The Winter Long by Seanan McGuire Read Free Book Online Page A

bear-shaped bottle of honey down on the counter, seeming to stretch the action out so that it took longer than was strictly necessary. Finally, he turned back to me, spread his hands, and said, “I am not the enemy you think I am.”
    I stared at him. “What?”
    â€œI know you’ve painted me as some great bogeyman, some terrible threat, but—”
    â€œYou kidnapped your brother’s wife and daughter, you stranded them in a realm of eternal darkness that drove Rayseline out of her mind, and you turned me into a
fish
.” I didn’t mean to argue with him. The words came out anyway, dragged forth by years of anger and fear. “You
laughed
. You turned me into a fish and you left me there to
die
. How dare you tell me that you’re not the enemy I think you are? You are
exactly
the enemy that I think you are.”
    â€œIt’s true. I did those things. But, October, if you’d just listen to me—”
    â€œWhat do you want, Simon? What are you doing here? I didn’t invite you here. I never wanted anything to do with you. Now tell me what you’re trying to accomplish, or get out.”
    â€œOctober.” His tone was chiding, the sort of voice you’d use for a wayward child or an unruly pet. “Is that any way to treat a guest?”
    â€œYou’re not my guest!” My temper finally snapped. I lunged for the dish drainer, fumbling for the knives.
    Simon’s stasis spell caught me before I was halfway there. I froze, arm outstretched, one foot off the ground. Gravity no longer seemed to be a factor. The smell of smoke and rotten oranges was heavy in the confined kitchen air.
    â€œI’d hoped we could do this in a more civilized manner,” said Simon. I heard the faint clink of his mug against the counter as he picked up his tea, followed by footsteps as he walked around me. He stopped where I could see him. “You are your mother’s daughter. I mean that in the best way and the worst way at the same time. She always inspired contradictions.”
    Held by his magic, all I could do was glare, and rage silently against the horrible symmetry of his intrusion. The last time my life had seemed to mean something, Simon Torquill had come and taken it all away from me. It made perfect, horrible sense that he would do it again.
    â€œI never wanted you to hate me, October. Far from it. I wanted to be . . . I wanted to be a part of your life, but I was never given the chance. That’s why I did what I did. That’s why I saved you.”
    Wait,
what
?
    He must have seen the question in my eyes. Simon sighed, and said, “Forgive me. I didn’t think about what fourteen years would do to your mortal life, because I never had a mortal life to lose. I honestly didn’t think you’d remain enchanted so long, either. Amandine’s work went deeper than I realized. But you won yourself free, in the end, and—” He stopped, mouth working wordlessly, like something was preventing whatever he wanted to say from getting through. The smell of smoke grew stronger.
    For a second, it felt like the bonds holding me suspended in the air were slipping. I tried to move, and they snapped tight again. Simon raised a chiding finger.
    â€œPlease don’t fight. I don’t want either of us getting hurt.” He shook his head. “It seems my geas is still intact, despite its not having been renewed in years. I cannot speak the name of my employer. Let me say, instead, that I was paid to do what I did. I was promised something I could not resist, and I was instructed to steal my brother’s wife and child. They were to be returned as soon as . . . my employer’s . . . goals had been met. I didn’t know those goals included your death. I swear, on the root and the branch, I didn’t know. Even if I’d been willing to kill you, I wouldn’t have been able to meet your