Aurora Rising Read Online Free PDF

looked like.
    “Keyen’s the best and he’s my friend. You’ll like him. He’s a real strong talent. They say one of the strongest ever.”
    “Enough.” Dena laid her hand on his shoulder. “We have a touch of hero worship here if you can’t tell.”
    “No problem,” Rori assured her, trying to quell some of the unease she felt at her coming role as a Guardian. She was glad when they reached the food, and she could focus her attention on the selection.
    Over dinner, they talked about random subjects then headed back to their rooms where they said goodnight as it was time for Tad to get ready for bed. Rori settled down on the balcony to look out over the water and read for a while before she decided to turn in. Though it was still early, she was exhausted due to the events of the day and fell right to sleep.
    Rori jerked awake with the wail of alarms. Scrambling off the bed, she got her feet under her only to have them knocked out from under her as the whole floor lurched beneath her. Dropping to her knees saved her from the shower of debris as the outer wall on the other side of the bed collapsed. The rumble of the explosion drowned out the siren for seconds that seemed to go on forever.
    When Rori pushed up, she looked out at the night sky through torn metal and crumbled debris. The balcony she’d sat on was no longer there. Shock and terror filled her. Bright lights slashed in through the opening, blinding her for a second before she got her arm up to shade her eyes. A second later, the light swung away followed by a series of flashes that burst across the sky.
    Someone was firing a weapon. Common sense told her to stay back, but unable to stop herself, she moved toward the gaping hole.
    The cool breeze off the ocean flattened her thin sleep-shirt to her body. She ignored it like she did the electricity sparking from torn wiring. Her attention was ensnared by a figure on the hoversled hanging in the air not far from the opening. The sled darted closer, and for a fraction of a second Rori was compelled to reach for it before another blast forced it away. Still Rori was drawn toward the opening again until fear and panic burst over her nerves.
    She stumbled after breaking the mental hold then stepped to the edge again, this time focused on the destruction of what had been the apartment next to hers. Though heavily damaged, it was the boy clinging to the exposed cables dangling seven stories above the ground that gripped her.
    A chunk of facing broke free hurtling toward Tad. Instinctively, Rori threw up a shield around the boy, knocking it away. Tad jerked from the unexpected impact and slid farther down the cable.
    “Tad, hold on,” Rori yelled. “I’ll get you, just hold on.”
    Forgetting the hoversled and the gun blasts keeping it back, Rori climbed out on a beam, using torn sections of flooring and whatever she could reach to hold onto as she worked her way to the boy.
    “Rori,” he cried out seeing her, and she felt a wave of his fear and tamped it down in an effort to keep her mind clear as she reached for another handhold.
    “Hold on. I’m on my way.” She sent out as much reassurance as she could. Moving to the side, her foot came down on a piece of metal which sliced deep. She jerked in pain and her feet slipped out from under her. For a moment, she hung as precariously as Tad from a section of cable. It took two tries to get her feet back under her. Letting out a sigh, she continued until she reached a beam that extended out over the boy.
    Shimmying out on the metal, she reached down only to be several inches short.
    “Rori.” Panic filled the boy’s voice.
    “It’s okay. I’ll get you. Look at me, Tad. I won’t let you fall.”
    “I’m falling,” Tad cried.
    Quickly surveying her surroundings, Rori braced her feet under a piece of piping. Tucking her nightshirt into her bottoms to keep it out of her way, she scooted to the edge of the beam. When it was at the back of her knees, she