Rise of the Mare (Fall of Man Book 2) by Jacqueline Druga Read Free Book Online Page A

Where do they go during
the day? We find the nest, and take them out.”
    “I can remember thinking about doing
that years ago,”
    “Why didn’t you?”
    “No one wanted to do it. They felt if
we took out one nest, another would emerge.”
    “We have explosives, Davis. We need
to find them. They are close enough to fly here, so they sleep
somewhere nearby, at least within a hundred or so miles. Will you
at least think about it, work on it while we wait on Vala? We can’t
live underground.”
    “I’ll think about. I will,” Davis
assured me. “Right now, we have to get ready for our nightly ritual
of Savage attack and possibly more Day Stalkers. You said you saw
hundreds on the road heading this way.”
    “Yeah, and at their pace, they’ll be
here by tomorrow night.”
    “Then tomorrow night, like it or not,
our citizens retreat.”
    “Why do we have to do that? It’s time
to take an offensive position, Davis. We don’t want to live like
this. I know where the Day Stalkers are,” I said. “Let’s take them
out, the whole lot of them, before they even become a threat.”

FIFTEEN – VALA
     
    Something was wrong with Davis. He
looked distant and drawn, worn down, and possibly ill. I had taken
that quiet moment and used my abilities to transport to him. He was
at his desk, slumped to the side, his left leg kicked out, and at
first I thought he was sleeping. I called his name.
    He didn’t reply.
    When I walked around to the front of
his desk, that was when I noticed how badly he looked. It was dark,
and the shadows made it look as if his face was bruised.
    “Davis.”
    He wasn’t sleeping. He couldn’t hear
me. After a moment, my presence took him by surprise and he jolted.
His lips moved but there was no sound. Why was that? Why couldn’t I
hear him nor he hear me?
    Surely, Davis had to wonder. Was I
real or had I passed on and my apparition was present.
    I lifted my hands, then indicated
that I couldn’t hear him.
    He nodded and turned.
    Tanner walked in the room. He froze
instantly, seeing me immediately, then rushed my way.
    “Vala… you’re …” he paused. “You’re
not dead, right?” He, too, looked bad.
    “No. I came to say I made it safely.”
It was then I noticed Davis saying something to Tanner.
    “Yeah, I hear her,” Tanner said. He
turned to me. “He can’t make out what you’re saying. You made it?
You’re okay?”
    “Yes. The ceremony is tomorrow. Nito
is relentless. She is going to stop at nothing to get me.”
    “I thought… I had hoped we killed
her.”
    I shook my head.
    Tanner turned to Davis. “She was
saying she made it. She’s okay, but the queen bee is really being
tough.”
    “Is something going on, Tanner?” I
asked. “Both of you look tired and worn.”
    “We…” He hurriedly looked at Davis.
“No, we’re fine. We’re just recovering from the Lyons Estate
attack. That’s all.”
    I heard a thump, and when neither
Davis or Tanner reacted, I knew it was coming from my home. It was
a loud hit, one that was breaking my projection concentration. “I
have to go.”
    “Vala, be careful.” Tanner said.
“There’s—”
    I shot back fast and furious, and
that was never good for my physical being. I sat up in bed gasping,
unable to breathe, to move, locked into some sort of temporary
paralyzed state.
    I heard a gurgling, panicked scream.
Was it my mother?
    I couldn’t move to do anything, the
seconds seemed like eternity, and the banging grew louder. It came
from above, from the roof, and when I heard the familiar, squealing
squaw, I know what caused the racket. Something that never that
never entered Akana.
    A Savage Sybaris attack.
    The people of Akana were clueless and
sitting ducks in the wake of the attack.
    Finally, I could breathe, and I swung
my legs from the bed. As I did, my mother flew into the
bedroom.
    “Something is attacking. We have to
get Sophie and get out.”
    “You know what it is,” I said. “It’s
Savage Sybaris.” I rushed