Read Lupi 04 - Night Season for Free Online Page A

his scraggly hair, their tips covered by the absurd pouf of a hat he wore. The middlesize one was the color of wet clay, his skin damp and shiny, as if he was sweating. His lips were the weirdest part of him, being dusky black. He was as bald as Gan, but the effect was different…maybe because he wore only a loincloth and some sort of fancy boots.
    Never mind the funny skin. This dude was beefcake.
    The third one was gray, tusked, eight or so feet tall, with tight little curls on his head—no, her head. Those were breasts beneath the brown tunic, not just great pecs.
    Didn’t matter. Not when she was holding a sword big enough to gut an elephant. Cynna slid into firing position. “Put down the sword!”
    They all looked at her. The gnomish one smiled and said something, but the syllables did not add up to English.
    â€œHold your fire,” Lily told her as she skidded into place on Cynna’s left, weapon ready.
    â€œHey! You can’t shoot them,” Gan squeaked, sounding disappointed as she, too, came to a stop. “Harazeed,” she called out to the trio—or something along those lines. “ Ke antar essy isclaum Lily Yu si Cynna Weaver. Ke relan English, you idiot!”
    â€œAh!” said the little one in the funny hat, beaming. He put one hand on his chest and bobbed his knees once. “Welcome me-you-us, Lily Yu and Cynna Weaver. Please to take us to your leader.”

THREE
    G AN liked cars. She’d been in cars a few times back when she’d been sent to this Earth realm to help that idiot Harlowe. That was before Harlowe got himself killed, which had kept Gan from possessing Lily Yu like she was supposed to, and then they’d been dragged off to Dis, where she ended up liking Lily Yu, which made her start growing a soul so she couldn’t be a demon anymore.
    Things had sure been simpler back then. Simpler, but not as interesting.
    Because life was more interesting now, Gan had decided to forgive Harlowe. When she’d told Jenek that, though, he had laughed in that whispery wheeze of his and said that wasn’t really forgiveness, oh no. But he wouldn’t tell her what forgiveness really was.
    Gnomish elders were like that.
    Gan had enjoyed the fuss when she blinked out of dashtu and surprised everyone, with people screaming and all. There’d been even more fuss when the three from Edge showed up, but Lily Yu didn’t like fuss. She’d called someone on her cell phone —Gan wanted one of those—and a bunch of cops had come, and things were dull for a while. But now they were leaving.
    â€œWhere are we going?” Gan asked as she climbed into the back of the police van with Lily Yu and Cynna Weaver and the delegation from Edge. There were benches along the sides, and the delegation from Edge sat on one bench while Gan sat between the two humans on the other. A metal wall divided their sitting place from the driving place.
    â€œTo see my leader,” Lily Yu said. The other female, Cynna Weaver, snickered.
    â€œNot Rule Turner, though,” Gan said. She did not like the wolf. “ He’s not your leader.”
    â€œWe’re going to see a man called Ruben Brooks.” Lily looked at the three beings opposite them. “If I understood you correctly, sir, you’re from another realm.”
    The councilor smiled. “Is so. The our home…English word for realm is Edge. Edge is close many realms, is for trade many realms. Is hub. Many gates in Edge. Many trade.”
    â€œYou’re here for trade?”
    â€œIs for trade, yes. We very good with gates, with the making and maintaining. This for your leader and we to talk of. Many details to agree with, yes? We is also here for the Lily Yu and the Cynna Weaver.”
    â€œM-me?” Cynna Weaver stuttered. “You’re here for me and Lily?”
    The councilor nodded, smiling that stupid smile. He probably wasn’t stupid, though. Gan wondered