The Grimm Chronicles, Vol. 2 by Ken Brosky, Isabella Fontaine, Dagny Holt, Chris Smith, Lioudmila Perry Read Free Book Online

Definitely. Let’s do some thinking.”
    Pearl Jam played through the speakers. Next up would be Death Cab for Cutie and then Dessa and then some good old-fashioned Neil Young. It was the first mix Briar and I had compiled together. We’d titled it Thinking because we liked to believe it got our minds going. Music has that power, you know?
    “We need to find more information about this orphanage,” Briar said. “We need to know what we’re up against.”
    “We know already.” I tossed another armload of clothes into the hamper. “Mean stepmother who killed her husband’s kid. Totally evil. Probably killing the orphans or something else equally awful.” I groaned. “And then there’s the fiddler in Minneapolis who’s doing who-knows-what to his audiences.”
    “Double dreams are incredibly rare,” said the rabbit, very casually updating his Facebook status to “Reading.” As if I wouldn’t notice.
    I sat down on my bed, scrolling through the list of text messages. Three of them were from Trish, reminding me about my date. One was from Seth, reminding me about a monster movie playing on Channel 42 tonight.
    “We will have to choose whom to confront first,” said Briar. “With any luck, your dream tonight will make things clearer. We …” He let out a cute little bunny groan. His paw went to his stomach. “Oh dear. I do believe that dastardly dwarf has poisoned me.”
    “Are you OK?” I leaned forward, resting a hand on his furry forehead. “You don’t have a fever … I don’t think so, at least. I have no idea how to tell if you’re sick or not! What do I do? Should I call a vet?”
    “Ung …” He groaned again, leaning back in my chair. “He’s poisoned me. I’m done for! This is how the story of Br’er Rabbit finally ends! A can of poisoned drink and now I’ll be pushing up daisies before dawn! I … I …”
    His eyes crossed. His mouth opened. A loud burp escaped.
    We both looked at each other. His ears raised a bit.
    “I feel much better now.”
    I shook my head. “You’re gassy. Geez, you had me worried, you big doofus. I’ll get you some milk after I eat. Until then, lie down.” The rabbit did was he was told. I smiled. “Good boy.”

Chapter 4
     
     
     
    I woke the next morning drenched in sweat. Last night’s dream hadn’t been entirely clear, but I’d seen enough to have me more than a little frightened. It had been dark and I was outside of a bar called The Triangle. The street was wet and filled with big cracks and potholes, empty except for a few rusty old cars parked along the curb.
    Then I saw it: a dark, hulking shadow that seemed at first to be painted to the brick wall of the old two-story building that housed The Triangle. But then the bar’s sign, hanging from a post above the door, began to swing back and forth. The shadow moved closer to me, no longer a shadow at all but something real, something three dimensional: a creature made of black smoke. It seemed to glide over the sidewalk, moving closer to me. It had eyes, and both eyes had that familiar golden Corrupted glow.
    Arms appeared from the smoky cloud, then claws that reached down and clutched the concrete, tearing it like paper. It stalked closer. It made no sound and the street was silent. All I could hear was the hiss of tires on wet roads somewhere on the next block.
    Above us, the streetlight flickered out. The smoke creature seemed to grow larger, moving closer toward me.
    “He can’t see me, he can’t see me,” I kept whispering.
    I floated backward, crossing to the other side of the street and under the comforting glow of the next streetlight. The creature crossed slowly, clawing at the ground and pulling up chunks of concrete in the process.
    When it reached the curb, it stopped. The smoke seemed to lower, hugging the ground. I heard the sound of footsteps and slowly turned. The footsteps grew louder as a young woman wearing big white headphones turned the corner, heading straight for