The Journey of the Marked (The Miyran Heir Book 1) by Rebecca P. McCray Read Free Book Online Page A

following you?”
    He stopped suddenly and spun around.
She groaned and placed her hand to her forehead. That was not a smart thing
to do. Why didn’t I tell him more carefully? Her stomach tightened as she
turned around. She grimaced. Sure enough, the Graeliths had stopped walking,
their eyes were now riveted on Prizene and the boy. She swallowed hard. Then
the Graeliths broke into a run, coming directly toward them. So much for her
planned artful getaway. She grabbed the boy’s hand and took off at a mad dash. Luckily,
he responded quickly and ran with agility. They dodged other shoppers, jumping
over several boxes sitting at the curb. Prizene met the eyes of a few shoppers,
hoping to find help. None was offered.
    She looked over her shoulder,
relieved to see that the Graeliths had fallen behind. The boy ran ahead of her,
which cleared the path, making it easier for her to keep up with him. Within a
few minutes, they reached the southeast corner of the marketplace, now thick
with shoppers. The boy slowed momentarily and looked back toward her. His eyes
widened and his mouth dropped open. It was a look that filled her with dread. Did
she really want to know what was behind her? She blew out a sharp breath and
stole a glance. At least five Graeliths now tracked them.
    When his eyes met hers again, she
saw the fear. She motioned him onward. They bolted into the crowd, zig-zagging
their way through moving clumps of shoppers. She heard a loud crash behind
them, but didn’t dare turn to see what had happened. She kept her eyes focused
on the boy and stayed as close to him as she could. The crowd thinned ahead and
they soon pushed through to the northwest end of the marketplace. The boy darted
into one of the nearby lanes and she followed him. She wasn’t familiar with
this part of town and hoped he knew where he was going.
    They made turn after turn. All the
alleys looked the same — dank and dingy. She rounded the next corner after the
boy, only to run into him. She stood on tiptoe and peered over his shoulder. Two
more Graeliths were sprinting toward them from the opposite direction.
    “Come on!” she yelled, retracing
their steps and running back to the alley they had just left. They turned in a
new direction and, halfway down the next alley, the boy hesitated and she
stopped beside him. This passageway was long and narrow with no other openings
besides the ones at either end and a few closed gates farther along. They had
no options. Her eyes canvassed the length of the alley, but there was nowhere
to hide.
    “We should turn back,” he said, a
quiver in his voice. He backed up and started to return from the direction they
had come just as the Graeliths rounded the corner — seven of them now. They slowed
and glared at Prizene and the boy, their mouths curled upward, baring their
teeth.
    Prizene and the boy turned and ran
the remaining length of passage, trying the gates and finding each locked. At
the end, the opening led to a small square. They stopped in the middle. She
scanned the walls. “The only opening is the one we just came through.” She
began backing toward the wall on the far side of the square. The boy followed
her lead.
    The Graeliths entered the square as
a group and spread across in front of them. The square held a few trash bins,
but nothing else. They were trapped. Tears threatened to spill from Prizene’s
eyes. What could they do? The Graeliths growled and snorted, obviously enjoying
the fear they provoked.
    The boy pulled something from his
pocket. She had never seen the device before. Was it a weapon? He pulled the
lever on the top toward him, pointed it toward the Graeliths, and pressed the
button on the handle. A short, red beam shot out of what was apparently a laser
gun. Where did he find that? The force of the blast jerked his arm upwards,
causing him to lose his balance and topple over a refuse can behind them,
spilling trash onto the ground.
    She turned toward the Graeliths;
they were