Conjured Read Online Free Page A

said, “Besides, you need someone to be kind to you. I don’t think anyone ever has been.”
    She stared at him. For all the explaining he did, he never hinted about her past. Doctor’s orders, he’d claimed.
    He parked, then turned to face her. “Remember, you’ll be in public. It’s imperative you follow the rules. Stay inconspicuous—Your eyes. They’re different.” His own eyes bugged, the whites startlingly white against his dark skin.
    “I changed them,” Eve said. She looked down at her hands, twisted tight into a knot in her lap. She should have changed them back before he saw.
    “You changed them,” Malcolm repeated. “Did you know you could do that?”
    Eve thought about it. “I didn’t know I couldn’t.”
    She watched him wipe his expression to carefully neutral. “It’s a good discovery. From now on, though, please limit your discoveries to when you are safe inside the agency. You can’t do that in public.” He held up his hand as if to forestall her reaction, though she hadn’t intended to respond. His voice was soft and gentle. “You can’t do any magic here. There is no magic in this world—that’s why this place is safe for you.”
    She held her face still. Another hint about her past. He had told her so much in those few sentences, more than he’d ever told her before.
There is no magic in this world
, she thought.
I’m from another world?
    He clasped her hands in his. “Eve, I am serious. If you aren’t capable of this, if you don’t feel ready, let me know andwe drive away right now. You don’t have to work here. You don’t have to stay in that house. We can return to the agency and wait until you’re ready.”
    The kindness was back, filling his eyes, and for an instant she wanted to cling to his hands and say,
Yes, take me back. Keep me safe. Stay with me
. But she thought of the girl in the tower with a world laid out before her that she could not touch. “I want to be here.”

Chapter Three
    Eve liked the library at once. She and Malcolm walked into the lobby, and she inhaled the smell of paper and dust—it reminded her of Malcolm’s office at the agency. Books lined the shelves behind the circulation desk, and a bank of plants filled the windowsills.
    A woman bustled up to them as they stood in the lobby. “Mr. Harrington? I’m Patti Langley, the library director. I’m afraid there’s been a bit of a mix-up regarding your request.”
    Malcolm scowled, which on him was a formidable expression. His bushy eyebrows lowered to shade his eyes so they looked like dark craters.
    Patti smiled so brightly that her eyes crinkled up until they nearly disappeared. “As I attempted to explain to your associate on the phone before she disconnected me—I’m sure accidentally—I know we told your office we had an assistant position available, but I’m afraid it’s been filled. We simply don’t have the funding for two assistants. Believe me when Isay that our budget is out of my hands. I’m so terribly sorry for the inconvenience this may cause you.”
    Eve looked at each of them, their expressions so exaggerated that they might have been dolls mimicking real expressions. She thought about telling Malcolm never mind. They could just leave. She could pick another job. But Malcolm didn’t so much as glance at Eve.
    “This position doesn’t require funding, ma’am,” Malcolm said. “Surely the office told you that? Budget constraints aren’t a concern. We will handle the financial aspect.”
    Patti’s face turned pink. “Oh!” She sounded like a mouse that had been squeezed. “Still, we only have work enough for one assistant.”
    “Surely there are things to shelve.” Malcolm continued to scowl. “Eve will be an asset. She follows direction well. Never makes trouble. She’s the quiet type.”
    “Perhaps we should discuss this in private,” Patti said. “It’s … The board has concerns.
I
have concerns.
Security
concerns.”
    “Very well.” Malcolm