Into the Dark (The Conjurors) Read Online Free PDF

to feel choked with panic. She was taking a decisive step, one that would either yank her out of her life as she knew it, or kill her. When she got to this Globe place, where would she live? How would she support herself? Would she be lonely and miserable? Would the people on the Globe be nice like Cyrus, or cold and distant, like Mrs. Sims? What if they thought she was a freak?
        A tiny voice inside reminded her that even with the best case scenario, eventually Cyrus would probably get sick of her, like everyone else did. Then, she would be on a distant, foreign world with no one to turn to. Her stomach twisted, and her breathing grew ragged.
    A movement in the street below attracted her attention. Standing in a circle of flickering light shining from a battered streetlight was a solitary, drenched figure. Valerie looked closer. The figure was dressed in baggy jeans and wore the hood up on his dark sweatshirt. What could that guy possibly be doing out there at this time of night in the pouring rain?
    At that moment he looked up at the window she was standing in. Their eyes connected, and she put her hand against the glass. She felt as if he was standing right in front of her, close enough that she could hear him exhale, his breathing in perfect sync with her own. Somehow, Valerie knew that this was Thai, and the fear thrashing around in her stomach dissolved. She wasn’t used to instantly trusting anyone, but she knew that he was here to protect her. The intensity of the connection filled her with warmth.
        She didn’t know if a minute or an hour passed while they looked at each other, but finally he nodded at her and looked down. She knew that he would be there for the rest of the night, protecting her. It gave her a feeling of safety that she had never known before. When she lay down in her bed, all her worries disappeared and she fell asleep seconds after her head touched the pillow.
     
        The next day, Valerie was ready when Beth told her that she had a visitor. She was alone in the craft room, cleaning up art supplies, and she stood up to meet Thai. When he entered, he seemed much bigger than the figure on the street the night before. He had an intense expression in his dark brown eyes, like he was ready for monsters to jump out of nowhere and attack at any second. Beth looked at him with suspicion, and Valerie knew she had to act.
        “Thai!” she cried, running to give him a hug. He froze for a second, but then hugged her back. In the moment they touched, she felt as if the air around them was crackling, like static electricity. Finally, here was the final proof that it was all real, proof that she could touch. Her whole body felt flushed with joy as the last of her doubts dissolved. She really was going to leave this lonely world behind and start a new life.
        Beth, apparently satisfied with their reunion, left them alone. Valerie stepped back, suddenly feeling a little shy. “It’s good to meet you. I can’t tell you how grateful I am that you would do this for someone you don’t even know.”
        Thai relaxed slightly. “I know how it is. To have crazy stuff happen to you all at once, I mean. It’s a lot to take in. Someone helped me out when I was learning about – well – myself and my magic.”
        Her eyes widened in surprise. “You have magic too?”
        “Yeah,” he said, but didn’t volunteer any further information. “I’m glad I can help a kid like me out now.”
        Kid? Something about Thai thinking of her as a child stung a little. Then, feeling a bit ungrateful, she replied, “Well, thank you. I’m really excited for this trip.”
        “Yeah, about that. We’re really going to need your doctor to give all of this his okay, or it’s never going to happen.”
        “He’s thinking about it. I’ll try to talk to him again. I think it will help that I’ve got proof that you’re not just a hallucination.”
        “Something