Faerie Winter by Janni Lee Simner

Author:Janni Lee Simner
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Body, Girls & Women, Magic, Family, Action & Adventure, Juvenile Fiction, Fairies, Fantasy & Magic, General, Coming of age, Fantasy, Parents, Mind & Spirit, Mothers and daughters, Fiction, Magick Studies
ISBN: 9780375866715
Publisher: Random House Digital, Inc.
Published: 2011-04-05T23:40:27+00:00

Kyle slept in fits and starts. I woke when he did, so slept in short snatches, never long enough to dream. Sometimes Kyle woke screaming, sometimes crying. Once he called Johnny’s name, telling him over and over that he was sorry about the ants. Another time he muttered, “No, no, no, no, no,” until he drifted off again. I held him, told him he was safe for now, and thought about all the ways I’d make Elin suffer for this if I ever saw her again.

Eventually the light outside faded. Much later, Kyle’s fever broke and he fell into a deeper sleep. I brushed his sweaty hair from his forehead. My chest felt strange and tight. I’d known Kyle all his life, but I’d never thought much about him before. Now I felt as if I’d do anything to protect him. That scared me—I knew well enough how little I could do to keep him safe.

When I felt myself slipping into deeper sleep, I gently pulled away from Kyle and stood, my head brushing the trailer’s rusty ceiling. I didn’t want to wake him with one of my nightmares.

Karin sat cross-legged by the door, the other orange stone beside her—its light was lasting a lot longer than the ones from Seth’s little sister did. Karin had unbuttoned her jacket, and I glimpsed another knife sheathed inside. She’d not carried any weapons I could see when last we’d met, but the trees had been awake then, and she’d had the entire forest at her command. Her shoulders were stiff, her expression watchful. I heard a faint pattering against the roof. Ice.

“I fear we will be here some time.” Karin offered me her water skin as I sat beside her. I drank, grateful for the cold water against my dry lips and throat.

“Kyle isn’t ready to travel yet anyway.” My stomach was grumbling again. I drew a strip of jerky—the meat Kyle had refused—from my pocket and split it with Karin. She offered me a handful of dried fruit in turn. “Blueberries,” she said at my puzzled look.

That was what I’d thought; I wouldn’t have hesitated otherwise. The berries should have burned my skin, but apparently they were quite dead. I set one hesitantly on my tongue, and tart sweetness flooded my mouth. Karin was the only person I knew who could harvest fruit safely. I stowed the rest of the berries in my coat pocket, though I could easily have eaten them all. Maybe Kyle would like them better than dried meat. “Karin, do you think the Lady is looking for us?”

“The storm that stops us will stop her as well, for a time,” Karin said.

“What about after the storm?” I kept my voice low so as not to wake Kyle.

Karin stared into the dimness. “No. I don’t think she’ll look for us. I think she’ll look for your mother.”

I very much look forward to seeing your mother again. Karin’s glowing stone couldn’t keep away all the cold.

“Liza, could you get Kyle to my town by yourself?”

I shook my head.

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