Fluorescence: The Complete Tetralogy Read Online Free Page B

somewhere near the middle. There, a burly, wolf-like humanoid had a flailing, tigerish cat in a ferocious death grip. The lines of the drawings were thick and rigid and the image really put the “graphic” in “graphic novel.”
    “How old are you, Brian?” I leaned down to take a closer look at the details.
    “Fifteen. Why?”
    It looked as though he might pull the notebook away from me so I put down a finger and stopped him so I could take it in further.
    The fur on the back of the wolf-man’s neck was beautifully drawn. I’d never personally known anyone who could create such detailed original art.
    “No reason. I would never have imagined a fifteen-year-old could do something like this. This looks amazing. Um… Is that a severed arm in his other hand?”
    “Yeah. Do you think it’s good ?” He looked surprised.
    I nodded without saying a word and carefully turned the page to find another image of the hulking wolf-man. This time, he was pictured howling up at the moon while a shadowy skull looked on from high in the sky. “These are gorgeous. Do you have more?”
    A big toothy grin spread across Brian’s face and he excitedly slipped another notebook from out of the pile and slid it over to me. This one had a familiar maroon cover. I recalled it from history class. My purple pen was still tucked into the spirals on the binding.
    “This one is my newest,” he said, opening the cover to show me the first page. It was a masked man wearing an old-style tunic with a hooded cape blowing in the wind; tribal designs adorned his costume. His hood had a pair of deer antlers protruding from it, and he was holding a long bow. A lot like Robin Hood, but with some serious modern super hero flare. I’d never seen anything like it.
    “So, who is this guy?” I asked. The tribal designs alone probably could have put some well-known artists out of work.
    “He’s a sort of anti-hero who I’ve been developing for a while. This is the first full profile I’ve done of him but he’s missing his pet raven. I need to do some research on bird anatomy before I can attempt that. Anyway, this guy can’t seem to decide if his heart is set on doing good things for people or just getting by and getting what he wants out of life. I don’t know if it’s a good idea or not but…”
    “I think he’s neat.” I traced one of the antlers with my fingertip, feeling the bold lines of color my purple pen had left behind.
    “ I still haven’t quite pounded out a name. I’m somewhere between Deer Heart, or The Stag, maybe.”
    I laughed. “The Stag? Boy, that’s not manly in any way, now is it? So what does this guy do for a living when he’s not in costume?”
    “He’s an elementary school science teacher.” Brian’s voice lowered. “And you said you wouldn’t laugh.” He frowned.
    My own smile melted. “Oh, I didn’t mean to, Brian. I’m sorry.” I closed the notebook and lifted it close to my chest. “I think these drawings are amazing. I really do.” I brushed my fingers affectionately over the cover and then I handed it back to him. “Please, don’t be offended. I didn’t mean it. I swear.”
    Jennifer came over with our food and set the baskets in front of us. “Anything you need?” she asked, looking at me first and then at Brian. “How about you, hun?” We shook our heads in unison.
    Brian looked over his plate and picked up a waffle fry. I grabbed the ketchup bottle from the end of the table and squirted a little red mountain into the corner of my basket. Jennifer left.
    Brian raised an eyebrow. “Having any fries with your ketchup?”
    “Of course.” I rolled my eyes and passed the bottle to him. “Hey. Why don’t you tell me about your parents?” I dunked another fry and shoved it into my mouth, then wiped my greasy fingers on a napkin.
    He poked at a piece of fish with his fork.
    “My mom got a job as a secretary at a law firm downtown. That’s why we moved here.”
    “And your dad?”
    He