The Marus Manuscripts by Paul McCusker Read Free Book Online Page A

man said. “You’re still hungry or those wouldn’t be there.” He tilted his head toward the end table.
    Anna looked over and barely stifled her surprise. The empty plate now had several more pastries on it. She looked around to see if the Old Judge had a servant waiting on them. The cottage was empty, however, except for the two of them. She rubbed her eyes and thought, I must be very, very tired. Or am I still dreaming?
    The Old Judge watched her with a fixed smile as she ate two more pastries. “Is that better?” he asked.
    “Yes, sir,” she replied. Her hunger was taken care of, for the moment. She reached over to the end table for her cup of tea and was startled yet again. The plate of pastries was empty. But I only had two, and there must’ve been seven or eight on the plate, she nearly said out loud. She bit her tongue, however, and didn’t say a word. She thought she must be dreaming.
    “Let’s talk about your situation,” the old man said.
    “My situation?” she asked.
    “Tell me why you’re here.”
    “I don’t know why I’m here,” she answered. “I don’t even know how I got here.”
    “You’ve been chosen for something. You don’t know what it is?”
    “No, sir. All I know is that one minute I was in an abandoned house in the middle of the woods, and the next minute I was in the king’s closet.”
    The Old Judge took off his glasses. “That’s very interesting.”
    Surprised, Anna asked, “You believe me?”
    “Why wouldn’t I?”
    “Nobody else has.”
    “We’re surrounded by men of little imagination and no faith,” the Old Judge said wearily.
    “I’m not sure that I’d believe me,” Anna confessed.
    “Do you believe you?”
    “Yes.”
    “Then I believe you too.”
    Anna was genuinely puzzled. “But . . . why do you believe me?”
    “Because the ancient ways of the Unseen One are full of mystery. Just because your homeland can’t be found on any of our maps doesn’t mean it isn’t real. Obviously you’re real, so there must be something to your story. And I know that the Unseen One is real, so there you are.”
    “There I am? Where am I?” Anna asked.
    “In the middle of a wonderful mystery!” the Old Judge exclaimed. “Now, drink your tea.”
    “I think it’s gotten cold,” Anna said.
    “Is it?” he asked as he put his glasses back on.
    Anna reached over for the teacup. It was filled to the brim and steaming hot.
    “That’s strange,” she said.
    “What is?” the Old Judge asked. His voice was farther away than it had been. He now stood in the doorway to the kitchen, a tray in his hand containing two cups of tea. She shook her head. He’d been sitting in the chair a moment ago. How did he move so fast?
    “I must be dreaming,” she said. She looked at the grandfather clock. It now said it was 3:06.
    The Old Judge smiled at her. For the first time, she noticed that his eyes were different colors. One was blue, the other green. “Were you dreaming, or are you dreaming now?” he asked.

    The celebration banquet in the Great Hall ended, and Darien released his men to go home to their families. Kyle waited, unsure of what to do or where to go. He worried that Darien had forgotten him now that they were back in the capital. But Darien hadn’t. He insisted that Kyle return home with him until they could figure out what to do next.
    Darien lived in a manor that the king had given him after he’d defeated the Monrovians in a long, grueling battle. Built in a Gothic style with pointed arches, ornate stonework, and elaborate gables, the manor was on the outskirts of the city, nestled in a cozy corner of the royal forest. It wasn’t as large as it was complicated, with halls and rooms twisting and turning in different directions.
    “It has more rooms than I ever expect to use in my lifetime,” Darien explained to Kyle. “I don’t bother with the east wing of the house. The west wing suits me perfectly.” That wing had a kitchen, dining room,