Shadow Queen Read Online Free PDF

twisting wordless mouth that
beckoned her inside.
    “Are you sure you want to do this?” Ethen
tugged at her sleeve. He eyed the ocean water with an anxious gaze.
The thought of being out at sea terrified him.
    “Do you want me to be honest?” She looked him
in the eye, a faint smile tugging at her mouth. The stillness of
his face alerted her of his seriousness. “Then no, I’m not. But
when am I ever sure about anything?”
    Astrid turned and sprinted her way up the
rocky steps. She could hear Ethen sigh and scrape his boots against
the weathered stairs trying to catch up. She knew he would follow
her to the ends of the earth.
    The door was made of driftwood and bound
together with tendrils of thick shining silver. There was no handle
or knob. Astrid ran her hands over the smooth bleached surface. Up
close, the door looked as if it were made from twisting bone. She
heaved against the door, first with her shoulder, then with her
back. The wood barely creaked against her weight and refused to
budge at all.
    “Look at this!” Astrid’s head popped up from
where it rested against the cool wooden surface to see what Ethen
had found. In his hand he held a heavily braided tassel, entwined
with glimmering red and gold silk rope.
    “Well, don’t just show it off, pull it,” said
Astrid, annoyed that she didn’t find it herself.
    Ethen tugged the tassel down to his waist.
The rope shot up out of his hand and retreated into a hole in the
alcove above the head of the door. A deep clanging bellowed from
inside the villa. The door shuddered and seemed to crack and
splinter in its center. Suddenly, the middle gave way and came
apart like the interlocked fingers of two hands.
    “Welcome guests, to my humble abode.” Fryx’s
voice echoed out from the massive hall Astrid could only catch
glimpses of from where she stood. “Please, do come in.”
    She glanced at Ethen. He was waiting for her
lead, his eyes wide and nervous. Astrid nodded at him and strode
inside. She sheathed her knives before anyone could see they had
been drawn just a few moments before.
    Astrid’s eyes traced the arabesque designs of
silver that crept along the door and up the wall and winding
together in a knot as if it were an unkempt vine. The plaster that
covered the remainder of the ceiling was a vast mural of the sea,
complete with mermaids with gold leafed hair and sea monsters with
glittering ruby eyes.
    Ethen stepped onto an iron grate, the sudden
distance below his feet causing him to tense, ready for a fall.
Astrid laughed at his uneasiness and peered through the iron bars.
Deep inside the pit sat a shadowy creature with two long glinting
horns. It huffed, sniffing the air with its snout.
    “ Haaaaa ,” it said, rattling the chain
around its neck, “ I smell you, girl. A Phooka never forgets a
smell like that .” It huffed at the air again, laughing at
Astrid’s silence.
    Ethen nudged her arm, mouthing the words let’s go! She nodded, following him through the remainder of
the great hall and into a smaller chamber. The hollow laughter of
the strange creature floated behind her, nipping at her heels.
    The room was furnished with a flourish of
silk pillows, most of which were large enough to use as a bed.
Astrid kicked her way through the piles of cushions, searching for
the most practical of the bunch.
    Ethen had wandered over to a laden tea table
and began scavenging and stuffing his mouth and pockets.
    Astrid finally chose a plain rotund pillow
the color of tree bark. She flopped down onto it and immediately
sank deep into its fluff.
    “Oh Gods, there isn’t a decent seat in this
whole damn place!” Astrid rolled out of the pillow and sprang onto
her feet, giving the portly nightmare a hefty kick. Ethen mumbled
something through a mouthful of fruit, juice trickling down his
chin and splattering onto the floor.
    She began to pace, her mind uneasy with
thoughts of that beast, the Phooka— why does it seem so familiar?
And why does he