Free Long Night Moon (The Bradbury Institute Book 2) by Sonya Clark Page A

In
fact, as I was to learn soon after our arrival in The Carrig, titles of
nobility were not restricted to those members of the four High Courts. Late one
evening excited word spread through the nameless inn where Dougal played his
cello for board and meals announcing the arrival of a ship in port. The Scarlet
Heart was so named after a jewel stolen from the treasure hoard of a fierce
dragon. Stolen by a pirate, who then presented the jewel to his High King, the
King of Summer, who in turn rewarded the pirate with a grand ship. The
buccaneer rewarded himself with the title of Pirate King, and I was soon to
meet him.
    - From the writings of Captain George
Francis Irvine
     
    Judith closed the book gently. “A
pirate king brave enough to steal from a dragon. That would be a fascinating
man to meet.”
    “Oh, he was,” George said. “A
better card player I’ve never encountered. He was quite the raconteur as well.”
    “You two swap stories?”
    “For hours. It’s in there, keep
reading.”
    “I will, don’t you worry. Right now
I need more coffee.”
    They were seated in the anteroom to
Judith’s office, monitoring a goblin trap in the hall. Judith rose and made her
way to her inner office. “Want a fresh cup?”
    George followed, carrying his empty
mug. “Believe I will.”
    Re-caffeinated, Judith took a
moment to check her email while George gazed out the window behind her desk.
“The snow is heavier. Colder, too, than last night.”
    “We’ve gotten more winter than the
last several years already. I hate to think what January and February will be
like.”
    “It’s closer. Winter, I mean. Earth
and Winter, Midnight and North. I can feel it pressing against the edges of
this reality. If you stand perfectly still and listen to the snow, you can hear
the music from the Castle of Midnight. The Midwinter revels there are legendary.”
    Judith paused. George’s tone
sounded a bit…off. He got that way sometimes when he visited and it always
worried her. Humans who stayed in Sideways too long didn’t have a good track
record of holding onto their sanity and George had been there far longer than
most. It seemed to be a peculiar kind of magic he was gifted with, the ability
to hold onto himself through decades of living in the Never Never. How long
that magic would hold out, no one knew. Not even George.
    “How are you feeling? Do you need to
rest?”
    He came around to perch on the edge
of her desk. “I’m fine. Feeling a bit…stretched…between here and there,
perhaps. But fine.”
    “Do you ever think about staying?
Here, I mean? I would think the aging process would continue naturally and you
don’t look a day over thirty-five. You’d still have a lot of years left.”
    “I don’t know what would happen if
I stayed in one place or another. Well, I know if I didn’t visit this side I
probably would have gone mad long ago. It never occurred to me to want to stay
on this side, though.”
    “You always enjoy learning what’s
new, what’s changed. I didn’t think I was going to get my tablet away from you
last night. Why not try an extended visit?”
    He took her hand, rubbing his thumb
across her knuckles. “I’ve been there too long. It’s in my blood, Judith. I
think I would go mad here too, if I stayed too long.”
    “Even with all the danger over
there?”
    His lips curved into a smile meant
to melt hearts, or at least lacy underthings. “Danger is a seductive mistress
who demands I pay her court.”
    Judith snorted. “You sound like
Chet talking about Bettine.”
    Laughing, he said, “Chet is a much
braver man than I.”
    She swiveled her chair to take a
look at the falling snow. “What do you hear from the Valley Below?”
    His tone sobered. “The vow remains.
The Bone Queen is not one to change her mind, especially in light of what
happened. How is Leoben? He seems to fancy your newest addition.”
    Judith flicked her eyes to his,
right on the edge of anger. “ Pete is fine and yes,