The Darkest Magic (A Book of Spirits and Thieves) Read Online Free PDF

father—it’s Markus King.
    Half-immortal. Half-magic. And she has no damn idea.
    Crys lurched to her feet. Becca looked up at her with surprise.
    “What’s wrong?”
    “Nothing,” Crys said quickly. “Nothing, really. You . . . you keep looking at the books. I’m going to go see what Mom and Jackie and Dr. Vega are up to downstairs.”
    She was out of the library before Becca had a chance to respond.
    Downstairs was a living room, a large study, and a kitchen that put the one they had in their small apartment above the bookshop to shame. Crys headed directly to the study, which was piled high with everything from Dr. Vega’s office at the university. Inside, she found Jackie sitting next to Dr. Vega, both of them bent over a thick manila file folder.
    Dr. Uriah Vega, a renowned language expert and professor at the University of Toronto, was an old friend of Jackie’s. He had been trying valiantly to decipher the book. A week ago, he’d been beaten within an inch of his life by Markus’s minions, so he’d been invited to stay with Crys’s family as he healed and recovered his strength.
    “Where’s Mom?” Crys asked.
    Jackie looked up from the papers. “She went to the convenience store downstairs. For supplies.”
    Her aunt was tall, blond, and beautiful. Just like Becca. The dark circles that had taken up residence under her eyes for the last couple of days marred her looks only a little.
    “Good morning, Ms. Hatcher,” Dr. Vega said. He gave Crys a bright smile despite the fading bruises and bandages on his face. “You’re looking quite
determined
today.”
    “I think I am. Jackie, can I speak to you privately please?”
    “Of course.” Jackie’s smile was strained as she followed Crys to the kitchen.
    Crys reached into the fridge to grab a can of Diet Coke.
    “What is it?” Jackie asked.
    “You need to tell Becca the truth,” Crys said. She liked to think of her characteristic bluntness as a personal virtue that saved everyone valuable time.
    Jackie’s expression was suddenly pinched, and Crys knew her aunt knew exactly what she was talking about. “Not yet,” Jackie said.
    “Why not?”
    “Because I’m not ready.”
    “Not ready to . . . what? Face the truth? Admit to your past mistakes and live with the consequences? Take responsibility for your daughter? Let me know if I’m getting warmer.”
    “Lower your voice,” Jackie hissed. “She might hear you.”
    “Good, I hope she does.” Crys hesitated then. Her bluntness was usually a good thing—in her opinion—but even she knew that sometimes she could be too harsh. And she didn’t want to chase after a butterfly with a baseball bat, especially not now. “Look,” she said. “I don’t mean to be a bitch. Well,
mostly
I don’t. But I’m sick of waiting around for something to happen, for life to go back to normal around here. Or is normal life just an impossible wish at this point?”
    Jackie twisted a long piece of blond hair around her index finger. “I promise that I have a plan.”
    “Oh? And what is it?”
    “I understand that you’re anxious and want answers, but, Crys, it’s only been a week. And Dr. Vega is still working with the book.”
    “I know. Okay? I know that.” Crys started pacing back and forth, not even taking a sip of her pop, instead trying to focus on the feel of the surface condensation on the can to help cool her off a bit. Her frustration had a tendency to grow so intense that it just exploded, like fireworks. Or a bomb. People anywhere near her might get hurt, including herself. “You’ve been avoiding her,” she said finally.
    “No, I haven’t.”
    “Yes, you have.”
    Jackie sighed. “I hate that you know the truth about me now. I hate that anyone knows it.”
    “Which part of the truth? That you were madly in love with Markus King? That you still are?”
    Her eyes went wide. “Is that what you think? That my life is some kind of romance novel come to life? That I was just