distance. Aster sat forward, her unpleasant thoughts pushed aside, temporarily at least. “What in the world is that?”
Miss Ivy giggled. “I sometimes forget how surprising it can be to people from the other side to see the city. That, my dear, is the unpolished gem of the American Midwest. On the scale of cities, it ain’t much, but I guess that don’t mean much to someone who’s n ever seen a real city before.”
Aster didn’t think there was anything unpolished about it. Buildings taller than any she had ever seen jabbed up into the sky for what must have been hundreds of feet. Their lights were so bright they washed out the stars above. She couldn’t fathom the magic it must ha ve taken to raise such structures or creat e such illumination. “The wizards and witches here must be very powerful.”
“Yes and no. They wouldn’t take kindly to be called that, but they have their own special brand of magic called technology. Folks don’t appreciate it much, and they mis use a lot of it .”
“That doesn’t sound much different from Ellemire, really.”
“True, but Ellemire hasn’t seen much by way of war in many centuries. Here, it’s about as common as a garden weed.”
“War? Here?” She looked around.
“Not here specifically, but in this world, yep. Lots of it.”
“Is that where we’re going?” She gestured toward the towering buildings ahead.
“Oh no, I don’t do the urban thing. Too crazy. It’s all move move move and it stinks to high heaven. Especially to someone whose nose is new to this place. You also can’t see the stars, and you’re crammed in like sardines. A lot of the girls at the shelter come from trouble d homes in that very city. Miller’s Glenn is n’t exactly paradise, but it’s quiet and homey and a good distance away from that nonsense.”
Twe nty minutes later, they turned onto a quiet tree-lined avenue . So many houses squished close together. Aster didn’t know how the people could stand not having a wide expanse of land separating them from their neighbors. Ivy parked in front of what looked like the biggest house on the street and turned off the mot or. “Welcome to Oasis Shelter, h ome to eleven troubled teen girls. You’re the twelfth.” Ivy got out and Aster followed, after a few moments spent wrestling with the seatbelt and figuring out how the door handle worked.
She gazed at the sprawling structure that looked to be about five times the size of her family’s house back home, only far grander in its craftsmanship with spires and peaks on its roof and beautiful scrolled detail around its windows. In Ellemire, this would be considered the house of royalty, or at least nobility of some sort. It sat behind a tall iron fence decorated with twists of ivy and purple wisteria. Bright yellow lights illuminated the windows, making it look inviting and warm. “It’s the biggest, most beautiful house I’ve ever seen,” said Aster.
“ It wasn’t always so nice. The place was an abandoned dump when I bought it, but it clean ed up real well. You can thank my girls for that. They do all the landscaping and make sure the paint stays nice. We all take turns cooking the meals, and we keep a big garden out back. It’s all part and parcel of living here. I keep them safe and make sure they have a place to stay, but they still have to do for themselves. They’ll sure like having another hand or two around.” They gathered Aster’s bags and Larkspur hopped out and followed them through the gate and up the flagstone walk toward the front door.
“Will Larkspur be okay here?”
“Oh sure. I don’t normally allow pets , but I’ll of course make an exception for your familiar. They’ll li ke having an animal around, I bet. I know all about having one myself long ago when I came here. They’re like a little bit of home, which is real nice in the beginning when you’re feelin’ like this place is gonna swallow you up whole.”
“What happened to
Miss Ivy giggled. “I sometimes forget how surprising it can be to people from the other side to see the city. That, my dear, is the unpolished gem of the American Midwest. On the scale of cities, it ain’t much, but I guess that don’t mean much to someone who’s n ever seen a real city before.”
Aster didn’t think there was anything unpolished about it. Buildings taller than any she had ever seen jabbed up into the sky for what must have been hundreds of feet. Their lights were so bright they washed out the stars above. She couldn’t fathom the magic it must ha ve taken to raise such structures or creat e such illumination. “The wizards and witches here must be very powerful.”
“Yes and no. They wouldn’t take kindly to be called that, but they have their own special brand of magic called technology. Folks don’t appreciate it much, and they mis use a lot of it .”
“That doesn’t sound much different from Ellemire, really.”
“True, but Ellemire hasn’t seen much by way of war in many centuries. Here, it’s about as common as a garden weed.”
“War? Here?” She looked around.
“Not here specifically, but in this world, yep. Lots of it.”
“Is that where we’re going?” She gestured toward the towering buildings ahead.
“Oh no, I don’t do the urban thing. Too crazy. It’s all move move move and it stinks to high heaven. Especially to someone whose nose is new to this place. You also can’t see the stars, and you’re crammed in like sardines. A lot of the girls at the shelter come from trouble d homes in that very city. Miller’s Glenn is n’t exactly paradise, but it’s quiet and homey and a good distance away from that nonsense.”
Twe nty minutes later, they turned onto a quiet tree-lined avenue . So many houses squished close together. Aster didn’t know how the people could stand not having a wide expanse of land separating them from their neighbors. Ivy parked in front of what looked like the biggest house on the street and turned off the mot or. “Welcome to Oasis Shelter, h ome to eleven troubled teen girls. You’re the twelfth.” Ivy got out and Aster followed, after a few moments spent wrestling with the seatbelt and figuring out how the door handle worked.
She gazed at the sprawling structure that looked to be about five times the size of her family’s house back home, only far grander in its craftsmanship with spires and peaks on its roof and beautiful scrolled detail around its windows. In Ellemire, this would be considered the house of royalty, or at least nobility of some sort. It sat behind a tall iron fence decorated with twists of ivy and purple wisteria. Bright yellow lights illuminated the windows, making it look inviting and warm. “It’s the biggest, most beautiful house I’ve ever seen,” said Aster.
“ It wasn’t always so nice. The place was an abandoned dump when I bought it, but it clean ed up real well. You can thank my girls for that. They do all the landscaping and make sure the paint stays nice. We all take turns cooking the meals, and we keep a big garden out back. It’s all part and parcel of living here. I keep them safe and make sure they have a place to stay, but they still have to do for themselves. They’ll sure like having another hand or two around.” They gathered Aster’s bags and Larkspur hopped out and followed them through the gate and up the flagstone walk toward the front door.
“Will Larkspur be okay here?”
“Oh sure. I don’t normally allow pets , but I’ll of course make an exception for your familiar. They’ll li ke having an animal around, I bet. I know all about having one myself long ago when I came here. They’re like a little bit of home, which is real nice in the beginning when you’re feelin’ like this place is gonna swallow you up whole.”
“What happened to
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