Never Again Read Online Free PDF

could probably expect the same treatment she’d gotten at the café. At least in Mexico, no one would care who she was. A lot of outcasts ended up there because, like her, they had nowhere else to go.
    Goddess, she was tired.
    She stood on the curb, trying to decide if she should head toward the highway, or check out the tea shop—at least until the storm abated. Through the sheets of gray rain, she spied the place across the narrow two-lane street. The corner brick building was two stories, flat on the top, and painted purple. It looked as square and squat as a piece of birthday cake. The gold lettering on the single, large tinted window read:
    Ember’s Tea and Pastries All Are Welcome Here
     
    “I hope you mean that,” muttered Lucinda. A hot cup of chamomile with a lemon scone sounded like heaven. She looked both ways, then stepped off the curb and started across the street.
    When she got to the middle of the crosswalk, the roar of an engine startled her so badly, she stopped and swung toward the noise. Barreling down the street was a black Mustang with red-and-yellow flames painted on its hood.
    It was headed straight for her.
    Lucinda immediately tapped into her aquamancy, directing her magic toward the rain. She aimed the swirling blue power toward the raindrops sluicing between her and the car.
    “Ice!” she screamed.
    Instantly, the drops turned as sharp as daggers. She directed the shards toward the tires. Hundreds of the sharp icy drops dove into the treads.
    The car was about twenty feet away when all four tires exploded.
    Lucinda dropped her arms and ran across the street, her duffel bouncing on her backside, her heart pounding. Magic trailed in her wake because she hadn’t properly released it. She slipped on the wet sidewalk and skidded toward the building. She grabbed the corner to right herself and then turned around, pressing her back against the purple brick. She called the magic back to her, releasing the glowing blue ropes of power, and offering a quick prayer of thanks to the living things from which she’d borrowed energy.
    The spinning car screeched to a halt in middle of the intersection.
    The front end pointed directly at her as though it were a compass and she were north. The windows were tinted so darkly, she couldn’t see who was in the car, or how many might be inside. Its engine revved ominously. The driver was letting her know he’d fully intended to mow her down, and given another opportunity, he would do so again.
    Yet, he wasn’t so brave that he was getting out of his car to challenge her directly.
    “Screw you,” she muttered. She flipped off the Mustang, and whoever the hell was in it, then scuttled toward the door to the tea shop and bolted inside. She wasn’t feeling so brave today, either.
    “Well, now. Here you are.” The odd statement tinged with a Jamaican accent was issued by a cocoa-skinned woman standing a mere foot away.
    Lucinda warily wondered if the lady had witnessed what had happened outside, and then she wondered if she should explain—or maybe even report the incident. After a moment of consideration, she decided it’d be better to pretend like nothing had happened.
    The woman smiled widely, showing off a set of sparkling pearly whites. She wore a pair of purple-tinted glasses. Actually, one side was purple tinted, and the other was blacked out completely. She was at least six feet tall and wore a purple dress that clung to her curvaceous form, and a pair of black high-heeled boots with purple roses stitched on the toes. Her long hair was a mass of tiny braids in various shades of purple, and those not purple were jet-black.
    “I’m sensing a theme,” said Lucinda as she stared at the woman. Then she grimaced. “Sorry. That was rude.”
    “Was it, now?” asked the woman. “Purple’s me color.’Tis my magic, my ju ju , you see? Ain’t no shame in embracing who I am.”
    “I envy that.”
    “Well,” said the woman as she sized up Lucinda.