Isaura by Ruth Silver Read Free Book Online

I don't know how long it'll stay open.” I glanced back at the
others as Adelaide gripped Joshua's elbow, since his hands were full. One by
one, holding on to each other, we all stepped through the portal. I hoped I
wasn't sending us to our deaths. It felt as if I were free falling until we
reached complete oblivion.
    “Josh?” I breathed. My voice seemed to extend onward forever:
the strangest echo as if my ears were clogged. I couldn't see anything but felt
his arm beneath my hand in darkness. I hoped the others held on. I couldn't see
anyone. I stepped forward if at all possible, pulling him with me as I saw the
slightest ounce of light. A mere reflection as I heard the sound of crunching
at my feet. Glancing down I lifted the broken pieces of window into my palm,
accidentally slicing my skin. “Ouch.” I grimaced, glancing at Joshua now seeing
him from the reflection and light bouncing off the glass. He still held onto
Henry. His lips moved but I couldn't make out what he said. I stared at the
tiniest bit of glass, trying again to focus, to reform the window as to what it
had once been.
    Snow began to fall as it mixed with smoke. It wasn't snow at
all but ash. Forming the window back to its rightful place, my eyes searched
through seeing our home, Shadow, destroyed. The town was in ruins. The house
we'd come to love and city we had accepted as home was in shambles. I glanced
back at Joshua through the glass, seeing his expression beside me. This was the
moment to decide. Our moment. What to do. Where to go. I could change the
window I'd fixed. Go home or go someplace else.
    It wasn't a decision. Not really. I pulled Joshua and the
others through the window with me, the sound of glass shattering as I felt the
stinging sensation of shards cutting me. Falling hard and fast, I landed on the
ground. Joshua fell through a moment later with Henry falling against us. I
pushed Henry off, needing air to breathe. A moment of eerie silence stretched
before a screech and clank erupted from twenty feet east. Two loud crashing
sounds followed. A haze of smoke blanketed Shadow and burned my eyes. I could
see the broken shards of portal had scattered. How? I had no idea. Pushing
myself up and seeing Joshua was okay, I dug around searching for the others.
Cate and Adian were buried but breathing. They pushed the remains of the
building to the side as I helped them stand up.
    “Where are Elsa and Adelaide?” My heart lurched.
    Cate, covered in cuts and bruises pushed at the nearby
debris. “I don't know.” She squinted as her eyes adjusted to the light. “Adelaide!
Elsa!” she called.
    “They were right behind me,” Joshua frowned. Ash fell from
the sky. The air was hot, the smell repugnant. “What happened?” he asked. I
flipped my palms over, my hands unscathed, though I was certain I'd been
bleeding moments ago.
    “Something weird,” I breathed, glancing around Shadow seeing
the town burned to the ground.
    I tried to understand, make sense of what we'd witnessed and
experienced, but I couldn't wrap my mind around it. My stomach was in knots as
I moved through the rubble, pushing aside anything I could to find out what
happened. My feet burned from the ash. I coughed as the smoke filled my lungs
but the outside air was a welcome solution as I continued to search.
    “You try and save Henry.” I glanced at his near lifeless
body on the ground. He was covered in soot and ash from the building. Henry
moaned though, just enough to tell me he was still alive. “Hang in there.” I
gripped Henry's arm, bending down to his level. “I still owe you for helping
me. You won't collect if you die on me,” I remarked, letting go before eyeing
Joshua. “I need to find Adelaide and Elsa.”
    I didn't wait for an answer as I took off as best I could.
The streets were rummage and rubble from the recent explosions. Who could have
done this? The government of Cabal had fallen. Craynor was dead. What purpose
had there been for destroying