Refuge by Karen Lynch Read Free Book Online Page A

about the crocotta.”
    “The crocotta will have to wait. It’s
dinnertime, and I’m starving.”
    He and Josh stood at the same time. Terrence
gave me a wide smile, showing off his dimples. “Perfect. You can
tell us all about them over dinner.”

     

Chapter 3
     
    I TOSSED MY sketchpad and pencil down on the
bed after staring at the blank page for the last ten minutes. I was
trying to draw the hellhounds, but even though I could see them
exactly as I wanted to sketch them, my fingers didn’t seem to know
where to start.
    Rolling off the bed, I went to open the
window and listened to the heavy silence of the valley. It was too
quiet here at night. I’d give anything to hear the familiar sounds
of the waterfront or open my door and hear Nate clicking on his
keyboard. I missed Daisy’s three-legged gait and Oscar’s motorboat
purr. Hell, I even missed the imps scratching and chattering behind
the walls. I missed everything.
    It was too early for bed, and watching TV
alone in my room didn’t appeal to me for once. I opened my door,
wondering if any of the other trainees were hanging out downstairs.
Seeking out company was a new experience for me, but I’d never
really felt lonely before I came here. I’d enjoyed having dinner
with the others tonight, instead of eating alone like I normally
did. For the first time since I arrived, it felt like I’d connected
with other people. I hadn’t realized how much I missed that until
today.
    The common rooms were empty except for a
warrior I didn’t know watching an old black-and-white movie in one
of them. I stood in the main hall and debated where to go. The
north wing and west wing housed mostly living quarters like my own,
so there was nothing to see there. The first floor of the west wing
was training rooms and I’d seen more than enough of them already.
The south wing held the offices, meeting rooms, security, and the
living quarters for Lord Tristan, some of the senior warriors, and
important visitors. That left the east wing. During my tour, Claire
had pointed out the medical ward on the first floor. She’d also
told me there was a sick warrior recuperating in the wing. I stayed
away from the first floor so I didn’t disturb him, and I was very
quiet when I took the stairs to the second floor.
    Strolling down the long second-floor hallway,
I ran a hand lightly along the dark paneling, struck for the
hundredth time by the grandeur of my new home. The walls on this
floor were hung with beautiful oil paintings and ornate wall
sconces that had been converted from gas to electric. I had not
asked anyone how old the building was, but I suspected it was well
over a hundred years old. The Mohiri lived for centuries, so it was
no surprise for them to hold onto their homes for a long time. What
was it like to live that long and to witness the coming of
electricity, automobiles, and the age of technology? What wonders
and changes in the world would I live to see over my own
lifetime?
    At the end of the hallway, light spilled from
a room with the door slightly ajar. I pushed it open and I could
barely contain my excitement at the sight of the shelves of books
lining the walls from floor to ceiling. There was a large library
off the main hall, but it didn’t hold a candle to this room. This
one looked like something out of an English manor with dark walls,
floor-to-ceiling windows, and a large fireplace at one end of the
room. Two high-backed chairs faced the fire that crackled in the
hearth, and a lamp on the small table between the chairs cast a
soft glow over the room. It looked like someone had just stepped
out of the room, and I hesitated, worried they would mind my
intrusion. I turned to leave, but one more look at all those books
changed my mind.
    The only problem with so many books was
choosing one. I liked a lot of the classics, but I had tons of them
in the boxes of books that had come with me from home. I inhaled
the smell of old paper, and a smile spread across