Welsh Road (The Depravity Chronicles) by Joshua Grove Read Free Book Online Page B

more
in this past year, but dragons are a bit off our radar. This isn’t Harry
Potter, Simon.”
    Simon tried to
laugh, but he sounded more like a deflating balloon. “I know that.”
    “Do you?” Trevor
asked, poking fun.
    “Now that’s the
pot calling the kettle black,” Anish said. “We’ve wasted enough time, my
friends. Shall we?”
    “Yes we shall,”
both students said in unison.
    “I know the plan
was to discuss some of the characteristics of natural tears between the
physical and spirit worlds,” Anish said.
    Simon raised his
hand. Anish nodded at him with a smile.
    “Tears? I
thought natural portals were because of psychic energy from major events, or
some sort of geological and/or astronomical congruence.”
    “Tears can be a
naturally occurring phenomenon,” Anish answered. “Thunder, for example,
represents a tear.”
    “Right,” Trevor
said.
    “But there’s
been a change in our lesson plan for the weekend,” Anish abruptly said.
    To most young
students this would have thrown them for a loop, or perhaps made them anxious.
Not these budding scholars.
    “So what’s the
plan?” Simon asked.
    “We’re going to
have a guest speaker,” Anish announced.
    “Wicked!” Trevor
said.
    “Who is it?”
Simon pushed. “Have we read their books? Seen their documentaries?”
    “No, and no. Her
name is Jena Marsh and I think she has something very valuable to share with
us.”
     
    * * * * * *
    4
    Sam met Anna at
the station and jumped into her SUV cruiser. Sam hadn’t yet met any law
enforcement from neighboring towns, but he had heard plenty about this
particular group of colleagues.
    “So Bubba has
requested your services?” he asked, amused by the self-proclaimed “lawman” of Taylor’s
Landing.
    Anna rolled her
eyes. “He’s a real piece of work. Take Jake and multiply him by at least ten.
Then you’ll have the general idea about Bubba .” Anna emphasized the last
word, adding a bit of twang to her accent.
    “You shouldn’t
speak ill of the dead, Sheriff,” Sam joked, making them both laugh.
    “I was actually
complementing Jake,” Anna pointed out.
    “This should be
fun, then” Sam said.
    “Yeah,” Anna
said. “Fun.”
    They filled the half
hour drive with mindless small talk. In the back of their minds, Anna and Sam
were preparing themselves for what Bubba might tell – or show – them. As they
pulled into the parking lot, Bubba was waiting for them in a large, heavy duty
pickup truck that he had converted into his official lawman type vehicle. He climbed
out of his truck, all 350 pounds of him. His thin, reddish orange hair rested
flatly on his head. Bubba brushed his hair back from his forehead, revealing a
cluster of freckles.
    Bubba motioned
for them to join him, and pretty soon the three of them were on the road again.
It wasn’t long before the tension was thick.
    “So, you
comfortable back there, little lady?” Bubba said as he looked at her in the
rearview mirror. He had made sure that Anna sat in the back, where women
belonged. Anna knew he was jabbing at her.
    Sam shook his
head. “You know, Sheriff Blackwood deserves your respect.”
    Bubba was not
pleased with what he viewed as insubordination. “Officer King, I won’t tolerate
your…” but Anna cut him off.
    “I won’t
tolerate you speaking to my deputy in such a rude manner, Bubba ,”
Anna hissed. “Now if you need my help, I suggest you keep your mouth shut, put
your foot on the gas, and then, if I feel like it, I’ll offer you our expertise .”
    “Fucking
feminists,” Bubba mumbled. But he did as he was told. Sam looked out the
passenger window so Bubba wouldn’t see him grinning.
    Anna wanted
badly to not say another word until they arrived on the scene, but as they
drove deeper into the woods, she became suspicious.
    “Are we still
within the town limits, Sheriff?” Anna asked.
    “Yep,” was all
Bubba said.
    “I thought this
was protected land that belonged to the city,” Sam said,