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

and dashed towards the front of the yard, keeping close to the wall. I could picture those men in my room, tearing it up. Why would a Berserker want me? I kept my nose clean. I had no ties with the government beyond the foster system. I went to a few raves, but that didn’t mean I believed in anarchy.
    I jerked the fence gate open and didn’t bother to latch it shut. No one waited out front except Starr sitting in her pink golf cart.
    “Hey, Belen , what are you doing in the back yard?” She yelled in greeting.
    The black was washed from her hair, but it was still the choice of color for her clothing. Her blond locks were held back with black clips. She wore tight black jeans and a black tank top. Starr’s personality didn’t match the black she wore, but she did it to piss her politician father off.
    I expected someone to dart from the house as I rushed across the lawn and flung myself into the passenger seat.
    “Go. Drive. Now.”
    I was out of breath. Adrenaline wasn’t the first thing I wanted for breakfast. I readjusted myself in the seat, but nothing was going to make the hard plastic comfortable on my bruised back.
    “You look terrible. Did you even try to put makeup on?” Starr commented.
    My spine protested, but I sank lower into the seat. It bothered me that I had a hairline scar that ran from the tip of my eye up into my hair. The other scar that I wasn’t responsible for was the puckered flesh over my chest like something wanted to rip my heart out. The thinner scars were my doing.
    I needed to buy more razors. It was the only way to keep people’s emotions from overpowering me, when my shields were weak. Now that I was heading towards school, I really needed to get the rings of light back into place. It was a little easier to focus on with the fresh, cold air clearing my thoughts.
    “Are you going to answer my question?” Starr asked.
    “Question?”
    Starr gave a miffed sigh. “Are you sure you want to go to school today? You look terrible.”
    I brushed at the grass that clung to my tights and was again aware how badly my wrist ached. The clothes hid some of the bruising, but my face was an obvious eyesore. The teachers were going to be suspicious.
    Starr seemed perfectly together, as if last night didn’t happen. A man died right in front of us and the same thing nearly happened to us when we were thrown overboard. I couldn’t even bring the subject up, so I focused on another necessity.
    “Do you have anything to eat?” I asked.
    She raised an eyebrow and that answered my question.
    We made it to the main street, crowded as usual with tourists. It was like this every morning, including the weekends. Tourists came from the mainland to the island for a bit of exotic fun, and Ardent residences tried their best to appear exotic. Ardent was another manmade island, like Xyla and the Ardent Asylum.
    Rented golf carts were parked illegally along the store fronts, blocking traffic. The tourists did as they pleased as if the traffic rules didn’t apply. It was quicker to walk on days like this, but with my shields back up, I was grateful for the crowd. Travelers brought with them a vibe of happiness and worldliness that felt just out of grasp being stuck on the island.
    “There’s that weird guy again,” Starr said.
    The vagabond in question always sat on the corner of Horsa and Trasten between the bakery shop and the ice cream parlor with his hat low over his face. No one bothered him as his fingers stroked the strings of his guitar. World Congress doesn’t take kindly to street performers, especially ones with instruments. If a person couldn’t find a place for themselves in society, it was found for them.
    “What a weirdo. I wonder why World Congress hasn’t picked him up yet,” she said. She was being a hypocrite.
    The light turned green and we were moved away from the busy street with its happy go lucky shoppers. As much as I hated high school, I couldn’t wait to get inside a building