Brightly (Flicker #2) Read Online Free PDF Page A

emerald green.
    As the circle of dancers began to move around her, Lee was startled to find herself moving as well, without really having to think about it. She knew when to clap, or swap places with a partner, or duck beneath an archway of outstretched arms. It was as if she’d known the steps her whole life—and, in a way, she had. In the revel, fueled by faerie magic, she had danced for days on end without ever growing tired.
    Colorful lights whirled around her as she spun over the grass, and exhilaration sang all through her veins through the next two songs. When they finally had to stop to catch their breath, Lee realized she was grinning so widely that her cheeks ached.
    “When did you learn to dance?” she complimented, as bemused as she was curious, while they headed back toward the vendors, breathless from laughter and exertion. “I had no idea.”
    He shrugged. “You go to enough of these things, you pick it up.”
    “Hey, Nasser!” called a voice. “Lee!”
    They turned. Alice was trotting toward them, dressed in a sleeveless white romper, with Filo beside her. Jason strolled just behind them, hands in his pockets. His guitar was slung across his back, as inseparable as a limb.
    “I was starting to think we’d never find you two,” Alice chided.
    “Entirely possible,” Lee replied. “It’s a big Market.”
    The five of them walked past the bonfire, where makeshift wooden tables and blankets were spread over the grass. Faeries, half-breeds and all kinds of other creatures lounged in clusters, talking and laughing. A few chatty vendors haggled their way around the groups, selling little baubles.
    They found a fairly isolated patch of grass and sat down. While Lee recounted the Bloody-Bones episode to Alice, Filo and Jason slipped off and returned with a paper bag filled with some kind of candy: chunks of sweet dried fruit that Lee couldn’t identify, coated in a hard, sugary substance. When chewed, they released a burst of cinnamon-like flavor.
    Alice was gazing out over the grass, toward the Market, where the band was playing. She elbowed Filo lightly in the ribs. “Have a dance with me,” she said, in Old Faerie. She and Filo treated it like a secret language, one they used mostly when they drifted off into their own private conversation. “It’ll be fun.”
    Filo grimaced. “I’m no good at it.”
    “ Come on,” Alice coaxed. She was toying absently with her necklace, a charm she must’ve bought tonight: a little blue crystal nearly the color of Filo’s eyes, glowing faintly. “They call the steps. You just have to follow along.”
    “ No,” he said. “I’d rather not. Okay?”
    “ Sure.” Alice smiled a little, as if to show there was no harm done, but Lee could see the twinge of hurt in her eyes.
    Jason stopped strumming his guitar. “I’ll dance with you, Alice, if that’s what you want.”
    For a second, she looked surprised. Then she shook her head. “No, that’s okay.”
    “Oh.” He watched her for a moment more; then he started plucking absently at his guitar strings again. “All right, then.”
    “I mean, if you want to—” she started, too late.
    “Nah. Forget I said anything.” Jason glanced up at Filo. “I passed a storyteller earlier, you know—big crowd, but he’s not half as good as you. Want to go make some tips?”
    “Not particularly,” Filo said, wrinkling his nose. “I don’t work for tips.”
    “Then you can give them to me,” Jason said easily. He hopped to his feet and slid on his guitar strap. “Come on. You’re not at all curious?”
    “A little,” he admitted with a sigh, standing.
    Jason grinned wolfishly. He turned to the rest of them. “You guys coming?”
    Alice nodded, but Nasser and Lee exchanged a sly glance.
    “We’ll catch up with you,” Nasser told his brother.
    “You kids have fun,” Jason called, giving them a brief wave as he, Filo and Alice started across the grass and disappeared into the light and sound of the