The 13th Mage Read Online Free Page A

would expect her to be home by the time she got there.
    She looked down at her mobile phone , no missed calls, and no messages. She didn’t quite know why she bothered looking at it really, Sean didn’t have a phone.
    She got up, picked up her bike and walked home.
    The next day was worse, she had left early for work and called on Sean’s bed-sit, the man had told her he had paid his bills and returned his keys the previous day. The day after that Jennifer told her mother she was going to go out with some friends and waited for Sean at their usual place until well after dark.
    Thinking back she realiz ed he had left his bed-sit before he came to the shop, he knew he was leaving yet he hadn’t said goodbye. Why?
    Days went slowly past. After a week her heart was so heavy she didn’t get out of bed.
    “I heard there was a flu virus going round,” her mother said, “it starts with the sniffles and a fever.”
    “I don’t have the flu, mom.”
    Esther felt Jennifer’s forehead, then took her pulse, “you don’t have a temperature,” she said puzzled, “I’ll call the doctor, make an appointment,” she added. There were many things Esther could cope with but having her only child sick was not one of them.
    “No mom, it’s alright, I ’m just... ate something bad or something, I just need to rest for a couple of days, I’ll be fine.” How would she be able to tell the doctor she was heartbroken because her boyfriend had left without a word? No she would just take a couple of days off, she felt exhausted.
    The next week was worse than the first, she didn’t think it possible but it was true. She lost her appetite and started getting sick all day long. All she wanted to do was sleep, but when she did manage to fall asleep terrible nightmares plagued her mind. She saw herself being led by an old man, a ruthless, evil man. He would travel through the world taking whatever he wanted, killing or maiming anyone who dared get in his way. Joitan was his name, “you and me joined forever,” he would say to her and she would be pleased, hono red. The nightmares would leave her tired, breathless and covered in cold sweat.
    The weeks passed and the nightmares subsided, she started feeling herself again, started getting back to her old routine.
    On Tuesdays she usually got the shopping for Mrs. Crow, another volunteer had been doing it while she was sick, she went to fetch the list and money during lunch. Mrs. Crow took one look at her and asked her to come into the house.
    “How’s the nausea?” she asked as a matter of fact.
    “Very bad,” Jennifer answered before she had time to think.
    Mrs. Crow tapped the sofa beside her and poured some tea.
    “How old are you now Jennifer?”
    “Twenty three, Mrs. Crow, twenty four in a few months.”
    “Th at’s good. A t least you are over the age of consent. Being a single mother is hard enough without age coming into it. If you were younger they would probably try to get the baby adopted.”
    Jennifer was about to ask, what baby? But the look in Mrs. Crow said it all. She felt the blood drain from her face, “no, I’m not… I mean I’m just upset because...”
    “And the boy... is he around?”
    Jennifer felt her hands and feet go cold and numb, her heart began to throb, tears welled behind her eyes.
    Mrs. Crow took her in her arms, “there, there my child. You’ll be just fine.”
     

Chapter 3
    The problem with having such a young body was that it was addictive.
    Owen had thought about speeding up the aging process but it wasn’t advisable to do so for any length of time, it was better to let the body age or get younger at its own pace, the mortal pace.
    Now he found he wanted to stay looking twenty forever, this society loved youth. It worshipped youth. Women flocked to him like bees to honey.
    He could feel the morning heat enter his young bones and wished for dip in a cold river. Santorcaz was not it’s best in late summer, too many people, strangers,