Night Terrors (Sarah Beauhall Book 4) Read Online Free PDF Page A

After her psychotic break, he’d been the one to help her find her way back. She wasn’t one-hundred percent better, by any means, but she was stable and loved the big Viking. What could you do? I slept pretty well that night. Katie didn’t have any more middle-of-the-night vomiting sessions so we all did pretty well.
    The next morning was a blur of activity. We dragged the long tables out into the back yard, tapped a couple kegs, and generally cooked until we could barely stand. Deidre ran her kitchen like a drill sergeant. She had three different shifts, each for an hour or two, depending on the food being prepared. I was a gopher, running things out to coolers, or covering dishes for later. I was not allowed to actually assist in food prep if humans wanted to consume it later. Deidre was pretty blunt about my cooking skills, or lack thereof. Good thing I wasn’t sensitive about it or anything.
    Two o’clock rolled around and we had the food stacked all over the tables out in the yard—everything from roasts and whole chickens, to a dozen types of salads. There were desserts galore as well. I figured if I managed the day correctly I could easily gain a pound or two from carbs alone. Then there was the alcohol: mead and moonshine, beer and wine. This crew liked to party.
    Rolph wouldn’t show up until after dark, which was getting later these days, so we had to wait until then for the big unveiling out in the ruined hay field. We did some sparring, horseshoes and singing … lots and lots of singing. The more we drank, the louder we sang. It was like we were trying to make sure those we had lost over the last year could hear us singing their praises.
    Just after dark, when the twilight hadn’t faded and the stars were not quite yet out, Skella vanished to get Rolph. There was a mirror set up behind the barn, it turned out, a fairly wide one. I was surprised to find not just Rolph, but seven other dwarves trudging through the mirror and out into the field as the last rays of the sun fled the sky.
    Deidre knew what was going on but wouldn’t share. I was getting antsy with anticipation. The kids were dancing in the yard as Katie and a few of the others started another round of drinking songs.
    At first there was a flash of light out in the field, like someone had touched a strobe light for one quick burst. The crowd fell silent and we began to hear the dwarves.
    They were singing. Nothing too loud to start, more of a hint of sound, the deep rumblings of the sea. Then they raised their voices and the music became clearer. It was dirge, a song of mourning, and they sang it in their native language. I could pick out words here and there, something about rejoining loved ones after the end times, and passing across the black water. I wish I could’ve understood it all.
    The crew got the point, though. People were crying and hugging each other. Jai Li made her way over to me and crawled into my lap. Bub ended up sitting at my feet, and Frick and Frack waddled back over to Trisha. We settled down and listened as the song went on.
    I’m guessing there were eighteen or twenty stanzas in the song as they hit a chorus that many times. Each time I felt like a piece of pain was plucked from me and left to float up into the stars, preserving the memory, but easing the hurt.
    When the eight voices finally fell silent, no one moved. Jai Li was holding her breath with her hand over her mouth. I could see Katie standing beside Deidre, her hands on the back of the wheel chair, with Jimmy beside them both. He had one hand on Deidre’s shoulder and an arm over Katie’s shoulders.
    I know they were family and all, but I wanted her back with me, with Jai Li. We were her family, too.
    Anezka and Gunther were sitting on a picnic table. He was nestled with his back between her legs and she had her arms over his shoulders.
    Stuart stood by the kegs, draining his favorite goblet, the white foam of the beer glowing in the few hurricane lamps