Ether Read Online Free PDF

difficulties of holding spots. Piper, all straight blond hair,
small eyes and thinness nods in my direction. It is the same curt nod my mother
uses. Paige, easily the richest and most fashionable girl in school doesn’t bother
to acknowledge me, but Mandy’s other friends wave, nod or smile greetings at me.
Mandy, Matt and even Justin belong at this table more than I do. Mandy is
friendly and her parents are beyond rich, Matt was chiselled and athletic,
Justin is, well, Justin. Everyone likes him; it’s just something about him.  I
sigh and Justin bumps his shoulder sympathetically against mine.
    *          *          *
    Tuesdays have always
been long days for me. Matt, Justin and Mandy all have after school activities.
Matt’s at football practice, Justice has swim team and Mandy is organizing
something or other, maybe a dance. As part of my sidekick duties I usually
rotate between them. One week I cheer on Matt, the next Justin. I’ve sort of
lost track of where I was in the rotation. I prefer to sit in the bleachers of
the pool. It’s warm, well lit and relaxing. On the other hand the football
practice tends to be a lot more exciting, plus it means a lot to Matt that I
came out to watch him since his family never does.
                I hesitate
on the back steps of the school, football field or swim complex? “Becka!” Matt
calls excitedly from across the green. He jogs up to me, already in full gear,
“Ready to cheer me on? I’ve been really off my game all month without my number
one fan!”
    I
laugh. “It must have been very inconvenient for you, my whole hospital stay,
near death thing.”
    He
grins down at me. “And don’t you forget it.  You may have to start coming to
practice twice a week, to make up the difference.” 
    The
practice starts with warm ups then they move on to drills. From what I can see
Matt wasn’t kidding; he really is off his game. He’s clunky and uncoordinated,
fumbling the ball on easy passes. He’s usually so athletic. I lean closer,
trying to see what Matt’s doing differently today. A spot of light makes me
turn my head, but when I look nothing’s there. I focus on the game, and Matt’s
strangely out of sync playing. The ball keeps slipping through his fingers. I’ve
never seen him make so many fumbles. Another spark of light catches my eye and
another. I am trying to concentrate but flashes of light off the center of my
vision kept making me jump and turn my head. What am I seeing?
    I
try to ignore the flickering but that just makes me jittery. The more I try to
just watch Matt, the more I want to turn my head and get a really good look at
whatever it is. A bright flash of movement blurs to my right, and I jerk my
head, trying to track it. It’s moving toward the woods.
    I
stand slowly and stroll along the sidelines of the field, edging toward the
woods. Matt gives me a questioning glance but Couch T barks a play at him and
he returns to the practice. Now that I’m moving the shimmers at the edge of my
eyesight are almost continuous. It’s like looking at a photograph of traffic
where the tail lights merge into streaks of wavy color. I’m following something
like that, a streak of movement and color I can’t quite resolve.
    Sunlight
shining through the leaves produces a dappled light that shifts with the breeze
and plays over the forest floor. It should be inviting and pretty but the
moment I step off the field and into the cover of the trees I feel a gloomy
coolness close in around me. My stomach tightens and goose bumps stand out on
my arms as I take another step forward. My instincts warn me to turn around and
get out of here. I want to run but something is tugging me forward. A swirl of
amethyst light spins in front of me, twisting around my body and leaving
tendrils curling around my right arm and leg. Another tendril of ruby light rises
off the ground, curving around the first. They twine around my body like snakes
constricting