Chasing Shadow (Shadow Puppeteer) by Christina E. Rundle Read Free Book Online

loomed over most girls my age, I didn’t wear pants because it made me feel less feminine.
    The urgency in Sable’s tone kept me from dabbling with the finer things like makeup and a brush. I would have forgone the knee-highs, but my kneecaps were bruised and swollen from falling the other night and I didn’t own a longer skirt. Plus, I wanted to keep the other scars hidden.
    I grabbed my packed duffle bag from under the bed. It was filled with necessities. Being in the system, one never knew when the government was going to yank them from their current residence and I didn’t want to leave anything important behind. The bag’s been ready for the last eight years, but I updated the stuff every summer. I unzipped the bag and shoved the creature encyclopedia and the clothes I took from the basement into it.
    I was very aware that I was once again stealing from the lady who sheltered me, but I didn’t want the clothes to be the next box thrown away. The bag was barely zipped when the walls rattled from the front door slamming shut. I was out in the hallway before I could think better of it. Sable wasn’t helping me by keeping me in the dark.
    There were three men in the entryway with their guns drawn. Since they weren’t wearing blue of any shade, it was safe to bet they weren’t working with World Congress. Those guns were illegal.
    One of the men had Sable backed against the wall. “Sonya thinks you’re a traitor and wants the girl sent to her right away. She thinks you’re incapable of controlling her.”
    Crouching made my body parts ache, but I didn’t dare stand upright and peep around the corner, least I catch someone’s attention. The right thing to do would be to call the patrollers, but if they raided the house, they’d find the illegal stuff in the basement and the guitar I was hiding in my closet. Sable and I would both end up in the asylum or Xyla. I wasn’t sure which part of that notion was worse.
    “Don’t be ridiculous. I’ve advised her for over thirty years. Why would I be a traitor this late in the game? Of course the girl’s uncontrollable, she’s a teenager. If she’s the one, then do you expect anything different?”
    “That two-bit Free-String Walker, Draken has your bracelet. Sonya’s men saw him on Xyla with your ward,” the man said.
    “It’s Sonya’s problem that her spies couldn’t intercept the situation, but we still have the girl. She’s safe in her classes,” Sable said.
    This conversation felt unreal, like I was still in bed getting ready to wake up at any minute. I shifted, putting more weight on my injured arm then I intended and pain shot through me. I clenched my teeth to keep from screaming. Nope, not asleep. Why was she lying for me? That made her a traitor to Sonya.
    Given the distance, I had to really focus on the people at the bottom of the stairs in order to read them. The walls helped contain the array of feelings that floated towards me, but I had to sort them out. My custodian was terrified and angry. I could taste the men’s bloodlust. Their aura carried a coppery scent that strangely enough, I tasted more than smelt.
    “Go check upstairs,” the leader ordered.
    I closed my bedroom door as quietly as possible, which cost me a few precious seconds. Sable’s voice rose over the arguing as she stalled for time. I pushed the window open and dropped my duffle and my backpack out into the yard.
    The walls shook and a moment later, Sable screamed. I paused with my legs out the window. I couldn’t save her from men with guns and she wanted me out of the house. My options were looking bleak.
    I grabbed the tree branch and used it to climb out the window. Adrenaline and pain made it more of a feat than it should be. My hurt wrist didn’t help and my heart was trying to pound out of my chest. I lowered myself and dared to jump releasing the branch.
    The ground rose fast, catching me in a soggy mess as the sprinklers sprayed. I snatched my bags off the lawn