Night Owls: Chapters 35-39

by A.R. Vishny
This novel follows two undead owl shapeshifters, vampire sisters Clara and Molly, and Boaz, who works at the theater they own, as they try to rescue Molly's girlfriend after she vanishes.



Here are links to our lists for the book: Chapters 1-3, Chapters 4-8, Chapters 9-13, Chapters 14-18, Chapters 19-21, Chapters 22-25, Chapters 26-29, Chapters 30-34, Chapters 35-39, Chapter 40-Epilogue

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. ingenue
    an artless innocent young girl
    She stood before the screen, certain she could practically smell the restaurant, the heavy perfumes of a room full of divas and ingénues.
  2. earful
    a severe scolding
    Usually, when Aunt Hila got mad, she gave him an earful.
  3. eviscerate
    take away a vital or essential part of
    He didn’t know anyone who could eviscerate someone with words quite like Aunt Hila.
  4. furtively
    in a secretive manner
    Hila at last extracted from her bag a thick, heavy-looking candle, which, after furtively glancing about the park, she placed at the base of the plastic tree trunk.
  5. mangle
    destroy or injure severely
    My dear Hararis, you cannot seriously think you could do what you do, mangle the borders between worlds, without leaving holes?
  6. belittle
    cause to seem lesser or inferior
    That you could ignore, belittle, and pass us by?
  7. skeptical
    marked by or given to doubt
    Now it was Aunt Hila’s turn to be skeptical.
  8. contempt
    open disrespect for a person or thing
    “And why would I do that?” he asked, contempt rising in his voice.
  9. doom
    make certain of the failure or destruction of
    Because she was so hungry, and in spite of everything, she was still the foolish girl, waving in the tree branches and imagining her dress might be wings, doomed every time to fall into the same traps.
  10. patter
    a quick succession of light rapid sounds
    She could hear it, the patter of footsteps, many running restlessly along the floors beneath her.
  11. capacity
    the amount that can be contained
    The crowd that had turned out here in the Grand Dame, the crowd that had filled it to capacity, were demons.
  12. illuminate
    make lighter or brighter
    The screen was dark, but a spotlight illuminated center stage.
  13. careen
    move at high speed and in an uncontrolled way
    Clara had taken a few cautious steps toward the door, unsure of whether she ought to make a scene or just blend in, when something careened straight into her, knocking her to the floor.
  14. whence
    from what place, source, or cause
    Dressed in their best, they appeared to be no more than three young, very pretty women who had eaten well the night before and were enjoying the cool, bright sunshine before determining from whence they might find their next meal.
  15. acrid
    strong and sharp, as a taste or smell
    She said nothing to her sisters, but instead quickened her pace, running in the direction of the acrid scent.
  16. baffled
    perplexed by many conflicting situations or statements
    She ran toward the door, over the protests of her sisters, over a few calls of men in the crowd, the few who tore their gaze briefly away from the girls and were baffled that a young woman would run toward the fire.
  17. sap
    deplete
    The color was sapped from the scene, the entire room cast in grayscale, and a trail of words had drifted past them along the floor, translating the things she uttered into English.
  18. haze
    confusion characterized by lack of clarity
    The warm, happy haze Molly had enjoyed at once evaporated, and her head cleared.
  19. malign
    evil or harmful in nature or influence
    “The Grand Dame is a mirror, and therefore it is also a door. Not all who come through, who move between the worlds, mean you harm. Not all hungers are malign, but it does not matter. None of us should walk there; the cracks in the living world are already beginning to show.”
  20. artifice
    the use of deception or trickery
    The way that any actor could, with a look, destroy the artifice, the pretense of reality on film.
  21. recede
    become faint or more distant
    At once, whatever shade had gripped his shoulders and limbs receded, just enough that he could clamber back onto his knees and shakily force himself to his feet.
  22. turnstile
    a rotating gate through which people can pass one by one
    He ran as fast as his legs would allow toward the subway, vaulting himself over the turnstiles and practically diving into the train car to make it on before the doors closed.
  23. eaves
    the overhang at the lower edge of a roof
    Not a single light shone in the entire cinema, and the darkness that had settled on the eaves and window ledges seemed denser than the night.
  24. wan
    lacking vitality as from weariness or illness or unhappiness
    Molly burst through the door, half carrying a wan and gaunt Anat, who was struggling to stay upright.
  25. unspool
    reverse the winding or twisting of
    Molly’s hands trembled, and for a moment she hesitated, unwilling or unable to touch it, before at last reaching in and roughly unspooling the film.
Created on Thu Apr 03 04:25:49 EDT 2025 (updated Thu Apr 10 17:11:16 EDT 2025)

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