Read Catherine (Echoes of Ossiria #1) for Free Online Page A

finally had a
night to herself without needing to study until she fell asleep in the book,
and she couldn’t fall asleep.   Her mind
kept going over the day, what Alicia said, and her conversation with
William.  
    And the fact that Tallis was two and a half weeks away.  
    She could run
away, but she had very little money.   Without some kind of protection, Tallis would
probably find her again.   If she
befriended William, then she had a potential ally, but was he
befriend-able?   Being amicable during her
lessons didn’t mean he cared for her.
    And William was
smart.   He’d probably guess the reason
she was trying to get chummy and call her bluff on it.   But Alicia suggested it was possible…
    Two hours later,
Catherine was no closer to falling asleep.   “Screw it.”   She got out of bed,
donned a robe, and went down to the kitchen to make some warm milk.
    William stomped
straight to the liquor cabinet.
    “Hey…your head is
brown?” Catherine asked, sounding surprised.   His natural blond was now a dark-medium brunet.
    He skidded to a
stop.   “What are you doin’ up?”
    She held up a
mug.   “Warm milk. I couldn’t get to
sleep. Bad night?”
    “Went out for a
drive.”   He walked to the liquor cabinet,
took out a key, and unlocked it.
    In that?   He wore a leather coat over a tight tee and
even tighter jeans.   “Wearing cologne?”
she said.
    “What’s it to
you?”
    “Nothing. What’s
with the hair?”
    “I don’t go out
blond in public anymore.”
    Another sore
subject.   “Merely curious since I’m awake
and sitting here.”
    “Curiosity killed
the cat, love.”   He selected Glenlivet
and drank straight from the bottle.
    “Good thing I’m
not a cat,” she said, stirring her milk.
    He straddled a
chair across from her as she sipped from the mug.   “The kitten ,
then. Still applies.”
    “If I were to
guess, you planned to blow off some steam.”
    “And now?”
    “Still looking
to…hence the bottle,” she said
    He took another
healthy swig.   “Hm.”   Narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing her.  
    She blinked
innocently over her cup.  
    “It’s almost
Halloween, you know…” he said next.
    “Is it?”   The subject change was sudden.
    He nodded
once.   “It’s when we’re going to the
theatre.”
    Her eyes
widened.   “The end of October is next week ?”
    “Miss Meticulous
doesn’t know what day it is?” he teased.
    “I have… I-I do,
it’s just… I lost track of the date , okay? Happens when your world’s
turned upside down.”   Nearly
November…good God…the semester was almost over.   College felt so long ago now.   Homesickness turned the milk in her stomach.   Damn Tallis !   “I should be cramming for midterms, then
pigging out on pizza with my roommate. God, she’s gotta be so worried by now…”
    “You were chummy?”
    She nodded.   “Fast friends. We arrived to move in to the
dorm on the same day, then kept bumping into each other after that. Bonded over
a love of Chaucer, among other things.”   She smiled, remembering.   “That
was in August. Feels longer.”   She took
another sip from the mug.
    “So what would you
rather be doing now?”
    “Carrying on with
what I was. My goal was to get my teaching degree eventually. Did you go to
college when you were human?”
    “You think I
might’ve?”
    “Yep. I know
Alicia well enough now to see what about all this isn’t her. Gives you away as
being an educated man back in the day.”
    Another swig from
the bottle brought it down to half empty.   “I was, in another lifetime. Right in London. Wasn’t a bad time, all things
considered.”
    “How so?”
    “Wasn’t fond of my
classmates, but I was otherwise at home. Went the full course and everything.
Came home after, blah, blah, blah…”
    “So how old did
that make you when you became a vampire?”
    “Twenty-eight.
Twenty-seven. It was September. I think. Cool enough for ladies to wear shawls
at night. I