Imperative: A Quinn Larson Quest Read Online Free PDF

if he thought he could escape. “What I actually said was, ‘they are so intelligent that they give other birds a bad name’. It was a compliment.”
    “You think me a fool.” The crow shifted into a beautiful woman, then back to crow. “Do not try your games on me.”
    Olan didn’t respond.
    “What has he told you, wizard?” The Morrigan took the form of a woman again, she was beautiful. You could tell she had something to do with the Sidhe, the same fine skin, but hers was pale without the rosy blush of the Sidhe. Her hair dropped below her waist but it was black and straight, not fair and curly. She stalked toward me and the world disappeared as I met her green gaze. “Tell me.” Her voice surrounded me.
    “Just gossip about the court.” I heard myself say.
    “Hmm, those children are doing what comes naturally. Leave them to my protection.”
    I felt a poke on my ankle, but I couldn’t look down.
    The Morrigan leaned in and I fell into her eyes. “He will betray you when you need him the most.”
    Then she let me go. I saw her shift back to a crow and she lunged at Olan before launching herself to the sky, one of the feathers from Olan’s staff in her beak.
    I sank back onto the bench. Olan hopped onto the back and said, “She took a feather. That must mean she likes me.”
    I laughed. It was going to be fun, even if it killed us.
     
     
Chapter Five
     
     
    Standing in an alley in downtown Vancouver in the rain, at night, with a pixie might seem suspicious. So, I had cast a spell that deepened the shadows around us.
    I bent down to close the gap between Olan’s ear and my mouth. “Are you sure she will meet us?”
    “I am.”
    “A dandelion fairy isn’t the most reliable source.” I thought over the possibilities. Maybe someone was playing a trick, maybe someone was lying. “I hope she does really have some information for us. I don’t know that there is anything that will stop the Sidhe if we can’t find out how she’s doing this.”
    “You’re chatty for a wizard. Stop before you bring the wrong attention down on us.”
    He was right, but I was nervous. I endured another fifteen minutes of drizzle and dripping before we heard footsteps. That didn’t bode well; fairies don’t make a sound when they walk because they don’t actually touch the ground. I leaned forward out of the shadow to get a quick peek at the source of the sound. Olan pulled at my pant leg and I leaned back. I didn’t sense anyone else coming, and the alley had been clear when we started.
    The fairy stepped into a pool of light and I could see she was carrying a sack. The footsteps were coming from inside the sack. I knew Dandelions were weird but this was over the top.
    “If you want to talk, you have to show yourselves. I know you are there, but I’m not talking to shadows. Come out or I go.” The squeaky voice was an odd contrast to the words. I guess toughness transcends size.
    Olan stepped out and looked up at the fairy. She was tiny for her kind, but the blond fluff of hair added another two inches. I sidestepped out of the shadow to avoid stepping on her.
    “Good evening, madam,” I said, figuring formality was the best first approach. “I am Quinn, this is Olan. You may have heard of him.”
    “Yes, everyone has heard of the trickster. You, I do not know.” She looked me up and down. I thought she might fall over backward when her gaze reached my head. “Hmm, tall. I am called Evangeline Clock. You may use that name.”
    “When we met earlier, you said you knew how the Sidhe are controlling the fairies’ breeding. Will you tell us?” I guess he didn’t like being out in the rain either.
    Evangeline shrugged. “What will you give me?”
    I expected the bartering. It would not occur to Evangeline that saving her species would be payment enough. Or, perhaps she didn’t have any confidence in our abilities and wanted payment up front. Most fairies like sparkly things, or whole spices as well as sour