Burning Midnight Read Online Free PDF Page B

planet with new spheres. The first wave of spheres had just about dried up when Holliday burned the Cherry Reds.
    Sully remembered the start of the second wave like it was yesterday. At first he didn’t realize he’d been cheated by Holliday, and he went out hunting along with everyone else. You could probably find a couple of spheres in your own house that first day, and by the time it was dark and Sully came home, exhausted and dehydrated from a frantic day of hunting, he was carrying six spheres in a pillowcase, including a rarity three (Mint, more outgoing).
    Now the second wave was getting thin. Sully was beginning to wonder if there would be a third.
    Once a month Sully had a dream about finding the Cherry Red. There were all sorts of variations: who was with him and where he found it, but the dream ended the same every time: he’d suddenly realize he was dreaming and cling to that Cherry Red as hard as he could, willing himself not to wake up. He always woke up, though.

CHAPTER 3
    Sully eyed the empty space in his display case where the Forest Green had been resting front and center until a few minutes ago, feeling a buzz of satisfaction. He’d made a hundred ninety dollars on one transaction. You couldn’t beat that. The woman who bought it, as a Christmas present for her daughter, had pulled out six hundred-dollar bills like it was nothing. His customers seemed to fall into two categories: collectors/investors who stopped by regularly to see if Sully had anything new (and to talk sphere collecting), and well-off impulse buyers, who were usually just browsing, just passing an afternoon.
    A kid with bright red hair and freckles, six or seven years old, picked out a bagged pair of toy Seafoam Greens and handed Sully a ten as his parents looked on.
    Grinning, Sully gave the kid his change. “Speed, eh? Be careful with those; there’s a thirty-mile-per-hour speed limit in here.”
    Sully watched as the kid rejoined his parents. He tore open the bag, pressed the plastic spheres to his temples as if burning them, then raised a fist in the air, made a sound like a rocket lifting off, and ran full tilt down the aisle.
    “Look at that handsome face over there,” Samantha called. She was unpacking a box of scented candles. “I need to introduce you to my niece, Paulina. Let me show you.” She rummaged in her wallet, finally pulled a picture from a plastic sleeve. She crossed over and held it in front of Sully’s face.
    It was a studio shot of a girl in a white lace dress, wearing a lot of makeup. She was pretty, with dark, smoky eyes and silky brown hair. She looked about fourteen.
    “Isn’t she beautiful?”
    “She’s gorgeous,” Sully said. “How old is she?”
    “Thirteen.”
    Sully smiled.
    “She’ll be fourteen in March.”
    “Yeah, that’s a little young for me.”
    “Three years is nothing,” Samantha said, pushing the photo closer to his nose. “Neal is nine years older than me.”
    “I’m guessing you didn’t meet when he was seventeen and you were eight.”
    “Oh, come on, give the girl a chance,” a girl’s voice called.
    Sully turned. A flutter went through him when he saw Hunter standing at his table, hand on her hip.
    “Where did you come from?” Sully asked. “I didn’t even see you coming.” He was pleased, and surprised, to see her back so soon. They’d completed the Forest Green transaction just last week.
    “I’m like a ninja.” Hunter slid her pack off her shoulder, squatted to pull something out.
    “How old are
you
?” Samantha asked.
    Hunter looked up. “Me? Seventeen. How old are you?”
    Samantha laughed. “Twenty-nine. I’ve lived a hard life.”
    Hunter stood. “Me too.”
    “There you go, Sully,” Samantha said, gesturing toward Hunter. “Someone your age.”
    Before Sully could turn too red, Hunter smiled and said, “Don’t look at me. I’m all business, no pleasure.” She held out a sphere: Rose (ability to hold your breath for a long time).