The Passage to Mythrin 2-Book Bundle by Patricia Bow Read Free Book Online

English like crazy. So watch what you say!”
    â€œThat’s good.” Simon stopped backing up and bobbed to see past Amelia. “Where are you from? Why are you hiding here?”
    â€œNot hiding.”
    â€œAre you in trouble? We can help you get home, or somewhere safe.”
    â€œMy home is far. I will go soon.”
    â€œWell, that’s good to hear. What’s your na—”
    Amelia grabbed his arm with both hands and rushed him to the apartment door. She snatched his navy blue dressing gown off the couch in passing, pushed the robe into his arms and him into the corridor, then slammed the door behind them and leaned on it.
    â€œWhat’s the matter? I only asked her name.”
    â€œWell, don’t! She hates that!”
    â€œWhy? Never mind. Come outside, we’ve got to talk.”
    â€œGive me a minute, I can’t go out in my pyjamas.”
    After Amelia finished dressing she unplugged the radio from her room and carried it upstairs, where the girl was curled up on top of the armoire again. She plugged the radio into the wall and turned it on. Avril Lavigne was singing “Complicated.” The girl uncurled straight up and stared. “There!” Amelia patted the radio. “That’ll be company for you.”
    She zipped up her leather jacket on the way down the stairs. Because the thermometer said twenty below zero Celsius, she’d caved in and pulled on her only hat, the multicoloured woolen one, made by Peruvian villagers, that made her think of her parents. She coiled her red scarf (really long, and cool) several times around her neck.
    Simon was waiting for her on the stairs. He already had his baggy old grey parka on, with the green plaid-lined hood. “I’ve been thinking about what happened this morning, with Celeste and those men,” he said. “I can’t figure it out.”
    â€œMm ... well ... she was up above them, and that corner is kind of dark, and she kept really still. I bet I would-n’t have noticed her, if I hadn’t known she was there.”
    â€œCeleste would’ve. Should’ve. She doesn’t miss anything, usually.”
    â€œWell, she did this time. No big mystery.”
    â€œShe creeps me out, that girl.” Simon led the way down the stairs. “There’s just something about her....” He gave himself a shake. “I mean, she acts like she never saw a water tap before, or an orange.”
    Or a radio,
Amelia thought.
Or underwear.
    â€œIt’s other things, too. Like last night on the roof, her in her bare skin, and she didn’t seem to notice the cold. That’s totally weird.”
    â€œShe’s just different.”
Not like anybody I ever met before.
    â€œI wonder if she’s running from the police?” They reached the lobby and Simon stopped halfway out the door. “We could get in big trouble by helping her.”
    â€œShe’s not a criminal!” Amelia pushed at him and he stepped out into the wind and snow.
    â€œSo what’s going on here?” Simon demanded. “Gang wars? Bikers? Foreign spies?”
    â€œMaybe she’s some kind of refugee. Or maybe a crazy boyfriend is after her.”
    â€œGreat. Just great.”
    â€œAnd maybe she’d be killed if she went back where she came from, ever think of that? Anyway, we promised.”
    â€œI know, I know! It’s just...” They walked past a storefront with a painted sign above the window that said “DUNSTONE INDEPENDENT — FOUNDED 1910.” Next door to the newspaper office was BoomerHeaven. Inside, through the window, they saw Celeste with a customer. Celeste was talking with her hands. The woman was laughing. Simon put his head down and walked faster. “I feel bad about not telling Celeste. It’s like lying to her.”
    â€œI feel bad about that too. But it won’t be for long.”
    â€œIt better not be. Oh, here.” He stopped and