Dragon Rising by Jaime Rush Read Free Book Online Page B

with a sigh.
    He had, of course, moved away again, as he did every time her mood dampened. “What do you do with the leftovers?”
    “I put some out for the Earthies. The rest go to a shelter for abused women and children. They love all the treats and breads, and sometimes I even make a batch just for them.”
    Hmm, he didn’t move closer when she felt a little happier.
    “Where did you have the memory?” he asked.
    She nodded for him to follow her into the small, cluttered office that she and her father shared. As soon as Archer stepped inside, it felt even smaller. “We were here, and I was looking up a number for Kirin.” She stood in front of the blotter, her fingers at the edge of it.
    “Close your eyes and go back to that memory. From the moment you came into this space.”
    She had relived that time over and over again, punishing herself, wishing she could change it. If only she hadn’t bumped the blotter, which revealed a corner of the note. If only…
    “Focus, Lyra.”
    She turned to him. “I think that’s the first time you’ve said my name. At least you don’t call me ‘Dragon Girl’ anymore.”
    “Don’t make too much of it. Focus.”
    “Bossy…”
    She let the other words drift off and braced her hands on the edge of the desk. Her fingers grazed the blotter as her eyes closed. It came back like a scene from a movie: she, Kirin, and Ellie all crammed in here, Kirin reaching for the address book on the shelf and Lyra bumping the blotter. Something compelled her to pull out that colorful paper and turn it over.
    “What’s that?” Kirin asked, peering over her shoulder.
    Ellie looked, too, and in that moment, Lyra saw Tara’s signature, along with a heart to signify love. That would not only substantiate everyone’s suspicions about an affair, but it would also incriminate Pop. She thrust it over the scented candle burning on the desk.
    “Hey!” Ellie said, “that was my mom’s notepaper. Her handwriting.”
    “Stop.”
    Archer’s voice. Not audibly but in the memory. Ellie and Kirin froze, and Lyra turned to see Archer leaning against the open doorway. He was transparent as he walked over.
    “This is so weird,” she said.
    “Stay focused or we both go poof . Go back to when you held the note in your hand, before you shoved it in the flame.”
    She rewound the memory several seconds.
    “Hold it right there.” He moved up behind her, and she could feel him close to her. “Now you can read it.”
    She was afraid to see what it said. Which was ridiculous, because she wasn’t afraid of much, and she believed in her pop’s innocence with everything in her. But this note could change everything.
    Archer didn’t move away from her agonizing emotions this time.
    She forced her gaze to the colored paper.
    S,
    You have taken a big risk in helping me. I know this. You are a good friend. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
    She turned to the memory version of Archer. “He was helping her. Not having an affair, but helping.” A little twine of doubt unfurled inside her, one she didn’t know she had. Pop’s evasiveness had only been about keeping Tara’s secret.
    She and Archer were face-to-face. She glanced at Kirin and Ellie, still frozen. “They look solid, but you don’t.”
    “Because I wasn’t in your original memory.”
    She reached out to touch him, her hand going through his image. “I hoped maybe it wouldn’t bother you if I touched you here.”
    “Why?”
    “You weren’t bothered by my trepidation just now. Or my gratitude that you helped me solve a mystery.”
    “I can’t feel emotions in a memory.”
    “So you can feel them.”
    They snapped back to present, standing in the same position as they had been in the memory. His expression was shuttered.
    “You feel my emotions, don’t you?” she asked. “That’s why you back away whenever I feel something. Good or bad.”
    “It’s the angel side of us. We pick up feelings.”
    “But it’s more than