Thorn Fall Read Online Free PDF Page A

go to their world ?” Simon asked.
    Temi nodded. “Yes, but they kept me in a little house in the woods, and I never saw anything except predators that make wolves and tigers look like kittens. I guess I saw another elf too. The one that kept trying to kill us.”
    “Uh?” I prompted.
    “It’s a long story,” she said, her tone suggesting she wasn’t interested in telling it now.
    “How did you get there?” Simon asked, visions of spaceships dancing in his eyes.
    “They made a glowing… doorway thing. A portal, I guess.”
    “A portal ? Was it like… a wormhole to another location in the galaxy? Or was it more like an interdimensional entrance to another space and time here on Earth?”
    “It was a blue rectangle,” Temi said.
    I snorted. “I don’t think she’s ready to discuss Alcubierre drives and quantum mechanics with you.”
    Temi’s lips flattened as she frowned at me.
    “Sorry.” I hadn’t meant to imply she wasn’t bright enough to discuss such things, just not geeky enough to care about them.
    “Amazing,” Simon whispered. “I wish…”
    “Me too.” I wasn’t all that into the idea of exploring the paranormal, but the idea of learning how the elves’ history intersected with ours? I would have given a lot to go along, even if it was just to live in the woods and eat green wafers. “You’re sure they wouldn’t have followed? Because Alektryon says there was an elf spying on us.”
    Even now, he was walking around the perimeter of the campsite, his alert gaze toward the forest.
    Temi nodded grimly. “There could be others watching us. Watching me. The sword. Jakatra said you guys should research it, see if there’s a reason it might be valuable. Besides for killing things.”
    “We can do research.” Simon smiled. “In Sedona.”
    My earlier objection didn’t make it to my lips. With this new information that someone was spying on us, I didn’t mind the idea of leaving town. “All right. Let’s get on the road. Temi, do you want me to drive while you sleep?”
    “Yes,” she said without hesitation.
    “We’ll follow you, Simon. Find us an inexpensive campground.”
    “Will do.”
    “Alektryon?” I asked.
    “Alek,” he said.
    “Alek, will you ride with us?” I asked the question in Greek, but pointed at the vehicles so he would understand. The van would certainly be more spacious for him, but I wanted him to come along so I could get him to talk to me while I drove. If I could hear him speaking for a while, I was certain I would catch on.
    He pointed at me and said a few words while gesturing to the woods. I was still guessing more than understanding. “You need to stop along the way? To check on our spy? Or, oh, you probably stashed your spear and shield somewhere.”
    I wasn’t sure he understood all that, but he nodded.
    We piled into the respective vehicles, and I followed the van out of the campground. The back of my neck itched as we drove past the spot where Alek had gone into the woods, and I admitted I was glad to have him in the car for more than language reasons.
    Darkness rode with us as we drove up the road through the trees, only the headlight beams parting the night. There weren’t any streetlights out here, and the other campers must have gone to bed, because there weren’t any lights back there, either. Nonetheless, something caught my eye in the rearview mirror. A tiny pair of glowing green specks. I swallowed. I had seen Jakatra’s and Eleriss’s eyes in the dark and knew they glowed. I also knew neither of them had green eyes.
    When I looked back over my shoulder, nothing was there.

Chapter 3
    Temi walked out of the nearby bathhouse in flip-flops and a robe with a towel wrapped around her head. A couple of years ago, that might have been a winning picture for some Paparazzi. Apparently, there weren’t any tennis fans in the Manzanita Campground, because nobody gave her a second glance.
    I was dining on a late breakfast of Fruity-Os, having