Blood of the Fey (Morgana Trilogy) Read Online Free Page A

six! And wouldn’t my mother have sent me to a shrink sooner if that was what she was worried about? Unless…
    I glare at Arthur. Maybe they’ve placed a spy on me.
    “No need to stare so hard,” Arthur says. “You might wear your eyes out.”
    “Where are we going?” I ask. We take the hospital’s exit, and I see another sign, for the State Hospital Cemetery this time.
    I lean forward so I can look Arthur in the eyes, but a gleam draws my gaze downward to his lap instead. I gasp as I realize that the thing Arthur’s been playing with all along is nothing but a long, nasty-looking knife.
    “Where are we going?” I ask again, unable to hide the rising panic in my voice.
    This is what they were planning all along, isn’t it? To bring me to a secluded place in the middle of the night, kill me, and dispose of my body before I can taint the family name any further.
    Startled, Arthur’s eyes finally meet mine. “School, of course,” he says as Dean parks and turns off the car.
    “With a knife?”
    Dean opens the door for me, but I refuse to get out. If they think I’m going to make it easy for them, well they better grow a brain.
    Except nobody’s forcing me out of the car, and this
is
Dean, isn’t it? When a second, then a third, vehicle arrive and park next to us, I’m forced to admit that Arthur told the truth. Unless this is going to be a public execution instead of a private one.
    To my surprise, I hear the sound of waves gently rolling in the dark, reminding me of Lake Geneva and my occasional unsanctioned excursions there. Tucking my hands deep in my pockets, I follow the ever-increasing crowd to the shores of Lake Winnebago, where Dean is already waiting for me.
    “Where’s Arthur?” I ask, looking around at the gathered sleepyheads around us. Everyone seems to be waiting for something or someone.
    Dean points toward the lake with his chin, and I turn around. Though there aren’t that many lights about, I manage to see a dark figure wading into the water. The wind picks up, and I shiver.
    “Arthur!” I yell out. “Arthur, what are you doing?”
    But that little twerp doesn’t even bother to answer. I pull on Dean’s coat sleeve. “We’ve got to help him!”
    I remember the knife, the stupid-looking belt, his boots. I feel the weight of my own uniform as it settles around me like some armor. With all that metal…
    “He’s going to drown!” I exclaim.
    I hear a few splashes as other people get into the water, but whoever they are, they’re too far from Arthur. I spare one last look at Dean, but the tall man is just shaking his head.
    “Fine!” I spout. I should’ve known my brother was mental. All the signs were there: the kooky look, the knife, the mental institute. But being wacko is not a good enough reason to let him die. If that was the case, people would have lynched me ages ago.
    I make to go after Arthur, but Dean grabs my arm.
    “Let go of me,” I say, trying to pull away. “We can’t let him die!”
    But he shakes his head and points to a long, slim wooden boat that’s appeared and into which other kids are now climbing. I stare back at Dean, round-eyed.
    “Seriously? What is a rowboat full of crazy kids gonna do?”
    I manage to free myself from Dean’s death grip. I run before he can stop me again, then jump into the lake.
    “Saint George’s balls!” I yelp. “It’s freezing cold!”
    After the first shock, I hurry after Arthur, who’s now an indistinguishable dot in the distance.
    “Arthur, don’t do this,” I yell.
    I try to go faster, but my uniform is dragging me down. All I can do is watch helplessly as Arthur dives and disappears beneath the lake’s dark surface.
    “Arthur!”
    I dive after him, forcing my numb limbs to move, kicking my feet in what’s possibly the worst swimming style the world has ever seen. I pause where I think I last saw him and try to feel for his body. Nothing, nothing but water.
    “Arthur,” I gasp as I emerge to the surface