Souls of Aredyrah 1 - The Fire and the Light by Tracy A. Akers Read Free Book Online Page B

shake. He hadn’t meant for
this to happen, he was only joking around, but for the first time
he genuinely regretted his foolishness. He twisted his body around
and scanned the room for something to douse the flames, but there
was nothing. The fire swept along the ceiling and toward the
parchments.
    The rack of parchments ignited and roared
into a billowing explosion of flame. The smell of smoke filled
Ruairi’s senses; the crackle of flames echoed in his ears. He
backed toward the door, coughing and wiping smoky tears, but he
suddenly felt himself yanked through the doorway and shoved against
the opposite wall, the breath nearly knocked out of him.
    “By the gods, what have you done this time?”
his father shouted.
    The redness and fury in the man’s face left
Ruairi weak.
    “Father, I—”
    “No excuses, boy!” Sedric clutched the front
of Ruairi’s tunic and pulled him forward, then slammed him back
against the wall.
    “It was an accident!” Ruairi cried. His eyes
darted toward the room at his father’s back. It was completely
engulfed in flames now, and clouds of smoke were rolling into the
hallway. Servants attempted to make their way in with buckets of
water, but were driven back by the heat and smoke.
    Ruairi’s father jerked him away from the wall
and pushed him down the smoke-filled corridor. It was difficult to
see through the haze, but clearly the fire and pandemonium had
spread. The shapes of the guests were all around them now: pushing
and shoving, tripping and falling, screaming and shouting. Ruairi
stumbled, but was yanked back up by his father who steered him to
the right and into the garden beyond.
    Ruairi staggered out, choking and fighting
for breath. Sedric still clutched the back of his tunic, and Ruairi
soon found himself face down on the grass. His father knelt beside
him and rolled him over, then pulled him up by the shoulders and
shook him violently. “Do you realize what you have done? Do you
realize you have destroyed a man’s home and endangered every guest
in it?” Sedric threw him back to the ground with disgust.
    Ruairi felt a great lump in his throat. “Is
everyone out?” he asked, his voice cracking.
    “We can only pray.”
    Ruairi sat up and scanned the gathering
crowd. Many faces were covered with soot, and he searched them for
any sign of familiarity. Whyn was nearby . . . and Brina . . .
Mother . . . but, Cinnia?
    He jumped to his feet and leaned around,
craning his neck to see through the sea of dismal faces. But he did
not see Cinnia. He directed his eyes to her bedroom window. A
candle could be seen on the sill, its delicate flame flickering
against a pallet of orange. Terror seized him. What if she was
still in her room? What if no one knew?
    “Where is Cinnia?” Ruairi cried to his
father. “Have you seen her? Is she out?” He moved in the direction
of the house, but his father grabbed hold of his arm and held it
tight.
    “You are not going anywhere!” Sedric shouted.
“You have caused enough trouble.”
    “But, Father. Cinnia…she is not out here!” He
looked back into the crowd. “Where is Labhras? Did he get her
out?”
    “Of course he got her out. I got you out did
I not? And you did not even deserve it.”
    Ruairi was stung by the words, but he knew
his father was right. He had risked everyone’s lives with his
foolishness tonight. A sudden scream turned Ruairi’s attention from
his own self-loathing to the open window above. It was Cinnia—still
in her room—the room where she had been waiting for him.
    He jerked from his father’s grasp, but Sedric
regained his hold. “You will not go back in there,” Sedric ordered.
“Let the servants take care of what must be done. There can be no
risk to you, understood?”
    Ruairi shoved his father away and staggered
back. “It is my choice, Father!”
    Before Sedric could say another word, Ruairi
spun around, ran toward the corridor, and disappeared into the
smoke.
    The hallway was a poisonous tunnel