Baehrly Alive Read Online Free Page A

unicorn herd. How dirty could I be?
    “No,” Thomas said. “You’re dirty—like inside.” He frowned. “You know how unicorns are.”
    I did know how unicorns were.
    And my soul-stuff was dark and full of holes.
    I was usually smarter than that.
    “Here, kiddo,” I said, handing Thomas the radish. “See if you can get that halter off of him before he gets lamed, okay?”
    Thomas nodded, his face too serious for an eight-year-old. He climbed over the fence and held out the radish.
    With me standing back, he was immediately mobbed by the wild unicorns.
    Go figure.
    I watched while Thomas singled out Shimmer from the rest of the herd and was able to unbuckle the halter and slide it off of the colt’s narrow head.
    I breathed a sigh of relief. That thing had been bothering me for way too long. Whatever idiot had put a halter on the colt knew nothing about horses—or unicorns. Halters on loose animals could be a deathtrap.
    “Why aren’t you in school, kiddo?” I asked, ruffling my brother’s hair as he returned to me, his face triumphant.
    Thomas shrugged one shoulder. “Mom’s having a rough day. I thought I should take the day off and keep an eye on her.”
    I felt like swearing, even though Gwyn would have my skin if I did—even as sick as she was. “Is she a lot worse?”
    Thomas shrugged again. “I don’t know. She just seems tired today. Don’t tell her, Goldie, but sometimes I’m scared that she’ll die while I’m at school and I don’t want to miss saying good-bye.”
    Tears stung my eyes. I pulled my brother to me. “I know, sweetie. I wish you didn’t have to worry about things like that.”
    “That would be nice,” he agreed. He frowned at the unicorns, which were browsing goat-fashion on a nearby hedge. “You haven’t found anything to help her yet?”
    I winced. I wished with all my heart that I had never told him about my work for the Ouroboros Society—trying to find a cure for Gwyn’s soul-sickness.
    I’d never realized how cruel hope could be.
    “I haven’t found anything yet, Bud,” I said reluctantly. “But I haven’t given up, so you don’t get to give up either, all right?”
    He nodded. His jaw was set, but I could see his eyes turning a little red.
    After all, he was just a little kid.
    A kid who knew that his mommy was dying.
    “I’m not going to let her die,” I murmured to him, knowing that I shouldn’t make promises I didn’t know how to keep. “You know that, right?”
    Thomas nodded and sniffed. “I know, Goldie. I’m just so worried. I—I wish that I could do something to help. It feels wrong to just sit around and do nothing.”
    “You do help,” I told him honestly. “You help me and your mom all the time—maybe a little too much sometimes. You’re a kid, you know. You are supposed to get into mischief and have fun.”
    “Maybe when Mom’s better,” Thomas conceded.
    I had to grin at his faith. “Let’s keep our fingers crossed that Hypatia will have something new for me. We’re having tea this afternoon.”
    Thomas’s eyes grew round. He had never met the Great Librarian, but everyone in the Magical Community knew who she was. “You are?”
    I nodded and dropped a kiss on the top of his head. “I am. She’s going to help me find the cure for your mom. If anyone can help me, it’s her.”
     
    “I can’t help you, I’m afraid,” Hypatia said, her beautiful stone-like face still and remote as she looked past me to break the news.
    Once I would have been offended by her refusal to look at me, but I knew her well enough by now to see how much she regretted giving me the bad news. The stiller her face got, the more emotional she was getting.
    Inside that chest of stone, there was a heart of gold—not literally, of course. I wasn’t even sure if she had a real heart, but Hypatia was compassionate for a woman who had been dead for almost two thousand years.
    “You can’t?” I repeated. “Does that mean you really can’t, or that