Masquerade (Creepy Hollow, #4) Read Online Free PDF

one side of his face. Twigs and leaves litter his hair. Mud is smeared above his eyebrow. But before I can point any of this out, the blade disappears from my side, and Ryn starts laughing.
    Laughing. Because that’s really the most appropriate reaction right now.
    “Is something funny?” I demand.
    “That was a good fight,” he says. “We should have done that years ago.”
    “Well,” I say, letting my knife disappear as I climb off him, “I’m glad one of us enjoyed the experience.” Although, if I’m going to be completely honest with myself, I may have enjoyed it too. It was certainly a pleasant change to have an opponent I couldn’t defeat in two minutes flat. I stand up and run my fingers through my hair, removing leaves and other forest debris.
    Ryn stands up and heads back to where his bag is. He sits down, a frown forming on his face. “Why have we never been put in the Fish Bowl together?”
    “Probably because somebody thought you might kill me.”
    He looks up and raises an eyebrow. “Perhaps someone thought you might kill me .”
    “Hey, you’re the one who started this whole over-the-top rivalry thing.” I try to stare him down for a few moments, then cross my arms and let out a sigh. “Okay, so I may have told Tora once that I thought you hated me so much you wanted to kill me. She said I was exaggerating, of course, but I think she’s been manipulating the schedules ever since.”
    “I see.” Ryn unscrews a small bottle and dabs some of the contents on his cut lip. “So that explains why we’ve never been put together for paired assignments either.”
    “Yes.”
    “Which would have been disastrous.”
    “Indeed.”
    Ryn digs around in his emergency kit for something else, which reminds me that I need to get home to my own healing potions. Adrenalin is subsiding, making me aware of the stinging cuts on my face and arms. Ryn looks up and finds me staring at his bag. “You’re not waiting for me to share, are you?”
    Wow, what a gentleman. “Of course not. I’d be waiting a long time for that.” I put a hand out and lean against the nearest tree. “No, I’m waiting to see how you plan to get over that magically reinforced wall.” I can’t help it; I’m curious.
    “Well, how about I surprise you with my generosity—” he throws the bottle he just used in my direction “—and then stun you with my wall-conquering skills.”
    I catch the bottle and throw it right back. “Thanks, but I have my own potions.”
    Ryn shrugs. “Whatever.” He packs away his things and stands. “Thanks for the fight, V. You’re welcome to leave now.”
    Thanks for the fight, V . At the sound of my old nickname, something tightens painfully in the core of my being. I used to hear it all the time, but then Reed died, and Ryn stopped talking to me, which means the last person who called me V was . . . my father.
    Ryn frowns and opens his mouth, then hesitates, as though thinking twice about whatever it is he plans to say. “Um . . . I’m just going to open a doorway to the faerie paths and exit somewhere on the other side of this wall. I don’t see why that shouldn’t work.”
    I nod, not trusting myself to speak in the wake of the unexpected memories of my father. Ryn turns to face the wall and pulls his stylus from a pocket on the side of his bag.
    “Ryn?” I call before he can open a doorway. I wait for him to look back at me. Even in the weak light of the moon, I can make out the intense blue of his eyes. “Do you still blame me?” His eyes slip away from mine and focus somewhere in the distance. He doesn’t answer, which is answer enough. Of course he still blames me. One fight plus one near-civil conversation doesn’t equal a changed mind. “It was an accident, Ryn.” Why can’t he get past this?
    “An accident that never would have happened if it weren’t for you,” he says quietly. “You were the one he was going to visit.”
    “That is ridiculous logic. My