The Onyx Vial (Shadows of The Nine Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

crunching beneath their feet as they threaded through the woods until she finally spoke, this time much louder, her eyes on Hunter “What lie have you told?”
    “The book,” Ariana said, more as a prompt to Hunter than an explanation.
    Hunter grunted. “Yes. I used the book."
    A trill of excitement shot through Ariana. “When?”
    Tehya frowned as Hunter fell into step beside her.
    “This morning, I think. But I'm not sure how much time passed. I kind of blacked out.”
    “So that's why you were in the Pass.”
    Tehya shook her head. “I don't understand. What do you mean you used the book?”
    Ariana handed the book to her then, excitement flooding her. “It's a portal book.”
    Tehya gasped. “How...?”
    “Yes. How.” She turned back to Hunter. “How'd you find a book that worked? Where in the Nine did you come from?” It was all very unbelievable. “You swear you aren't Fyrennian?”
    “What? Yes, I swear,” he asserted. “Definitely not Fyrennian.”
    He seemed genuine, she supposed. After all, what reason would he have to lie? Well, if he's a Lockden kid and knows about Eden house somehow... But no. What happened back there couldn't have been planned. There would have been too much relying on coincidence . “Let's say I believe you,” she said. “How'd you get the book? Where are you from?”
    “Kansas,” he answered.
    Not one of the Nine?
    “My grandpa gave it to me.” His face clouded over as he said it, and he looked mildly nauseous.
    “Portal books aren't banned where you're from?” Tehya asked.
    He was quiet for a moment, his brows knitted tightly together. Then he set his jaw and looked her in the eye. “Truthfully? I didn't even know stuff like that existed outside of stories until Huntsmen raided our farmhouse.”
    That answer was unexpected. Why the Huntsmen raided his house was anyone's guess, and certainly not uncommon. But how was it possible that he didn't know the books existed?
    Tehya spoke Ariana's thoughts. “How could you not know ?
    Hunter bit his lip. It was clear he didn't want to elaborate. And yet, he seemed unable to stop himself from saying, “Magic isn't—it doesn't exist in my world. Not really. Not outside of stories.” He gave a little laugh, part hysterical, part mirthless. “Back home, when people say books can transport you to another world, they don't mean it literally..."
    "Magic?"
    "You call it something different? The stuff you can do? Like the rain and the trees back there?"
    Ariana cocked her head. "Etâme?"
    "Sure. Yeah."
    "But how did you use etâme if you didn't know it existed?"
    "I haven't."
    "But we saw you," Tehya said. "With the Mustang."
    "You think that was magic—er—etâme—how I calmed the horse?"
    Tehya nodded.
    "I'm just good at calming animals."
    So he didn't even know what he was? Or was he hiding the fact because he was being hunted? He was definitely not "just good" with that Mustang. Other things were happening there. He was changing that horse with etâme and he had no idea. Who was this kid and why did he seem to know so little about the world?
    "So why the box full of Scales?" Tehya asked.
    Ariana felt her cheeks color, glad to be a step in front of her so she wouldn't see. Tehya didn't know she'd managed to palm the tin off the big brute as she ran past him, and she wouldn't be very impressed with Ariana for not having already returned it to the boy. But something in Ariana's gut told her to hang on to it. Just until she knew whether or not to trust him.
    The mention of his lost treasure made his face pale. "I don't know what I'm going to do without that money." He looked so forlorn, she almost felt bad for not telling him the truth.
    "How'd you get it in the first place?" she asked instead. "It looked like a lot." Felt like a lot, too, weighing down the pocket of her coat.
    He laughed dryly. "If a hundred and twenty thousand dollars is a lot."
    "Dollars?" Tehya asked.
    "Oh, wait." He tapped his fingertips. Doing some quick