In the Lone and Level Sands Read Online Free PDF

sounds
great.”
    “All right, I’ll see you when you get back,” Billy
said. “I love you.”
    “Love you,” Emily said. She pecked him on the lips,
then walked toward the front hall.
    “Bye, Mom,” Francine said. Emily flashed her
daughter a smile as she grabbed her purse.
    “See you, Francine!”
     
    ****
     
    “Did you get here all right?” Emily asked Beverly as
they waited in line at Starbucks.
    “Yeah, just fine, Emmy,” Beverly said. “Tylor
dropped me off, think you can give me a ride home?”
    “Sure.”
    A child running by tripped on her shoelace and said
“Whoa!” as she fell forward, crashing face-first into Beverly, who
quickly caught her and gently stood her back up. “I’m sorry!” the
girl said. The girl’s mother promptly appeared.
    “Beverly!” the woman said. “I told you to make sure
your shoes were tied before we came inside. You didn’t listen, and
now look.”
    “It’s okay,” Beverly said. She looked down at the
little girl. “My name’s Beverly, too. Isn’t that funny?”
    “Really? That is funny!” The girl’s mother looked at
the interaction between the two and smiled.
    “Did she apologize to you, miss?”
    “She did,” Beverly said. “It’s fine.”
    “Good,” the mother said. She turned to her daughter
and smiled. “All right, now tie your shoe, and get your tiny
straw!”
    The little girl nodded and looked from her mother to
Emily and Beverly.
    “It was nice to meet you, Miss Beverly!”
    “You too, honey! Have a good day!”
    After tying her shoe, the little girl scampered
off.
    “It’s not every day you meet another person with the
same name,” Beverly said, followed by a chuckle.
    “Yeah,” Emily said.
    They went to the register, ordered their coffees,
and sat at a table near the window. Emily felt great. She loved
spending time with her best friend, whom she’d known since early
childhood. Beverly had been there for all the boyfriends, the
parties, the break-ups, everything.
    Emily’s phone rang. She saw one word on the screen: Mom. Emily answered.
    “Hey, Mom, how are—”
    “Honey, I-I have some bad news,” Martha said. Her
voice was hard to hear.
    “Mom, you’re really quiet,” Emily said. “What
happened? Are you all right?”
    “I’m fine, dear, but your father…”
    “Oh my God,” Emily said. Beverly looked at her. She
brushed a strand of black hair from her eye and mouthed
something.
    What’s going on?
    “Your father passed,” Martha said. “I don’t know
what else to say. I feel like I should say more… I just can’t find
the words. I’m so sorry, honey.”
    “Don’t be sorry,” Emily said. “Are you okay?”
    “I’ll manage. I have others to call, but I thought
you and Angela should know first.”
    “Have you told her yet?”
    “Not yet,” Martha said. “Next on my list. I love
you, Emily. We’ll make arrangements soon. Goodbye.”
    “Bye.”
    “What happened, Emily?” Beverly asked.
    “My dad, he’s gone. He died.”
    “I’m so sorry, Emily. That’s terrible. I don’t know
what to say.”
    “You don’t need to apologize, but thanks,” Emily
said. Her eyes began to water.
    “I’m here for you, no matter what.”
    “I think I—” Emily said. A sob interrupted her, and
tears flowed down her cheeks.
    Around Emily and Beverly, people stared. Ignoring
them, Beverly stood up and moved to Emily to offer her support in
the form of a tight hug.

 
    The
Hex
     
    When he did it, it was like a very large
weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Norman was surprised it
hadn’t killed him, but that didn’t matter.
    He had learned how to do it from the hidden
people, years ago. Finding them was difficult, but not as difficult
as learning their ways. They dealt in forgotten arts, what they
knew as a dark magic (but was, like all magic, only a science they
couldn’t understand), lost to the rest of humanity. At the time, he
had no idea if the myths about them were true, or if their arts
even