Roar of Magic Read Online Free Page A

if I don’t get to the bus station on time, it will be a four-hour wait for my next one.”
    She turned to the guys. “It was nice meeting you, James, Norman.” She inclined her head and left.
    She heard a hiss, and Lee’s husband caught up with her.
    “Call me Jim. James sounds so formal. I will give you a lift to the bus station.”
    She blinked. “Oh, all right. Thank you.”
    His car was practical and a charming shade of blue with a baby seat in the back.
    After a few minutes driving, he asked her, “So, you don’t wish to be a member of the pride?”
    She shook her head. “No. I have never been a joiner. I appreciate what Lee has taught me, but I am content to use it on my own.”
    “Did she discuss going into heat?” He was very blunt.
    “Uh, no. If you mean my personal cycle, I kind of have a handle on that already.”
    “No, your beast will have its own cycle, and it will make itself known with a dramatic increase in libido and that will erode your ability to make proper decisions. That is what the pride is handy for; they help weed out unsuitable men and protect you during that time.”
    “I can take care of myself.”
    He glanced at her, reached into his pocket and handed her a card. “This is the number of a transporter who can send you to the Crossroads. If you don’t want to go to the pride, you will have to find someone, and the Crossroads is an excellent place to find a match. Those who work there will make sure you are safe and that no one takes advantage.”
    She took the heavy cream card and nodded. “Thank you. How much does it cost?”
    “I will make some calls. Amelia likes you, and she doesn’t like most strangers. You will have a fully paid stay for six days. After that, you are on your own bill.”
    She cocked her head. “Why are you offering me this?”
    “Because you don’t have anyone and that was the situation Lee was in when I met her. She had someone who was willing to send her to the Crossroads on the off chance she could find someone, and she found me. It was the best day of my life, and I would never wish for anything different. If you can make that change to someone else’s life, I consider it a worthy investment.”
    She blinked and a tear crept down her cheek. “I will keep it in mind.”
    “Good. Google the signs of heat in a lioness. Check yourself every few days. If you woke up after a lifetime dormancy, heat is not too far behind.”
    Anessa nodded and kept her hands in her lap for the rest of the way to the bus station. The entire way home on the bus, she stared at the card with the number on it. No name, just a number. Her instincts told her that that number was going to be very important.
     

Chapter Four
     
     
    To Evan’s relief, she returned to the shop the next day. Everything went back to her normal rhythm, but she now had much more time in her afternoons.
    Unable simply to give up, she had put herself on the bottom of the volunteer roster. Eventually, she would make her way back to the big cats, if she had patience.
    Anessa bought a spell-testing kit from the shop and took it home on her first day back. She carefully followed the directions and tapped the dust into the sample area of the kit. With her safety goggles on, she put a drop of the diagnostic potion on the sample.
    There was a bright flash and a puff of smoke. Coughing, she quickly slipped the identifier slip onto the smear of ash. It turned a strange combination of goldenrod and silver.
    The spell key was a foldout piece of paper that expanded to fill her coffee table. The goldenrod meant it was a fey spell, and the silver...
    She looked through all the tiny squares of colour and finally found the speck of silver. “Sleep?”
    Anessa cleaned up the kit and samples, burning it all in a bowl. Having her superintendent digging through her stuff would be awkward if he found the kit. It looked like a drug kit if you didn’t look closely at the directions.
    Wondering what kind of sleep spell it