She Blinded Me With Science Read Online Free PDF

back to their table, Sophie asked for diet cherry cola. It surprised him more when
the waiter didn't even blink, and hurried to bring it to them. Somehow, Kevyn thought a ritzy
place like this wouldn't deign to stock something so plebian.
    And intoxicating.
    What was she up to?
    "Oh, this is the best," Sophie murmured, when she sipped at the tall wine goblet full of
the gently fizzing liquid. "You have to try this. It tastes better when it comes out of a dispenser
instead of a bottle."
    "Thanks, but it's your treat."
    "There's plenty." She waved at the tall carafe of cola, almost the same color as the wine,
then slid the goblet over in front of him. Before Kevyn could again refuse, she picked up his
goblet and put it in front of her. "Share?"
    She's trying to get me drunk.
    How could Sophie know he was susceptible to diet cherry cola, unless she was working
with the Enclave Hunters? Maybe his parents had hired her to trap him, catch his interest, even
seduce him?
    Kevyn knew his limits, and how to spell himself to sober up before the dangerous,
     out-of-control point. He would just play along with her and see where she led.
    Through the appetizers and the salad, he pretended to sip at the cola and plied her with
questions about her doctoral program. They switched glasses back and forth, and several times
Sophie accidentally poured more cola into his wine. Or was it an accident? It tasted
strange, but intriguing, so he let it pass. Mixing wine and cola actually helped him fight off the
woozies.
    Maybe that was why he saw her drinking rum-and-Coke that first night?
    Kevyn realized Sophie had drunk far more wine than cola, and she wasn't tipsy.
    Interesting.
    When their entrees came, he ordered coffee and joked about the double dose of caffeine
making him more tipsy than the wine. Sophie laughed, but that speculative light in her eyes grew
brighter.
    If she was an Enclave Hunter, she would know that coffee combined with the caffeine in
the cola to counteract the artificial sweeteners and flavors, much like dark chocolate acted as a
health and energy booster. So what game, exactly, was she playing?
    He was on his way to the bathroom when he felt the buzz of energy from the Enclave
Hunters entering the restaurant. The snap of magic they flung around themselves was like a
thunderclap. Kevyn whisked a cloak of invisibility around himself while the reverberation still
echoed through the ether and silently laughed at their obliviousness.
    Intriguingly, Sophie reacted to all that magic buzzing through the atmosphere. She
looked around the restaurant, frowned, and hunched her shoulders. Kevyn almost lost his grip on
the invisibility spell when she reached up and rubbed at the lovely pointed tips of her ears.
    Down boy, he scolded himself.
    Firmly shoving his mind into stealth mode, he crept through the shadowy restaurant to
sneak up on the Enclave Hunters.
    They, in turn, crept up on Sophie and slapped an invisibility spell around themselves.
Kevyn was close enough that it overlapped with his and let him see through the shield. He could
hear and see everything they said and did.
    "Another wild goose chase," Larry said with a sigh, and glared at Sophie as if it was her
fault they couldn't find their quarry.
    "Halfling," Curly said with a sigh.
    "More like an eighthling. She has power, but there's no training. Not even consciousness
that she has power." He snorted. "Waste of time."
    "Maybe not. She's kind of cute. In a mixed-blood kind of way."
    Cute? Kevyn felt something stir to life and try to roar. Sophie was more than
cute. And who did they think they were, critiquing her, maybe trying to decide if she was worth
slobbering over?
    He saw her first! If anybody was going to seduce a Halfling, it was going to be him.
They'd just have to wait their turn.
    If he ever gave them a turn.
    Kevyn took two steps back, almost losing contact with their magic, almost losing his
grip on his own magic so he became visible.
    What was he doing, feeling