Read Ferris Braden [Beyond the Marius Brothers 6] for Free Online

day a secret.”
“And yet you told us?” Rylan asked, his eyes lighting up and chasing away the sadness.
“You’re my mates. You won’t betray my secrets.” He smiled brightly as did Ferris. Good. On to better topics then. I bit into my sandwich and we all sat at the counter, glancing at each other and simply being together.
“Have you tried beer yet?” Ferris asked in between bites. I shook my head and Rylan got a wicked grin on his lips. “It’s got the carbonation of soda that makes you burp, but it’s also alcohol.”
“Like wine or barley wine?” They both gave me curious looks. “I know you have wine here. The Queen told me about the vineyard.”
“Yes, but we don’t know what barley wine is,” Rylan hedged.
“It’s very strong,” I chuckled. “It burns when it goes down sometimes and if you don’t eat beforehand can knock you on your ass after a few glasses.”
“That sounds like whiskey.”
I smiled at Ferris and nodded. “Yes, it’s like the whiskey I’ve had here but stronger.”
“Oh man, don’t let me have any of that then,” Rylan giggled. “I’m a lightweight unless it’s vodka. Then I might be able to drink you guys under the table. But to answer your earlier question, Onah, yes, beer is like that. It’s nowhere near as potent as whiskey, more like a light wine but I’m not sure how strong your wine was where you came from.”
“Not very strong, more like grape juice with a kick.”
“Then beer might be slightly stronger than that to you but somewhere in that range.”
“I’d like to try that very much,” I said with a smile. “Oh, and one of those roller-coaster parks I heard of. I was at a motel during my mission when Asterio called me, going on and on about this place that was filled with death- and gravity-defying inventions called roller coasters. They sound quite ingenious and fun.”
“I’m sorry you had to leave your home but I am glad you’re here. It’s hard to put it into words,” Rylan said gently. “Like if that didn’t happen, we would have never found you. But that doesn’t mean I wanted your people to be uprooted from their home. So yeah, my mind’s swirling to not be grateful.”
“I get it,” Ferris chuckled. “Like I’m happy you came to check out our coven, but not because you said your people were pompous jerks.”
“Margays are jerks?” I asked with a raised brow.
“We’re one of the rarest shifters,” he explained with a sigh as we finished up lunch. “And for whatever reason, maybe because we’re small and looked down on by some, most of my people think that makes us elite or something. It’s stupid really. To me, that makes us vulnerable. The world has changed severely, even since I’ve been alive. If we don’t start changing our ways, we’ll end up extinct.”
“And your father doesn’t share your views?” Ferris asked as he stood and picked up our empty plates.
“No, he thinks I’m idealistic and not living in reality. He doesn’t think I know this, but he’s trying to find a loophole in our laws so he can continue to rule. My father isn’t a power-hungry man, I know that, and he’s got the best intentions. He doesn’t want me to fail and he thinks I will given how different our views are about how we should rule our people.”
“So you might not take over next year?” I asked hesitantly, understanding this was a difficult topic.
“Oh no, I will,” he sighed. “The younger generation badly wants me to rule. Some still are like their parents, thinking we’re so special and all that, but they find most of our practices outdated. Others are like me and worry we won’t make it much longer as a people if we don’t get our shit together. Those people are bucking against their parents, just as I am.”
“Wow. Am I glad I’m just a warrior,” Ferris said gently, shaking his head. “I don’t mean just as in there’s anything wrong with it or I’m not important to my people. I keep them safe. But the job