The Children Of The Mist Read Online Free PDF Page A

didn’t doubt for a minute that Zest could do it. But she wasn’t so sure about herself. It was serious shit. While she knew that the jump was possible, stopping before she slid over the edge of the lower building was less certain. A girl could get killed that way.
    She stepped right up against the fence, laced her hands into the wire and pushed her face into the cold links. ‘I can’t,’ she said.
    Zest stepped up beside her, so close she could feel the heat emanating from his body. ‘Yes, you can,’ he said.
    Slowly she turned her face, until her right cheek was pressed against the wire and her eyes looked directly into his. In the dark his green eyes were black and shiny like pieces of wet coal.
    â€˜Trust me, Morven,’ he said.

Chapter 5
    As she waited for Zest to snip through the wire fence, Morven felt her senses stir. Maybe it was because the challenge ahead had her pumped. Exhilarated even. Once she’d made the decision all her fear had melted away, like sherbet lemons. All her senses felt strangely heightened. Despite the darkness she was aware of her surroundings. She could easily make out the rustling of the reeds on the edge of the river, and she heard something move sinuously through the water. She was sure that she could hear music from a ferry, even though none travelled so far down river. It could have been a private boat moored somewhere, of course. But still, she felt it was a ferry. Perhaps because she could catch the scent of cheap wine and cigarette smoke. Plus, although it was neither sight nor sound that told her, she just knew that somewhere out there was a large body of people. It was like she could lick the air and taste their hormones.
    â€˜Morven, we’re in.’
    She turned and inspected the damage. Zest had peeled back the small section of clipped wire and held it out, creating a narrow gap. Dog rushed in and bounced neatly through it; on the other side he turned, made a small pouncing action toward them and wagged his tail. Morven reckoned Dog was lucky. No conscience at all. Life was just one big adventure. Trespassing didn’t exist for him. Still, they weren’t doing any harm. Not really.
    As she squeezed through the gap her new shirt snagged on one of the small strands of residual wire. She tried to reach around to free it, but couldn’t.
    â€˜I got it.’
    Good to his word, Zest plucked the cotton away and as he did, Morven became acutely aware of his closeness. She inhaled deeply. Washing powder, deodorant, jojoba soap, canvas, shampoo, toothpaste, aniseed and…Zest. For a moment she couldn’t move, frozen by the weight of this sensory overload. Each and every inch of him broken down into separate smells. All good. All deeply intriguing. All deeply disturbing.
    He tapped her on the shoulder. ‘Good to go, anytime soon.’
    The sound of his voice, so familiar, so normal, acted as a catalyst. Really, she must get a grip. No one could possibly detect that many smells so clearly, so individually, so absolutely. It just wasn’t possible.
    â€˜Morven, move it!’
    Zest’s voice prodded her into action. Once she was through, she turned and pulled the wire back toward her, giving Zest access. It was harder for him, the breadth of his chest causing a brief bottleneck. But then he popped out like a cork from a bottle and collapsed at her feet, laughing helplessly.
    â€˜Shit,’ he said, ‘I thought you were going to have to call out the cavalry for a moment there.’
    Morven grinned. ‘Serves you right for being such a fatty.’ She forced herself to look at his face, even though she really wanted to check out his chest. Had she really never noticed how nice it was before? Had it always had such healthy dimensions or had he filled out lately? Really, she wasn’t sure. She felt a brief ripple of disquiet. Tonight she seemed to be noticing a lot of things.
    As they slipped through the