Free Brush of Darkness by Allison Pang Page A

early. Charlie’s short, chestnut hair was cut into a pixie bob I’d never be able to pull off. It was cute and perky and perfectly framed her heart-shaped face. Her complexion was what they call “sun-kissed,” but not in the freckled mess I always seemed to get. Hers was just a gorgeous nut-brown smoothness. I cleared my throat to let her know I was there. She startled and then smiled broadly.
    “You’re up early, Abby. I didn’t expect to see you for at least a few more hours.”
    “I know.” I set my mug down on an empty shelf as I knelt beside her. “I couldn’t go back to sleep, so I thought I might come down and help you out with this. Should have done it yesterday, anyway.”
    “More nightmares?”
    “Not quite. Not unless you call being pawed by an incubus a bad thing.”
    “Ah, yes.” She wiped her dusty hands on her jeans, her mouth a little O of distaste. “Melanie mentioned that you’d had a bit of a run-in with Brystion last night.”
    “Does
everyone
know who this guy is except me?” I rolled my eyes at her. “The way he played hard to get, you’d think it was supposed to be some big secret.”
    “Maybe he was just dicking with you. He’s been known to be a real prick sometimes, although since his last TouchStone left him it’s just gotten worse.”
    “She left him?”
    “That’s the rumor, anyway. She ran off with the drummer of Ion’s Folly, the way I heard it.”
    “Ah.” I nodded wisely. “I guess that explains why they broke up.”
    “Could be,” she drawled, pulling out a stack of books. “Wow. Who the hell chooses this crap? You or Moira?”
    “That’s all Moira, I’m afraid. The most she lets me do is narrow down the genre choice. This month it was alien romance or western history.”
    “God.” She held out a book as though it might shit on her. “
His Tentacled Love
? Are you kidding me?”
    “Apparently not. How about
The Spawning
?” I waggled my fingers at her. “Like hentai for grown-ups.”
    “Speaking of spawning, how’d it go with Brystion?”
    “How did what go? He’s an ass.”
    “But he showed up in your dreams last night?”
    “Don’t be a perv. It was just a dream. At least, I hope it was. I don’t know. I get the feeling he’s kind of stalking me.” I dug out another stack of books, not really reading the titles. “I mean, I suppose he’s got good reason. His sister is missing, and he wants the Protectorate’s help to find her.”
    “Well, surely Moira wouldn’t turn him down. What did she say?”
    “She . . . uh . . . doesn’t know.”
    Charlie’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean she doesn’t know? You didn’t tell her?”
    “She’s been a little hard to get a hold of.” I studied the ceiling for a moment. By the tone of my friend’s voice, it was almost as if I’d been caught with my hand in the cookie jar. But in my case, the Oreos were likely to grow teeth and gnaw my fingers off. “Like not at all. I don’t know where she is.”
    The confession rushed out of me with a whoosh. Instead of feeling relieved, though, the weight of the last few months pressed down on me even more. My throat clenched like a fist had been shoved down my gullet and my head started its telltale throb.
    “Abby?” Charlie’s voice warbled at me from a distance,rushing down the dark corridor of my consciousness. I couldn’t move, but I could sense her by my side, grasping my shoulders.
    Only a little one . . .
    Seconds, minutes, hours. I never really could tell how long I stayed out during an episode, but suddenly my eyes were open, exhaustion hitting me full in the face. Charlie had laid me out on the floor, my limbs heavy and dull.
    “Hey, you okay?” Charlie’s face came into focus, her dark chocolate eyes wide.
    “Yeah. Just . . . tired. Want to sleep.” My eyelids sank for a moment. “Seizures always make me drowsy,” I mumbled. “Least I didn’t piss myself this time. How long was I out for?”
    “A few minutes. Jesus, Abby,