Ash & Flame: Season One by Wilson Geiger Read Free Book Online

wiggling his fingers for Emma to join him. "I was just talking to Rachel here. You hungry? I was just going to get us some breakfast."
    Emma shook her head. Her lips quivered, and her eyes flitted from him to the mix of salt and limestone in front of her.
    "Em? What is it?" Ren felt the first ragged edge of panic, rising like the crest of a wave.
    "What's wrong with her?" Rachel asked. Her eyes narrowed.
    "Emma, baby doll, come here." Ren moved towards the landing. Please, not here , he thought.
    Emma stepped back away from the landing, her hand shaking on the rail. Her eyes were wide now, like she was a cornered animal, unsure where to go or how to escape. "Stay away."
    Ren took another step, his hands out in front. "It's okay, Em—"
    "Stay back!"
    Her shrill cry cut into the air, followed by an uncomfortable, tense silence. Ren let out a low breath as the guard called down over the ledge of the squat building. A shout sounded behind him. Don't. Not now .
    Ren felt the sudden stillness, like the moment before Katie stepped off that ledge so long ago. Before she disappeared and the new world crushed him under its weight, and he was powerless to stop the overwhelming pull of gravity. And then the moment after, when he'd just stood there, blinking, his mind unable to comprehend what had just happened.
    Please .
    A flock of birds interrupted the silence, bursting from the nearby treetops and weaving into the sky. Ren watched as they ducked and then flew overhead, darting towards the west before settling on the rails of a catwalk that ran between the towers.
    Ren heard a wet thump, and Emma shrieked. The breath stuck in his throat.
    A bird lay at her feet, red spattered over its black feathers. Its wings twitched, one stretching out like it ached to touch Emma's foot. She stood still, one hand over her mouth, her gaze frozen on the twitching bird.
    The eye of the bird stared at Ren, and his heart shuddered. He knew with a gnawing certainty that something else looked out at him from that dead eye, mocking him, and he felt the hair on his arms stand on end. Fear clawed at him.
    Whatever it was, it knew him. And it wanted his daughter.
    A firm hand clapped him on the shoulder, and Ren winced at the resurgent tide of pain that shot through his neck. Kevin's low voice sounded in his ear. "Bring her here. Bring her here right now."
    No . They couldn't have her. She belonged with him. It wasn't her fault. It was a mistake to stay here, he knew. They had to leave before it was too late.
    "No."
    He jerked away from the big man's grip, biting his lip against the pain, and ran towards Emma. Rachel called out, her voice faint and tinny in his ears. The bird's eye followed him, taunting him as he sprinted for the landing and his daughter. Blood pounded in his ears, like the ocean's waves.
    You're too late , the smirking eye said. You've always been too late .
    Ren's foot caught a jutting stone and he nearly fell, a sharp crack running through his ears. The world spun for an instant and something hard thrust the oxygen from his lungs. He dully realized he had ended up on his back, his hand digging into sand and rock. He gasped for air, coughing and spluttering as he finally took a heaving breath.
    He shook his head and sat up. He looked for the landing, for his daughter. Instead his eyes found a gleaming giant, clad in a shining breastplate. Symbols ran along the seams and edges of the man's armor, shifting and changing as Ren focused on them. Massive feathered wings fluttered over the giant's shoulders. He held a spear, easily twice the height of a man. The point shone so brightly that Ren had to shield his eyes with his hand.
    Ren couldn't breathe, his mind racing, shouting at him to turn back, to run as fast as he could. His feet wouldn't move.
    Ithuriel. The Spear.
    "Who are you, son of man," Ithuriel said, his voice like the hammer of a thunderclap. His gaze shifted to Emma, his eyes cold and demanding. "And why have you brought this