Embers (The Wings of War Book 1) by Karen Ann Hopkins Read Free Book Online

was almost as if nature itself wanted to be left alone and was using all of its ability to keep people away. 
    The screech of a hawk caused me look up, squinting into the sunlight.  The raptor was silhouetted against the blue sky as it circled low over a stand of cedar trees.  It was an enormous bird, and after a long look at it, I decided that it wasn’t a hawk at all, but an owl.  Craning my neck out the window, I wished the brownish-grey bird was close enough for me to see it better.   
    At the same instant that I had the thought, it turned and flew straight at the truck.  If I had stretched out just a little further, I probably could have touched it as it swooped by. 
    I thought owls only came out at night.
    It took me a couple of seconds to shake off the weird encounter with the owl, and by that time, I began worrying that maybe I had somehow missed the turn. I picked up my phone and checked for bars, and then snorted, tossing it aside.  I wasn’t surprised that there was no reception, but it was still irritating.  I decided to pull over and park for a few minutes so Angus and I could stretch our legs. I’d take the opportunity to have a closer look at the map, and check on Cricket, too.
    I wasn’t overly stressed by the lack of cell phone reception, but I was definitely relieved that I’d had the foresight to call Ila a few hours back while I’d still been on the highway.  When she’d answered the phone, she hadn’t been surprised about my sudden arrival at all.  Her voice had been polished, with a trace of an English accent—or maybe it was Irish.  We hadn’t talked long enough for me to figure it out.  It was just a quick conversation about the directions to her cabin. 
    Shutting off the engine, I opened the door, and then slid out of the truck.  While I was stretching, Angus brushed by me in a rush to be free. 
    Angus suddenly growled and I twisted to follow the direction of his stare.  My jaw dropped.
    A hundred feet ahead on the right side of the road was a wooden fence.  Not the usual post and rail enclosure that you’d expect to see on a mountain property, but a huge structure that stood more than ten feet tall.  It was completely solid from top to bottom allowing no view of the other side.  The boards were weathered, but in good repair.  Incredibly, it stretched as far as I could see.
    My mind raced.  Why would such a thing be way up here? 
    I frowned and stared at the wooden wall.  After a moment, I took a step closer to it.  As I did, the hair on my arms went up.  I quickly stepped backwards as if I’d been physically pushed.  The hard thumping of my heart rose up uncomfortably into my throat, and I had the instinctual urge to turn and run away. 
    Angus growled again and the black fur on his back stood straight up.  Cricket shifted restlessly in the trailer, making little nickering noises in obvious agitation. The rumbling sound Angus was making came from a very deep place in his belly, and it continued to vibrate louder with each passing moment.
    “Are you getting the same creepy feeling I am?” I whispered to Angus as I stared at the wall that King Kong would have been hard pressed to get over. 
    Angus barked once at me, the sound warming the chill in the air. 
    “Maybe you sense a bear.  Is that it?” 
    Angus tilted his head and whined. 
    A cloud passed over the sun, darkening the roadway for a moment.  The temperature seemed to drop ten degrees.  I shivered.
    “Guess we should be on our way, huh, boy?”
    Angus put his head against my legs, pushing me back toward the truck as an answer.  We wasted no time jumping back into the truck.  I turned the ignition key and was relieved that the engine burst to life quickly.  The last thing I needed, on top of everything else, was to have the truck break down. 
    After a couple more minutes of driving, the wall fell away from the road to allow for a driveway of sorts, and I noticed a solid wooden, vehicle-wide