Free The Misadventures of Annika Brisby by Emigh Cannaday Page A

felt if she turned away from the awesome sight that it would disappear.
    “Where the hell are we?” she asked. “The other night I only saw one moon, and now there’s two?”
    “Badra is usually full,” Talvi informed her. “That’s the one you saw last night. Vega is the large crescent. When Vega’s in full bloom she’s really quite breathtaking. The whole sky is lit up in perpetual twilight.” Even though his words sounded so poetic, Talvi didn’t seem nearly as impressed with the sight above them as Annika did, probably because he was used to seeing it all the time.
    “Badra and Vega? I really am in another world, aren’t I?” Annika wondered.
    “Yes. I don’t know how else to explain it to you, but our worlds of Earth and Eritähti are intricately connected. It has something to do with physics, which I am just dreadful at. I can tell you which plants out here are poisonous and which are delicious, and I can paint nearly anything you could dream of, but regarding physics I know little more than what goes up must come down. Are you any good at physics?”
    “Not really,” she replied. “I suppose as a creative person, I can’t grasp such an absolute concept.”
    “Ah yes, that’s right. You play guitar,” he recalled. “Are you any good at it?”
    “I’m in a band with my brother and a friend of ours,” she told him. “My brother and I always played music growing up. That’s how we met other cool kids each time we moved.”
    “What do you mean by ‘cool’?” He looked confused.
    “What? Cool means…you know, cool . Not like everyone else.”
    “Hmm…different in a good way?”
    “Yeah.”
    “Then I think you are a very cool girl, Annika Brisby,” he said, trying out the new word.
    “Thanks,” Annika said, and looked away before he could see her smile.
    Runa, Hilda and Sariel called out in the darkness, all three riding on Ghassan’s broad back, clutching bundles of long, thin branches.
    “You’re back already? That wasn’t very long at all,” Talvi said, getting up on his knees.
    “We’re starving!” they all said at the same time. Runa and Hilda barely gave Talvi enough time to stand up before they ambushed him with hugs. Annika tried not to roll her eyes as she thought he looked like a movie star being mobbed by his two biggest fans. Sariel just smiled and gave him a nod. They came near to the fire and sat down around it. Hilda and Sariel divided the bundles of wood among each other and took the knives from their boots.
    “We found this great wood to make arrows out of,” Hilda gushed. “So we thought we would stock up and take as much as we could carry.”
    “Tomorrow we’ll try them out and see how far they shoot.” Sariel said as she whittled away at her branches.
    “I used to shoot arrows with one of my neighbors. Maybe I can borrow one of your bows and see if I’m still any good.” Annika said.
    “I can help you if you like,” Talvi offered. Runa and Hilda exchanged grins but Sariel only frowned in concentration as she whittled away at a future arrow.
    “I’m sure I’ll be fine,” Annika said confidently, playing down his gesture. “I’m sure it’s just like riding a bike. You never really forget how.”
    He appeared surprised that she was refusing his assistance, but he said nothing. Out of the corner of her eye, Annika thought she saw Runa try to hide another smile with her hand, but she pretended not to notice. She listened quietly as they filled Talvi in on the details of how they found her and thought that she was somehow related to them. Annika still had her doubts about fitting into this tight-knit circle. She didn’t trust this elven cad, and Sariel didn’t seem too welcoming of her either.
    After dinner the chatter faded as everyone’s eyelids grew heavy, and they stretched out in front of the warm embers. Sariel and Annika curled up alone in their blankets while Hilda, Runa and Talvi were all snuggled together like puppies. It was