The Scarlet Crane: Transition Magic Book One (The Transition Magic Series 1) Read Online Free

barked.
    Working quickly, she wrapped newspapers around her mother’s torso, re-buttoned her coat, and stuffed papers up the sleeves.
    “Okay mama, lie down. I’ll help you.” Anya guided them both to the ground, then pulled and dragged until her back was against the door of the alcove and her mother was tight against her. “Rest now.”
    Exhaustion eventually trumped cold and fear and she drifted off to sleep.
    * * *
    “GET UP, GET OUT. NOW!”
    A cop was pounding the boarded door above their heads with his nightstick.
    “UP!”
    Anya jerked awake and scrambled to her feet, pulling her mother along with her. The crystalline light of the frozen blue day forced Anya’s eyes into narrow slits. She turned on the cop. “Stop screaming! Give us a minute!” Her mother shoved past her and staggered away, shedding newspapers as she went.
    The cop retreated a couple of steps. “It’s too cold to sleep in the open. You’re lucky you didn’t die out here.”
    She knew in her bones that cops were dangerous, but she too surprised and pissed to be cautious. “Yeah, and what do you suggest we do? Go back to our flat and turn up the heat? What fucking shit.”
    He stared down at her, smiling. “You’ve sure got a mouth on you.”
    He seemed friendly. She noticed how young and cute he was, which triggered a wave of heat that spread over her chest and face. The unfamiliar feeling was brushed aside by a familiar worry.
    What’s he want?
    She backed away from him and started after her mother, but he grabbed her arm and jerked her back.
    “I’m serious. You can’t stay outside.”
    “Let me go!” Anya screamed and glanced around, looking for anyone who might help her. Her mother was the only other person on the street.
    “Relax! I’m not going to hurt you.” He released her and held his hands up like he was trying to calm a scared dog. “Tell you what. Go to the shelter next to St. Sergius. Tell them Victor sent you and they’ll take you in, even while you’re in Transition. They have food and beds.”
    He was staring at her lavender eyes as if he was unable to pull his gaze away. All kids entered Transition at some point in early puberty. Their passage, marked by iridescent lavender eyes, lasted twenty-eight days. During Transition, they could perform magic if it was unique and their own genuine desire. If not, they died.
    He looked down the street at Anya’s mother. “They won’t take you if you’re drunk or stoned.” He gave Anya directions and had her repeat them back to him. “It’ll take you most of the day on foot to get there, but you’ll be safe.”
    “Thanks,” Anya said, “Why are you… I mean—”
    “Go. Alone if you have to.”
    She blushed, nodded, and headed down the street. How was she going to talk her mother into this? She caught up before finding an answer.
    Her mother stopped and turned on her. “What was that about?”
    “Mama, he told me about a shelter that will take us.”
    “You stupid little idiot. Never trust cops. All they want to do is beat you or fuck you.”
    “If we don’t go, what’re we going to do?” Anya asked. “We’re miles from the streets we know and we don’t have any money.”
    “I’ll take care of it. I’ll turn a couple of tricks to get money for metro tickets back to Prudy. Then Scrounge will take care of us.”
    Anya tensed as if she was being threatened with a knife. Her mother had taught her than men were as dangerous as police. As far back as she could remember, she’d lived alone with her mother in a succession of abandoned houses.
    “He owns an old building. He’ll let us move in with him. He’ll share food with us.”
    “Why is Scrounge any different from any other man?” Anya asked. Her voice rose in panic. “Why would he help us? All he cares about is himself. Why wouldn’t we just find a house like we always do? Besides, it’ll take you days to get that money and we have to find a place to stay now.” She tried unsuccessfully to