Wind Over Bone: The Estralony Cycle #2 (Young Adult Fantasy Romance) Read Online Free PDF Page B

take the whiskers off and those stupid eyelashes…”
    “ We’ll be late,” said Edloiva peevishly.
    “ Then hurry and find it,” said Mari.
    So Edloiva went and rummaged in her drawers; and it was a strange crew that finally went to dinner––a purple crow, a princess with a long luxurious red wig, a fox, a snow leopard, and a pink-cheeked hare with no whiskers.
    Long ago it was believed that the walls between worlds crumbled on the longest night of the year, and Veles, king of the underworld, allowed the dead to roam the earth. So people would don masks and drape themselves with waterweeds, pretending they were ancestral spirits come up from Veles’ watery underworld, so as to hide from the real spirits, who were often hungry for flesh.
    There were no waterweeds now; the masks were used to hide social status, at least among the upper class, and they were usually discarded long before the night’s end. Sarid planned to keep hers attached to her face the entire night.
     
    ***
     
    They came to the high doors of the banquet hall; the bubbling in Sarid’s stomach had become a churning, and she wondered if she would be able to eat anything.
    There was a table that could seat hundreds––square, with a hole in its center so that entertainment could be viewed by everyone. Garlands of laurel and balsam hung from the rafters and twined down the white pillars, and everyone was dressed in bright costumes. The room resembled a flowerbed. There were no rules, no arrangements, and everyone sat where they pleased.
    Most masks were half-face: a good thing, as there were five courses of excellent food. The soup came first (“Watch your earrings,” said Mari) and Sarid found her hunger when she tried the pike with parsley and chives. Then there was partridge poached in maple sugar, and ham studded with jewel-like currents. A stew of caramelized apple and quince came next, and to end it, a trifle soaked in liqueur, and little crisp spice cakes.
    The drinks were good, too: they served the usual wine, and a drink made of eggs, brandy and nutmeg; and there was a hot creamy liqueur served with dessert, made from a southern bean. The taste was delightful to Sarid (who was on her third drink, feeding Gryka bits of ham beneath the table, and feeling better about everything). Sweet, bitter, and nutty.
    “ Chocolate,” said the girl on her right, whom she didn’t know. She was tall and had on a falcon mask. “Don’t drink too much. It puts you under a spell, they say. Makes you fall in love.”
    Sarid rubbed sugar off her cheek. “After falling asleep, I expect.”
    The girl smiled. “They’ve just served tea.” She dragged over a small samovar and poured them both a cup. She nodded at Gryka. “Your hound has beautiful, sad eyes.”
    “ She’ll cry her way straight onto your plate,” said Sarid.
    The girl laughed, and Mari, two seats down, looked over and called to Sarid: “Keep your hound away from my sister. She loves dogs. Been known to steal them.”
    “And you’ve been known to exaggerate,” said the girl with the falcon mask. She touched a finger to her tea, to feel the temperature.
    “ Exaggeration”––Mari was slurring her speech––“makes for a pleasant surprise later on.”
    “ Or an unpleasant one,” said Rischa, holding up his wine glass and swirling the dregs.
    “ Either way,” said Mari, “you get a remarkable insight into your preconceptions.”
    “ Silliness,” said Falcon Girl.
    “ Pretty good for after dinner.” Rischa looked at Edloiva, who was giggling and tucking bits of trifle into Rokal’s mouth. Then he pointed at the empty seats on the other side of the table.  “Are we the only ones left?”
    They got up, brushing crumbs from their laps, and went to dance.
    The ballroom was crowded and already filled with smoke. It seemed smaller and sweeter this time––the corners were stuffed with garlands and the floor strewn with pine needles that sent up fragrance as they trod on