The Unexpected Enlightenment of Rachel Griffin (Books of Unexpected Enlightenment Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

hurting humans. They are part soldier, part magical policemen, part animal control—if you take animals to include basilisks and chimerae and dragons.”
    “So this guy was impersonating an officer?”
    “Yes.”
    Siggy shouted over the wind, “If this agent is an impostor, let’s go find him and kill him.”
    “We can’t kill him!”
    “Why not? I’ve killed a dragon.”
    “People are different.”
    “Not evil people. So, how do you know he’s a fake?”
    “Because I did not recognize him.”
    “You know all the policemen?”
    “I went to a Wisecraft banquet recently with my father, who is an Agent,” Rachel shouted, as the broom burst out of the forest and torpedoed toward the commons. The lily pond flashed beneath them. She did not bother to explain that her father was no longer a normal Agent. He still worked for the Wisecraft, but he had been transferred to some clandestine project, the nature of which Rachel did not know. “All the Agents in the world were present. They said so. I made a point of looking at everyone’s face.”
    “Any chance there was a bloke at the banquet whose face you don’t remember?”
    “No,” Rachel answered grimly. “None.”

Chapter Four:
The Awkward Rescue of Valerie Hunt
    The two children sped across the commons, passing the gym and the walled garden. The doors of the main building were open for breakfast. Rachel shot by the startled proctors, rocketed through the dining hall, glanced from side to side, and zoomed out the other side into the grassy interior courtyard. As she soared upward over the many spires of Roanoke Hall, she reviewed her memory of the children eating breakfast, rapidly examining each face in the crowd. The girl she sought was not among them.
    Rachel flew over the lawns of the commons again, still searching. She did not know which dorm Valerie lived in. If the girl was inside, Rachel would have no way to find her. At the far end of the commons, she circled the high dome of the Taliesin the Brave memorial, flew over the fountain that looked like a young tree with water cascading from every branch, and buzzed the lily pond—sending the sea fairies who lived therein diving for cover. Wind rushed by her, a low roar in her ears. Behind her, Siggy whooped loudly.
    There was no sign of Valerie Hunt, but Rachel was undeterred. She seldom grew frustrated when she had put her mind to something.
    “Hey!” Siggy called. “Did you say short blond hair? How about that one?”
    Below them and to the right was a walled garden. Purple blooms of wisteria grew along the trellis-like fence that made up part of the stone wall. In the center of the garden, mosaics surrounded a marble basin. In the middle of the shallow pool, a fat-cheeked cherub with a curling fish tail blew a fountain out of its trumpet. To one side, sitting on a bench, two girls pored over the latest issue of Wise Wear magazine. One was pretty, with short flaxen hair, glasses, and a squarish jaw. She had a pile of notebooks next to her. An old-fashioned camera on a red strap hung over her shoulder. A silver and black Norwegian Elk Hound, with thick fur and a curling tail, lay with its muzzle resting on her feet. Rachel recognized her as Valerie Hunt.
    The other girl was gorgeous with long, wavy blonde hair, impish cheeks, and eyes that seemed almost luminescent. She also was the most well-endowed young teen Rachel had ever seen, but this might have been because her black and white subfusc outfit had been tailored to display her figure to best advantage. Her white blouse strained at the buttons, and her black pleated skirt was shorter than the knee-length specified by the school handbook.
    Out of the corner of her eye, Rachel noted that Siggy had noticed, too. When the young woman stood up and bent over, his face turned red, and he averted his eyes—an unusually knightly response from a low-born boy. Rachel understood that boys liked curves.
    For Rachel’s part, she found the girl’s display