. “Come on, let's go bang on the door before they decide to peek out the window and see my car.”
    Misaki nodded, giggling, and the both of us stepped out onto the concrete. It was chilly, but not quite cold just yet. It was October, and with November would come cooler and even shorter days. The snow probably wouldn't start until the end of December. A not-insignificant part of me hoped that it would snow on Christmas Day. Misaki would absolutely love a white Christmas and I couldn't think of a better present for myself than a chance to see her so happy.
    I walked up to my sister's front door and knocked loudly three times, then waited. A few moments later, the door opened and So-yi's jaw dropped open in complete shock. Score two for Karin. If I could surprise Mama, a difficult task indeed, we'd be three for three.
    “Karin! What are you doing here?”
    “Hi, little sis,” I said.
    “This is a shock! You never just come over to visit like this! Come in, you two, come in out of the cold.” So-yi ducked back into the house with Misaki and I trailing after her. “Nicole is in the bath right now—”
    “Where's Mama?” I wondered.
    “She's out taking Kaede for a walk. I'm sure she'll be surprised when she gets back to find you and Misaki here like a bolt out of the blue!”
    I grinned wickedly. “That's what I'm counting on.”
    The three of us sat down around the dinner table—the very same table where I first explained my new-found secret life of weirdness—and So-yi retrieved drinks for all of us from the fridge. This time she came prepared; I gawked at the lovely ice-cold bottle of amber ale she sat in front of me.
    “I was actually going to see if you wanted to come visit soon, so I bought supplies,” So-yi admitted. “Imagine my surprise when you show up on my doorstep without so much as a message.”
    I took a sip from my beer and grimaced. “It wasn't completely arbitrary. We caught a case this morning, a big one. It's a foregone conclusion that we're going to be extremely busy for a while.”
    So-yi sat down and took a swig from her beer, one of those mildly-flavored Japanese lagers that she and our mother favored.
    “I convinced our supervisor to delay until tomorrow morning,” Misaki added. Her tail swished lightly through the open lower back of the chair as she contemplated the vibrant reddish-pink, slightly frothy drink So-yi gave her. Usually she was okay with beer, but it wasn't her favorite; she generally preferred sweet drinks.
    “Mama's favorite cocktail. It's watermelon and yuzu with soju,” So-yi explained in response to Misaki's hesitation. “It's cold, quite tart and very sweet. You'll like it, trust me.”
    Misaki took an experimental sip from the glass. Her expression shifted from wary curiosity to real interest the moment the sweet-tangy mixture of pureed watermelon, yuzu juice and potent soju, a type of Korean distilled rice liquor, hit her tongue. I could barely hold back my laughter as Misaki drained half of the glass in one shot.
    So-yi gawked at the sight. “A-are you going to be able to handle that?”
    “Trust me, sis, it takes a lot for her to actually get drunk. She could easily drink all of us, including Mama, under the table and still fool the savviest highway patrolman into thinking she was dead sober.” I took another sip from my beer and watched as my fiancee downed the rest of her drink and gave So-yi her best pleading look, silently demanding more.
    I couldn't stop myself at that point and burst out laughing. My sister joined in as well as she retrieved the entire pitcher and set it on