Tales From Otherworld: Collection One Read Online Free PDF Page A

matter. Right now, all three of my men had been acting inconsiderate. It crossed my mind, maybe I should just pack up and take a few days for myself. Go home to Otherworld and hang out by the shores of Lake Y’Leveshan. I could set up camp, kick back, read a few books, go visit the High Priestess Derisa, in the Grove of the Moon Mother. Hell, for that matter, I could stop in and see Aunt Rythwar. In general, maybe I really needed a breather from the constant stress we were under.
    The sun glimmered through afternoon clouds as I strolled over to the herb garden. The garden was starting to look a little raggedy around the edges. We’d moved the kitchen herbs to the greenhouse that the men had built as an add-on to Iris’s cottage, but I’d kept my magical herbs here. They needed to stay in the magical circle in which I’d planted them, at least until they were harvested. I knelt down by the mandrake and whispered a hello to it. A few drops of rain from the high clouds made me glance up at the sky. We’d be in the thick of storm weather soon. It was almost time to compost around the base of all the perennials so that when the rainy season did hit, they’d be safe from the chill. Because the first frost wouldn’t be far behind.
    A little bit calmer, my thoughts returned to Trillian and his abrupt departure. How could he? But if I dwelled on it, I’d just get upset again, so I pushed it out of my mind and decided a walk would do me good. I’d head down to Birchwater Pond. The water always soothed me. But as I set foot on the path, Delilah called to me from the back porch. She sounded insistent, and so—with a sigh—I glanced one last time over my shoulder at the path before heading back inside.
    “Since Trillian’s gone tonight, I thought you might like to start planning out what we need to do before the rainy season hits. House stuff—you know? What needs to be fixed, what needs replaced, all that.” Kitten thrust the household notebook into my arms. “With Iris so near to having her twins, I figured that you would probably want to take over. Hanna doesn’t know enough about running the place yet, and she can’t read English.”
    Lovely. Just what I wanted to do today. Grumbling under my breath, I sat down at the kitchen table. “Well, bring me a plate of cookies and a latte, then.” I glared up at her. “And speaking of…where is Hanna?”
    “I gave her the afternoon off. She wanted to do some shopping.” Delilah made me a quad-shot iced caramel latte, and set a plate of Hanna’s peanut butter cookies on the table next to me. She settled in next to me, and we began to run over the upkeep schedule on the house. After about thirty minutes, we were knee deep in plans, and there was no good place to stop, so I decided to write off the day and throw myself into getting the task finished.
    The afternoon wore away before I knew it, and I didn’t look up until Hanna bustled in from wherever she’d been. She wasn’t carrying any bags, so I assumed they were still in the car, and that Vanzir must have driven her to the mall. I glanced at the clock. Almost six, and my stomach was rumbling.
    “I guess we might as well order a pizza or something.” I stood, wincing as I realized I’d been sitting for three hours straight.
    Delilah shrugged. “I’m not that hungry.”
    I looked at her strangely. Kitten was turning down pizza? That was a new one. A moment later, she swore under her breath.
    “What’s wrong?”
    “I left my dagger down by the pond when I was there last. I can’t believe I did that.” She frowned.
    “Well, go get it.” By now, I was ready to pack it in for the day and just go upstairs with a bag of chips, lock my door, and tell Smoky and Morio they could sleep in the parlor.
    “Camille, pretty please, won’t you go do it for me? I’ve got a stomachache and was about to go lie down.” Delilah turned on her sad-kitty face.
    I groaned. “ Really? Really? Oh for fuck’s sake…it’s