Read The Amulet for Free Online Page B

Usually this
would not have been an issue, but tonight, as stiff and sore as she
felt, it was.
    It took Faedra ages to hobble down one set of
stairs and then up another. When she opened her door, she let out a
loud groan. She had completely forgotten about the mess on her bed
that had been dumped there earlier. Scuttling over to her bed, she
pushed it all onto the floor; she’d deal with it tomorrow. She
flopped on the bed, sore and exhausted.
    “Night, Faen,” she whispered, and was asleep
almost before her head hit the pillow.
     
    The sun shining in through the window woke
Faedra the following morning. Her curtains, although pretty, didn’t
do anything helpful to keep the room dark once the sun had decided
to peek over the horizon. She opened her eyes and stretched; a
smile crept across her lips when she realized what day it was. It
was Saturday, and she was taking her two best friends, make that
three best friends, if you included Faen, to Strawberry Fair.
    As soon as Faedra had passed her driving
test, she bought a car; albeit, a bit of an old banger. She was so
excited at the prospect of being able to drive herself to
Strawberry Fair that she’d been marking the days off on her
calendar. When she’d mentioned it to her friends, they wanted to go
with her, so she had been looking forward to this day for
months.
    Strawberry Fair was held in Cambridge, about
an hour and a half drive from her home. It was the largest one-day
festival held in Cambridge and had been held annually for over
thirty years now. It was first started as an ‘alternative’
festival, a bit like a renaissance fair, she imagined, but now it
was very much like most other festivals held around the country.
Although, she was secretly hoping there were still some vendors of
the more ‘mystical’ variety, something that had always interested
her. Maybe she could get her palms read.
    There would be all kinds of arts and crafts,
music, food, and shows. Thousands of people from all over the
country converged on Cambridge for that single day a year, and this
year she was going to be one of them. Eager to get going, she threw
back the covers and jumped out of bed. Then something struck her as
odd. She didn’t hurt.
    She scanned both of her arms, no big ugly
black and blue bruises, just a little redness in some areas. She
walked around for a few steps. There was a very faint aching in her
hip, but nothing like the throbbing pain of last night. Confused,
she walked to the mirror and pulled her top up to reveal the skin
beneath; nothing but patches of a reddish tinge reflected back at
her. Could Epsom salts do that? She wondered as she kept checking
for bruising and finding nothing. Coming to the conclusion she
wasn’t as badly bruised as she first thought. She put it to the
back of her mind and wandered over to her closet, rummaged around
for a moment, and grabbed a pair of shorts, and a sleeveless top
with thin straps. It was going to be a warm day, and now that there
were no hideous bruises to hide, she could dress accordingly.
    Once dressed, Faedra skipped down the stairs
and into the kitchen. Her father was leaning against the counter
waiting for his toast to pop out of the toaster. He looked at her
in astonishment.
    “Must have been the Epsom salts,” she gave as
explanation to answer the obvious confusion in his expression.
    He raised his eyebrows. “I guess so.”
    She grabbed a slice of toast that had just
popped up out of the toaster.
    “Hey, that’s mine, young lady!” Henry
exclaimed.
    “We’re off, I’ll see you later tonight. Enjoy
yourself on the boat and give my love to Uncle Leo and Nicki.” She
grinned her cheeky grin and planted a kiss on his cheek. “Love
you.”
    “Have fun and drive carefully,” he called
after her, but she was already halfway to the living room. Henry
shook his head with a big smile on his face. His daughter was
growing up fast, and turning into a fine young lady.
     
    Faedra pulled up outside her