After Dawn (Book 3 of the Into the Shadows Trilogy) by Karly Kirkpatrick Read Free Book Online Page A

vibrations in her connection to them. Some stood in stunned silence, taking in the destruction around them. The cloud slowly settled over the camp. A layer of dirt dusted their skin.
    Paivi let go of the hands around her and pushed carefully through the crowd. Her skin still carried a light golden glow. The buildings nearest the courtyard lay in a state of disarray. Heaps of wood and metal were scattered all around the perimeter. Bloodied bodies of ATC agents lay half-buried in rubble and on top of piles of debris.
    She stumbled over something and looked down. A shredded hand stuck out from under the shattered wooden planks that had made up the guards' quarters. She couldn't tell if the hand belonged to a friend or foe. A shiver slithered down her spine. She had done that. Her energy, her power. Master Gendun and Master Song had warned her to take control, but to be careful.
    Was she the savior or the devil? She supposed it depended on who was writing her story. She picked her way over the debris, spying a megaphone underneath a metal pole. She pulled it free and pressed the button on the back.
    "Hello?" It rang to life in her hands, her voice echoing across the courtyard.
    The crowd before her turned to look at her, the wavering willow atop the hill.
    Paivi pulled her bandana off, freeing her short layer of hair.
    "Um, hello, I'm Paivi," she said before lowering the megaphone. Her eyes swept over the crowd as a few familiar figures moved toward her. Molly. Her mom. Peter. Eyes around the courtyard turned to Paivi.
    She raised the megaphone again. "I've come here for one thing," she paused and gazed at the smoking remains of the nearest buildings. As far as she could see, no ATC agents lurked in the distance. She couldn't hear their thoughts, but she was also overwhelmed by the confusion that hummed in the air in the crowd before her. "I came here to save you."
    Peter reached her side first and she met his gaze. He nodded, encouraging her to continue.
    The crowd stared at her, at them, eyes wide with disbelief. From the haze that was settled from the disturbed dust around them, the courtyard had taken on dreamlike quality.
    "But we're not completely free yet, not quite."
    Paivi’s mom and Molly reached her side. Molly squeezed her arm.
    "It won't be long before they come. We were all supposed to be dead soon. The showers, the ones they built at the edge of camp, the ones we built with our own hands," she gestured at Peter, "were meant to kill us. They were going to gas us in there, starting tonight. I couldn't let that happen."
    A collective gasp went up from the audience.
    A loud crack rang through the air that Paivi couldn't place. She swung her head to the right, just in time to see Molly fly in front of her. Screams rang out all around them as Paivi stood, jaw hanging in disbelief as Molly's body crumpled in slow motion to the pile of debris in front of her.
    Paivi felt hands on her, dragging her backward as she suddenly found her breath.
    Peter rolled Molly over, her face frozen in a silent scream. The left side of her shirt was nothing more than a gaping bloody wound. With each pump of her heart, fresh blood erupted, pouring her very soul out onto her shirt and the heap of destruction below her. Molly gasped for air and Paivi dove to her side, grabbing her hand. Peter cradled her in his lap.
    "Save them," Molly whispered, blood spattering from her mouth.  "Save..."
    A fresh river of blood poured from her lips and over her chin.
    Paivi's heart pounded in her chest, threatening to burst. That bullet was meant for her. She was certain if they fished it out of Molly's still heart that it would have Paivi's name engraved on it by Death himself. Anger coursed through her, stoking the fires within. New energy, deadly energy, rippled across her skin.
    Shouts and screams came from the edge of the debris pile she stood on and her eyes followed. A group of EOS prisoners pulled a thrashing body from the pile. Two men had him by