Read Earthbound: An Otherworld Novella for Free Online

any difficulties.”
    Menolly had taken to her job in a way that none of us had expected. She had been working for the past three nights, and her mood had altered in a subtle, but noticeable, way. She didn’t seem quite so angry and I even heard her humming at one point.
    As the taxi pulled into the curb and Iris paid them, I jumped out of the backseat and wandered over to stare at the bookstore. A sign that reminded me of an old-fashioned pub sign hung over the street, projecting from the face of the building. It read The Indigo Crescent , and had the image of crescent moon with a book balancing on the bottom point of the crescent.
    I pressed my face to one of the large windows and stared into the dim space. I could see shelves lined with books and a glass counter that ran the length of the front. Feeling inexplicably excited, I turned around as Iris fit the key into the lock and opened the door.
    She glanced at me.” Welcome to your new world.”
    I stepped inside, gasping at the shelves filled with books. “We have storytellers in Otherworld, and we have our own form of books, but nothing like this. So many books…” I stared around, taking in the embarrassing wealth of visions and dreams and tales. “How can you even hope to read a quarter of all these books in a lifetime when you’re human? My mother’s people are…” My voice trailed off and I shook my head. “When I do go home, you can bet I’m taking a store’s worth of books with me.”
    “Oh, this is a fraction of the books available.” Iris laughed. “You love to read?”
    “I love stories. I love reading, storytelling, and everything that goes into it. I could never be a good storyteller—that’s not my path. But when I was little, my mother used to tell us stories. Every time our father was sent Earthside on a mission, she’d have him bring back books. She taught me to read when I was little, and I taught Menolly and Delilah.” I whirled around in the middle of the shop, my skirts swirling. “I’m so glad they assigned me this job. Maybe that freak of a boss of mine had some spark of regret in his heart, though I doubt it.”
    “Well, I’m glad that you’re happy. Come on, let’s see the rest of the place.” She led us through the store. It was all fairly basic. There was an office for me to keep accounts and business in, a storeroom, a very tiny break room, and a bathroom. The back of the store had a door leading out to an alley. And out front, a narrow staircase led upstairs to the suite of rooms Delilah would be using for her detective agency.
    We headed upstairs to the dusty suite of rooms, Iris tallying up a list of things we might need. The OIA had ensured that we had the foundation—furniture, and for the Indigo Crescent—stock. But there were no personal touches or anything to make us stand out in any way.
    “What now?” Delilah asked.
    I frowned. The OIA had really tossed us into the river without a boat. “I guess we do our best to make this work, if for no other reason than to thumb our noses at the OIA. Iris, this afternoon, would you teach me about the business? And do you know anybody who can take Delilah shopping for whatever she needs for her business?”
    Iris frowned for a moment, then brightened. “As a matter of fact, I do know someone who might be able to help. Let me give her a call.” She pulled out her cell phone and flipped it open. As she held it to her ear I picked up the faint ring of the bell. Another second and I could hear a faint voice echoing out of the machine.
    “Siobhan, this is Iris. I’m with a couple new transfers over from Otherworld, and one of them needs to go shopping for her office. I was wondering if you could take her because they haven’t learned to drive yet and I’m helping her sister right now…Yes, she’s Fae. A werecat…You can? That would be wonderful. We’re downtown at the Indigo Crescent. If you could meet us here, that would be great…Twenty minutes? Sounds good to