Balefire Read Online Free PDF

interfere or offer help. Her own experience with offering unso licited advice had taught her not to get involved in other people’s problems without permission.
    The small building in the middle of the large muddy field looked less like an airline terminal and more like a small welcome center. Silke re membered the construction project a year ago, and this new building certainly was more welcoming than the old modified trailer. A large glass atrium formed the waiting area, and behind the ticket counter sat a large, covered baggage-handling area.
    Because of the increased number of flights arriving from the mainland, the baggage area was crowded and noisy. Silke retreated to a bench out doors, knowing their luggage would take a while to be unloaded.
    Kirin paced up and down, waiting for her cell phone to ring. Silke glanced around to get Kirin’s coordinates from time to time. Relying on her hearing, she felt and heard the vibration of Kirin’s shoes.
    Finally, it rang.
    “Hello?” Kirin answered, agitated. “Esther, are you not listening? I’m not in Belize City. I’m in San Pedro on Ambergris Caye. I understand you’re busy, but I at least need somewhere to stay. Fine, ten minutes.”
    Silke watched as Kirin jammed the phone in her pocket and wore more grooves in the concrete from her pacing. “Kirin, can I talk to you for a minute?”
    “Sure. I’m sorry.” Kirin flopped down on the bench. “I don’t mean to be growling all the time. My editor has no idea what’s going on down here. She can’t seem to find one damn hotel with a vacancy. Did they not think of this before they sent me scurrying down here?”
    “Listen, we bunked together last night and did okay. It may not help, but I’m staying in a condo at the resort, and there would be plenty of room if you wanted to stay there.”
    Two locals walked by speaking in Spanish and waving their hands at each other. Silke caught the hand gestures in her tunnel vision.
    “Are you serious?” Kirin sounded both surprised and relieved. “That would really help. At least until I could find something. And I’ll certainly pay half or whatever would be fair.” A huge sigh escaped her lips.
    Silke put her hand on Kirin’s shoulder. “I figure it’s the least I can do. After all, you helped me out when we had to stay at that enchanting little institution last night. One of the resort staff will be here soon to look for guests. I promise it won’t be a problem.”
    Kirin looked up to the sky.
    As best she could, Silke followed her line of vision. Another of the outer bands from the storm moved closer to the barrier reef about a mile east of the beach.
 
    AFTER BEING FERRIED from the airstrip to the nearby pier, Kirin watched one of the young men from the resort load a dozen passengers and their luggage into a large Bayliner boat. Their neatly pressed uniform shirts were getting drenched as they handed out oilcloth ponchos to the passengers. While the two large motors rumbled loudly, the boat rocked precariously at the dock.
    The couple across from Kirin tucked their two small children under the ponchos to protect them from the stinging saltwater. She marveled at Silke’s calm demeanor as she spoke to one of the staff who loaded the lug gage. Maybe this was a normal occurrence on the lee side of the islands.
    The large boat swung away from the dock in a wide arc and headed out toward the reef, slapping the incoming waves in its path and sending salt spray high in the air. Once they were far enough from the docks, the captain steered north and opened up the motors until they were simply bouncing across the top of the waves. The speed and salt spray were ex hilarating.
    Kirin faced the shoreline and could barely make out the brightly col ored low buildings crowded along the beach. After a few minutes, the buildings became more infrequent but larger. Ominous gray clouds seemed to ex pand and contract above them as sheets of rain buffeted the passengers and the