Earth & Sky by Kaye Draper Read Free Book Online Page B

heard that she was assassinated by
the Fallen.  But what happened- exactly?”
    He sighed.  “Wren, you need to focus on your training. 
Why go through all this?”
    I took a jab at him and he easily brushed me aside.  “I
need a reason.”  My voice sounded dead, even to my own ears.  “One of the
biggest reasons my father hates the Fallen is because they killed his wife.”
    Yates sighed.  “No one knows exactly what happened.”  His
eyes looked tired.  “I found her in the garden.  Her throat was slit.  For some
reason she had been unable to heal the wound.  The whole area reeked of Fallen
magic.”
      He made a vicious slash at me and I danced back,
blocking him in the nick of time.  “And we retaliated?”
    He gave a short laugh.  “No one who knew Alise will rest
until the Fallen emperor himself is dead.”  He circled me, looking for a weak
spot.  “She was a wonderfully kind woman- sweet and beautiful, and smart as a
whip- nothing like you.”  He struck like lightning, knocking my sword from my
hand and spinning to ram the blunt tip of the wood into my stomach, knocking
the air out of me.
    I doubled over and he laughed.  “Is that all it takes? 
And you call yourself a wolf.  Your mother would be ashamed.” 
    He turned to head back to the weapons table and I rushed him. 
Leaping, I wrapped my arm around his throat and clung to his back.  He swiveled
his sword and made to stab me in the ribs, but I had already pulled my pistol
from my belt, and it rested at his temple.  “Why?”  I asked softly.  “I said I
needed a reason.  I don’t think you understood my question.  Why did they kill
her?”
    He dropped his sword and held up his hands in surrender. 
“Because they’re monsters.  Do they need a reason for anything they do?  Why do
they feed on humans and destroy everything in their path?”
    He elbowed me hard in the ribs, breaking my hold on him so
that he could flip me over his shoulder.  I landed on my back.  It knocked the
wind out of me, making me see stars.  “You don’t need to know why.  You only
need to kill them before they kill you.”  Then he pointed my pistol at my
forehead and squeezed the trigger. 
    It clicked on an empty chamber and he looked
disappointed.  “Looks like you live this time.”
    I stared at him in stunned silence.  There was no way he
could have know for sure that gun wasn’t loaded.  He tossed the pistol to the
ground and went to prod the other recruits, his voice cold and strident. 
    Anger followed the rush of fear as I pushed myself to my
feet and went to retrieve my gun.  Slipping it into its holster, I vowed that I
would never trust the general on the battlefield.  I had the feeling I might
accidentally end up dead.

Chapter 6
    T he
dark-haired man stood before the tidy row of headstones, his wide shoulders
hunched.  Weak, watery sunshine touched the glossy feathers of his huge, ebony
wings.  He knelt in front of the middle headstone, his knee resting on the
petals that fell from the cherry tree growing behind the graves.  His hand
stroked the mound of fresh turned earth in front of the stone to his right. 
His other hand touched the thick creeping phlox that sprawled over the older
grave to his left. 
    A soft breeze ruffled his shiny black hair- like the touch
of a mother, or a father, or an older brother- and he tilted his head back,
eyes closed against the weak sun. 

Chapter 7
    I rubbed the top of my foot on the back of my leg as I waited outside the little
shop.  A group of young soldiers was clustered around the counter, giving Logan
some good-natured ribbing.  Logan was easygoing and friendly and he seemed to
get along with everyone.  He just laughed it off and gave as good as he got.
     I hesitated outside.  I hated to ruin his fun, but I
needed to get the sheath for my short sword repaired, and Logan was the best
leatherworker in town.  Alchemists couldn’t form leather, since that was made
from a