The Boys of Fire and Ash by Meaghan McIsaac Read Free Book Online Page A

baby”—Fiver’s voice drifted into Blaze’s silence—“he brought him to his Brothers. ‘Thereis not enough room in the Ikkuma Pit for everyone,’ he told them, ‘and this place has given me all it can.’ ”
    “Beyond that forest what?” I demanded.
    “It’s madness,” he said.
    What he meant, I had no idea, and before I thought it I heard myself asking, “What’s madness?”
    Blaze scratched at his neck, still watching Fiver, mouthing along. I’d seen him do that before, in the torchlight just before he grabbed Crow.
End to the Beginning
.
    “ ‘It is time for this man to leave, so that his brother may have the room to grow and learn in the Ikkuma Pit!’ ”
    “What!” I said.
    Somewhere outside, a little voice could be heard screaming.
    Blaze’s icy-blue eyes locked onto mine. “It’s war.”
    The story came to an abrupt stop as everyone became aware of the screams. I barely registered it, my eyes fixed on Blaze. I didn’t understand what he meant, and my stomach turned.
    “AV! AV!”
    Blaze turned away from me, his attention on the doorway.
    “AV! AV!”
    My heart stopped and I looked for Av. He was on his feet, running to the door. We both knew that voice.
    Goobs suddenly appeared, and collapsed on the floor of the A-Frame, sobbing and wailing for his Big Brother.
    I watched the door, waiting for Cubby to show, my pulse thumping louder in my ears every second he didn’t.
    “They got him! They got him!” Goobs cried into Av’s arms. “At the East Wall, they got him!”
    Not Cubby
, I begged. I pushed through the Brothers andran to Goobs, who was clinging to Av and whimpering. I could barely understand him. Av looked at me, frightened.
    “We were trying to run away from Wasted, he kept yelling, ‘Scroungee! Scroungee!’ And then the monsters—” He gulped in panicked breaths.
    “Who got who?” I yelled. Silence rolled over the A-Frame, as the echo faded and Goobs tried to get ahold of himself long enough to answer.
    “Cubby.” He sniffed. “The monsters have Cubby and Wasted.”
    I heard the call of the creatures somewhere in the distance and bolted for the door.
    “Urgle!” I heard Blaze yell as I took off outside, running as fast as I could across the floor of the Ikkuma Pit.
    Fiver was beside me in an instant, barreling by me, club in hand.
    Our bare feet pounded the ground in sync as we charged for the East Wall.
    I could see the yellow, ghostly figures of the Tunrar Goblins on a rocky ledge halfway up the wall, Wasted’s limp form resting beneath the big one, Cubby kicking and screaming in the clutches of the other.
    Fiver roared, startling the Tunrar. The big one shrieked back at him.
    Then familiar voices were yelling all around me. Av and Blaze were beside me, bellowing, trying to frighten the creatures off.
    Cubby must have heard us because his shrieking became louder, wilder.
    I saw the big one drop Wasted and scramble up the East Wall.
    Not Cubby
.
    We reached the rock face and I began frantically climbing. Fiver and Av were flying upwards, they’d be with Wasted any moment. I could hear Cubby above me, he was screaming my name and I momentarily lost my footing, grating the bottom of my foot against the rock.
    Below me, Blaze pushed my stinging foot back up and I kept going.
    “Oh, no! No!” I heard Fiver crying.
    I hoisted myself up onto the ledge and saw Fiver and Av standing over Wasted.
    “Crow!” Fiver screamed, tears streaming down his face as he scooped the little body into his arms.
    “He’s right behind us,” said Blaze.
    Crow and Digger hoisted themselves up, and everyone gathered around Fiver and Wasted. Everyone but me.
    I looked above me and saw the Tunrar climbing, Cubby kicking and punching hysterically in the smaller one’s muscular arms.
    I climbed, my arms ached and burned, but I had to get to him. They’d disappear into Nikpartok Forest any moment.
    When I reached the top of the East Wall there was nothing but dead trees before me,