Eternal Dawn Read Online Free Page B

cheap blue fabric background. Tracy’s cheeks were
fuller in these photos. I guessed she was a freshman when they were taken.
    ‘Is this . . .’ I asked, pointing at the picture.
Hide it, Lenah. Be smarter than this.
‘. . . your boyfriend?’
    Her smile fell immediately.
Not smooth, Lenah. Not smooth.
    ‘Well, yes. I mean, we broke up before he – not any more.’
    ‘Before . . . ?’
    ‘He’s missing. ’Has been for almost three years. You’ll see his picture around campus.’
    She momentarily turned her back to me and placed her toothbrush down on her bureau.
    ‘So you’re British?’ She spun back to me with a huge plastered-on false smile.
    ‘Oh, um, yes,’ I said.
Get it together.
I had business to attend to. Fire left me the trunk for a reason. I opened it.
    ‘Like Rhode Lewin,’ she said. ‘He’s the other Brit on campus.’
    The mention of his name tugged on my gut.
    ‘Exchange student?’ I asked, playing dumb. I moved a couple of sweaters out of the way and the sunlight caught the handle of a very ornate dagger. There were at least four more
daggers in there, so I slammed the trunk closed and sat down on top of it.
    ‘Yeah. Every single girl on campus is in love with him. But maybe you’ll get lucky since you have something in common. You know, being from England.’ Tracy had changed clothes
and picked up a pink cardigan. ‘I wish I could stay, but I have –’ She stopped and dipped her head a little. Her cheeks reddened. ‘I have chorus try outs.’
    ‘Chorus?’ I couldn’t help the crack of excitement in my voice.
    ‘Yeah, I
sing
. . .’ She actually sang the word sing, and it was rather good.
    ‘You
do
?’
    She shook her head and her honey-coloured hair fell in a sheet around her angular face. When she smiled I was impressed by the whiteness of her teeth. Gleaming teeth the colour of porcelain were
a mark of the modern world. It was something my own mother noticed about me when I first returned, and it took weeks for me to make a proper toothbrush. The medieval world did not have
toothbrushes. And it most certainly did not have fluoride.
    Tracy shook her hair out of her eyes.
    ‘I figure if I don’t audition now, it’s never happening.’ She shrugged.
    She was trying to pretend it didn’t matter but it clearly did.
    ‘Well, I have absolutely no musical talent whatsoever, so I’m impressed,’ I replied.
    ‘Good, well, I know I’ll have a friendly face in the audience.’
    She lifted her backpack over her shoulder.
    ‘Should I come?’ I asked.
    ‘No, no. Believe me – two hours of awkward solos? If you’re looking for something to do, there’s the union – they have TVs in there – or the beach, but the
sailing team will be doing some demos. Oh, they just built a huge farm this summer, if you’re into that. You know, sustainable living or whatever.’
    What living?
    ‘It’s near the barn in the back of the lacrosse field. Just at the edge of the campus. And when I come back, we can have lunch? I should be here around twelve.’
    ‘The farm,’ I replied. ‘Perfect.’
    Truthfully, I only grasped half of what she was talking about.
    Though a farm was precisely what I needed. It would be comforting to be near the smells of home.
    Once Tracy left, I immediately dropped to my knees and searched Fire’s trunk.
    Clothes.
    A tin with plenty of money.
    I moved the sweaters over to the side. Beneath them was a dagger. I held it gently in the palm of my hand. My fingers wrapped tightly around the blood-red hilt and it
warmed
to my
touch. I turned the blade over and the oxblood, reds, pinks and garnets reflected on to the floor, making blood-red dances of light. The hilt was made of rubies.
    There was also a longsword. This was not Rhode’s weapon from his days with the Order of the Garter. That was a life that no longer existed. When I took the sword from its sheath, the
silver flickered crimson as though a flash of Fire’s hair sped by the blade. I searched