Into the Light Read Online Free PDF

fates would not make her live with it for all of eternity.
    Olivia lay on her back in a twin-size bed and lamented the fact that there was no sunlight shining directly into the room. She could really use a nice, bright ray of sunshine right now. She was exhausted to the point that even rolling out of the small bed and making her way to a bath chamber sounded like far too much work.
    As she lay there, blinking and unmoving, her thoughts sifted through the events of the last few days. It had all started with her father, making that proclamation she’d been dreading for very nearly her entire life. He’d barely gotten the words out of his mouth before she turned and fled the room, sought out her cousin and best friend, Cecilia Druthers, and dragged her out into the woods that ran along the northern edge of the lawn surrounding the beach house in which she lived.
    They had been safe in the woods, because the woods were still within the magical wards that surrounded the coterie, and they could be alone there, so that Olivia could lament what she referred to as her lot in life in private, where no one but Cici would hear.
    As Olivia continued to complain, Cecilia had proclaimed, “We should go on an adventure.”
    “What sort of adventure?” Olivia had asked hollowly. There were no adventures within the coterie, and they were strictly forbidden from ever stepping foot outside of the warded, invisible walls that separated their little world from all other worlds.
    “In the human world. I know the perfect place.”
    Olivia had known her cousin periodically snuck out into the human world. Cecilia had the unique ability to get through just about any lock, any ward, any barrier. She also had a terrible need for excitement, and to her way of thinking, there wasn’t much to be had within the confines of the coterie.
    But Olivia had never gone with her, had never even considered going with her. Cici used to try to convince Olivia to join her, but Olivia was far better at following the rules.
    “We can’t go out there, Cici,” she whispered. “What about the shifters?”
    Cecilia had waved her hand dismissively. “I’ve been out there loads of times, and I’ve never once seen a shifter.”
    Olivia had been dubious, despite her anger and frustration over her father’s recent proclamation.
    “Not a single time,” Cecilia reiterated. Then she had expounding upon one of her more thrilling experiences outside the coterie, and in what seemed like the blink of an eye, Olivia had gone from listening to one of Cecilia’s tales to living one herself.
    They had run through the woods hand in hand, giggling like schoolgirls. Then they felt the telltale shimmer of magic as they stepped through the wards protecting the coterie.
    “How do we get back inside?” Olivia had wondered as she turned around to observe what now looked like an endless forest of trees, even though a moment earlier there had been a stream that burbled along down to the edge of a cliff, where it trickled down the side and into the Great Lake beyond.
    “Don’t worry,” Cecilia had said with a laugh, and then they were off again, running toward the nearest town, which was inhabited by humans. They had boarded a bus, a massive vehicle made of painted iron and plastic and rubber. Olivia had never seen a bus before.
    “It’s made of iron,” she pointed out when Cecilia had tried to step inside and Olivia pulled her back.
    “Just don’t touch those parts,” Cecilia advised, and then she hopped onto the bus and waved a hand in front of the driver’s face. His eyes had gone blank, and then he smiled and thanked them for handing him a ticket.
    “A ticket?” Olivia had asked as she trailed Cecilia along the narrow corridor between the seats.
    “We are supposed to pay for this ride, but human currency is different from our own. It’s easier to use magic to convince the humans that I’ve given them currency, than it is to use magic to actually procure the