A Kind of Magic Read Online Free Page B

something else.”
    “There is that sleeping pill that sometimes makes some people do strange things in their sleep,” Michael suggested, even though he knew he was desperately clutching at “normal” straws.
    “There used to be stories about humans being taken into the fairy world to dance the night away, then returned to their beds with no memory of the night,” Athena said. “All they knew was that they were exhausted, like they never got any rest. Has she been tired lately, before this incident?”
    “I think we’re all tired, all the time,” Emily said. “We work weird hours.” She frowned, considering. “But I think she might have seemed less her usual self the last couple of weeks, now that I think about it.”
    “You should ask her if she’s been having strange dreams,” Athena suggested.
    “That’s not the only thing I’m worried about. Olivia—you met her, Michael—is her understudy and took over the role, and she was amazing . I knew she was good, but this was beyond anything I’ve seen her do before.”
    “Do you think she’s responsible for whatever happened?” Michael asked. Olivia had been one of his suspects when Emily went missing, and though she turned out to have had nothing to do with it, he couldn’t help but wonder about two of Olivia’s friends having things happen to them, especially when she stood to benefit.
    Emily frowned and bit her lip. After a pause, she said, “I don’t think so. But there may be something else at work. Maybe someone—or something—else is giving Olivia an opportunity.”
    “It could be a leanan sidhe,” Amelia said. “It bears watching because that could be dangerous for Olivia.”
    “What’s that?” Michael asked.
    “It’s along the lines of a vampire muse,” Athena explained. “It’s a kind of fairy that inspires people in the arts, but it also saps their life force. That explains many poets and artists—a spurt of brilliant creativity, then an early death. Has Olivia seemed tired when she’s offstage? Has her appetite changed?”
     “Not that I’ve noticed,” Emily said. “But like I said, we’re all tired.”
    “Have you talked to Sophie about this?” Michael asked.
    “No! And I’m not going to. She needs a break, and it’s not her job anymore.”
    The elderly sisters exchanged a glance that suggested to Michael that they didn’t entirely agree, but neither of them said anything.
    “It’s probably nothing,” Emily added. “I’ve become a fairy paranoid, seeing them in everything. But then there’s your magic horse running on water.”
    “Yeah, that,” Michael said. “It’s killed at least one person that I know of, and when I looked into it, I found mentions of a few more odd drownings lately. Plus what seem to be a higher than normal number of missing persons. That could just be the holidays coming—people give up on the city and head for home, people start getting the holiday blues and take drastic measures, or it’s the time of year when people look up people they haven’t heard from in a while and get alarmed when they can’t find them.”
    Instead of agreeing with him, the sisters traded another of their meaningful looks. Amelia said, “The level of magical activity does seem to be higher. We should all be on the lookout and report strange occurrences.” To Emily, she added, “We may have to bring Sophie in, even though she does deserve a break, because this would fall into her role as enchantress.”
    “Can’t you find someone else to complete your group?” Emily asked. “I mean, isn’t it a conflict of interest for one of the people who’s supposed to keep the fae influence out of the human world to be part fae and a crowned fairy queen?”
    “If we could find another, we would,” Athena said with a sigh. “The talent has become quite rare. Unless you’d be willing to undergo testing and training?”
    Emily seemed to Michael as though she might be considering it, but she shook her head.