Haven Magic by B. V. Larson Read Free Book Online Page A

me!” he said finally.
    “I like to be unpredictable,” she responded with a flip of her head. She smiled at him again, and it was like sunlight breaking through a gray cloud. She took another bite of her apple and then frowned, tossing it over the wall of Drake manor.
    “What are you doing?”
    “It was a cull,” she said with a shrug. She stretched luxuriously, pushing her fists into the air over her head. “Just as most of those melons you’ve dragged all the way in from the island are probably culls.”
    Brand’s brow furrowed. “We wouldn’t do that!”
    “Well, I would.”
    “Hello, Scraper,” said Corbin from the ground. He had left his cart and now stood with Jak. Both of them grinned up at Brand. Brand blushed, feeling the blood tingle all the way down to his knees.
    “Hello, Corbin—Jak,” Telyn answered, fluttering her hand at them. She produced another apple and a small sharp knife from her green leathers. Slicing the fruit with quick efficient strokes, she began munching on the wedges. “Do you fancy an apple?” she asked Brand, who was staring at her. She winked at him, and he blushed all over again.
    Corbin and Jak withdrew to the manor gate to have a look into the courtyard. They kept a discreet eye on Brand and his visitor while they talked.
    “I wish they wouldn’t call you that,” he said.
    “What? Scraper? That’s what everyone calls me,” she said, unconcerned.
    He looked troubled. “But it isn’t a very pretty name.”
    She smiled. “Look, I scrape the fur off hides at my father’s vats. Most of the Fob clan works in the tanneries. The name doesn’t bother me. Besides, my work has taught me to be handy with a knife.”
    “Okay. Where did you get all the apples?” Brand asked, attempting to shift the conversation. He never seemed to know exactly what to say to Telyn. Somehow these days his thoughts were muddled and never came out right when she was around. It had been different when they had been children.
    “Where do you think? From clan Thunderfoot’s offering. They have the best orchards in the Haven, after all.”
    Brand was scandalized. “You took them from the offering?” he demanded in disbelief.
    Telyn only shrugged her pretty shoulders again. “Better that I enjoy them than some dancing Faerie that would as soon spoil my milk or lead astray a lamb as look at me.”
    Brand doubted that the Faerie would be so aloof to her, but he didn’t say as much. Instead, he changed the subject again. “I saw a candle burning in your window last night. At least, I think I did.”
    Telyn slid her eyes around without moving her head and transfixed him with a penetrating gaze. Brand was immediately speechless. She swallowed her bite of apple, and then straightened purposefully, taking Brand’s hand in her own. “Are you the one then?” she asked.
    Brand gaped at her. He wanted to tell her that yes, he was the one, no matter that he wasn’t yet full grown, no matter that his beard was barely enough to bother shaving each morning, but all he could do was stare.
    “Are you the one?” she repeated in a hushed voice. “I’ve had one of those feelings Brand, you know, like when we were kids.”
    Brand nodded, remembering. “You mean like when you knew Gram Rabing had fallen off the ladder and found her? And when you told me not to let my parents go on the river, that day...” he swallowed, unable to continue.
    “Yes,” she hissed, leaning even closer. She was in easy kissing range now, and it made it difficult for Brand to think clearly. “Yes, just like that—only different, too. I’ve felt that someone is coming. Maybe several people. I’ve felt that they need help in getting here. That’s why I’ve been burning a candle in my window each night. I don’t know who, but I know they must get here soon.”
    “Before the Harvest Moon,” whispered Brand.
    She nodded very seriously.
    Brand thought about the Harvest Moon and everything it meant to the River Folk. He