Of Light and Darkness Read Online Free PDF

afternoon by the pond. She normally went swimming, and drew pictures of the birds and other day animals to take home and show Valek. However, if she were smart, she would begin her journey home.
    As if on cue, one raindrop splattered on the rock face beside her. And then another. The sky opened up. Rain cascaded down on the clearing, pouring new life on the entire forest. She lifted her face toward it, the cool water sliding down her eyelids. It smelled like ozone. It soaked through her shirt, straightened the curls in her hair, and kissed her lips, still sticky with apple juice.
    She recalled one night when she was little and frightened by a thunderstorm. Valek lit the fireplace and set her on his lap to comfort her. He told her every time it rained, something amazing was going to happen. The next day, when Charlotte couldn’t sleep, she peered out her bedroom window and saw a kind of magic she was not used to—her first rainbow.
    Charlotte decided it didn’t matter if she went home then or not. She was already soaked. What was the point? Looking around once to be sure she was still alone, she peeled the shirt away from her body and jumped into the cool water, sinking to the pebbles at the bottom. Her body rose to the surface, and she floated like that for a long while, the cold rain continuing to pour down over her. She took in a deep breath, let it out, thought of nothing and no one, and smiled. For the first time in a long time, she felt completely careless. That was...until he showed up.
    “Charlotte?” The familiar voice called her name from the rock face. “Haha! What are you doing?”
    Aiden. Her eyelids flew open. She screeched and dove under the water, scrambling to cover her upper half. Charlotte glared at him over the pond surface as he continued to laugh, stopping to leer at her some more.
    “What are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to be in school!”
    “It’s three o’clock in the afternoon. You should see your face! What would Valek think if he knew you were out here showing yourself off to the world?” He bent in half.
    She mustered a growl and smacked her hand down on the pond surface. He flinched away from the splash.
    “Go home!” she yelled, her eyes watering.
    His laughter subsided. “Listen, I’m sorry. All right?” he offered, holding out her wet cotton blouse.
    The shirt wouldn’t do much to cover her now that it was drenched, but she grabbed for it, anyway.
    His autumn hair fell into his smug face.
    “Turn around!” she demanded.
    He smiled, falsely apologetic, and held both hands in the air in surrender as he turned away. Charlotte made incoherent sounds of frustration as she struggled to pull herself out of the water and get her shirt back on. She glared at him with her arms folded over her chest.
    “Why did you come here?”
    Aiden turned to her again. “I knew you’d be here.” He glanced at the clouds that were now dissipating, allowing the sun to shine through again.
    She looked back to the ground, face burning. “I should be getting home,” she said finally, grabbing for her satchel. She could only imagine the thoughts running through Aiden’s head. This was definitely one of those moments in life when she wished she had fangs.
    “Come on, Charlotte,” he begged. “I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”
    Charlotte couldn’t stand the chagrin that singed her cheeks. She trekked back through the woods, but he ran to catch up. He began walking in time with her, their feet crunching the leaves. They moved gracefully over every knoll and boulder.
    “Why do you have to leave?” Aiden wrinkled his forehead. “Valek is still de—I mean resting, isn’t he?”
    Even though they both knew Valek always woke again in the evenings, it was still difficult for Charlotte to imagine Valek was indeed physically dead at that moment.
    “Yes, he is. But I have some work I need to finish before he wakes up,” she lied.
    “Fine.” He sighed and started to move a little