The Evensong Read Online Free PDF Page A

the pillow and sighed, looking up when I heard my door open. Alysana walked in, smiling slightly as she closed the door behind her.
    “Hey,” she said quietly. I smiled in reply as she sat next to me, staring out the window. “I’d say we go out somewhere, but this weather’s pretty bad.”
    “I bet the swamps are awesome right now,” I said, grinning. Alysana wrinkled her nose.
    “Hell no. I’d prefer a café or something.”
    I thought about it for a minute, looking out at the gale. “Is a bookstore okay?”
    Alysana knew what I meant when I suggested the bookstore. It wasn’t the most sociable hangouts, but we went there all the time. It was old and huge, holding shelves upon shelves of all sorts of books, all genres. There was a small café in the back, but we usually got lost among the aisles, crouching on low stools as we flipped pages.
    I clutched the hot tea I had bought as I waited for Alysana. I was anxious to go looking through the volumes, and since there were a lot of people here today, I wanted to find a secluded corner, too. No one really spoke much, so the rain just filled in the silence with its dull drone and the occasional roll of thunder.
    “You didn’t have to wait,” Alysana said when she stood next to me, coffee and sugar packet in hand.
    “Come on, we always disperse at the same time,” I replied as we walked back into the store.
    “True—hold this?” She held out her coffee, and I held it with my free hand while she poured in the sugar and stirred with a wooden stick. She tried it once before deciding it was okay.
    “Okay, I’m good,” she announced. I smiled and took another sip of mine, looking towards the shelves.
    “All right—let’s go. I’ll find you if I see anything interesting,” I said.
    “Okay, same here,” she replied, already off to the right. I took the left, heading towards the mythology section.
    I passed through the huge paperback sci-fi section, briefly glancing at a few things before moving on. I casually walked by other people, heading deeper into the maze and hoping to find an aisle to myself.
    I finally found the mythology shelves, and two other people were hovering around. One had already occupied the only stool. Pausing, I wondered what to do. I wanted books here, but I didn’t want to stand by and wait to sit down.
    Scanning the spines, I plucked out a few titles, not really thinking it over. I piled four books in my arm and walked away, turning down the next aisle. It may have been fantasy, but surprisingly, no one was here. I plunked down on the rickety stool and put the books on the floor next to me. Balancing my tea in one hand, I opened the first book in my lap. I started flipping through, gradually getting immersed as the store quieted.
    Only the sound of the rain became apparent over the small noise of my flipping pages. I had picked up a book about Morgan Le Fae, and I was entranced with the beautiful illustrations. Most of the pictures were lined in gold leaf, and it subtly caught the light, further pulling me in.
    After fifteen minutes, I was pretty oblivious to everything around me. I got sucked into the reading and the facts, hardly aware of much else. The rain was forgotten, and the last of my headache was diminishing when someone else walked into the aisle.
    I was almost in a projection-like state, and I jolted back into normal thought. Trying not to be obviously put off, I glanced through my hair, immediately regretting it. The stranger—the one everyone was talking about—had wandered into the aisle. I clenched my teeth, holding back a few choice swears. I couldn’t just get up and leave; he’d probably already seen me by now, and if I was thinking correctly, he might even just follow me. Judging by his actions the last time I’d seen him, he seemed like the type that would bug on purpose. I stayed put and kept my head down, concentrating on a spot on the page.
    I couldn’t see him past the curtain of my hair, but I could tell