Charred Tears (#2, Heart of Fire) Read Online Free PDF Page B

here. Cats don’t climb down .”
    “Live a little, eh, Gunner?”
    “When we’re standing safely at the bottom of the mountain, I’ll consider it.”
    Chace smiled and stood. He had a feeling Sky wouldn’t back down from the challenge.
    Stop thinking about her!
    “We’re here.” Gunner joined him. “What are we looking for?”
    “No idea.” Chace took in the small plateau they stood on. Aside from one tree clinging by the roots to ground between two boulders, there was nothing else on the rocky shelf.
    He could see for miles, though, great swaths of pine trees that rolled over the landscape in one direction to meet the dark blue depths of the ocean in the distance. In the other directions were stony mountains and more trees that seemed to end only where they met the sky. He had a sense of being alone but not isolated, for the subtle energy of his surroundings was like the gentle hum of his cabin. The world around him was quietly alive, the brush of fresh mountain breeze across his body a sort of welcome.
    Had he ever appreciated the views he had from above? Even flying over the world, he wasn’t sure he’d ever noticed it the way he did now, the vibrant, textured hues of nature. He never expected to miss sitting on top of the world, but a pang of longing struck him hard. He was close to the sky, but he’d never be able to touch it the way he did when he was flying.
      I’ve wasted so much of my life running from myself and my magic.
    “Since we’re at a stopping point, I want to check your head,” Gunner said, slinging the pack at his back onto the ground. He knelt beside it. “I don’t know how you managed that climb in your state.”
    “Felt like I didn’t have a choice. Something important is here. Or … should be.” Chace frowned, not seeing whatever he was supposed to find.
    Gunner handed him a protein bar. Chace wolfed it down and dropped to his knees beside his friend, watching Gunner pull out the small medical kit he’d made before leaving the cabin.
    “It feels like it’s getting better,” Chace said, touching the bandage around his head.
    “You’ll forgive me if I don’t listen to the assessment of a man who thought a pillowcase would cure his gaping head wound.”
    “I’ve never had to take care of myself.”
    “Maybe you should’ve spent some part of the past thousand years bettering yourself instead of moping around,” Gunner pointed out. He smiled to soften his words and motioned for Chace to lean forward.
    Chace did so. “I know. I’m going to fix things. Appreciate life. Not suck as a friend. Get my magic back.” Find out if there’s a chance of winning over Skylar. “Take care of some unfinished business.”
    Gunner unwrapped his wound and studied it.
    “All better, right?” Chace asked.
    “Could be worse.”
    “That sounds like a good prognosis.”
    “We’ll leave it unwrapped for a bit.”
    “I don’t want goo in my hair.”
    “Your hair is nothing but dried goo and blood and God knows what else. You can wash it in a couple days,” Gunner said. “My stitching is good but without medical grade supplies, I don’t want to take the chance they come out.”
    “I’m messing with you, Gun.” Chace touched the roughened area of his scalp where Gunner had stitched him up. “I appreciate it and won’t wash my hair until you’re okay with it.”
    Gunner sighed and relaxed visibly.
    “Hope you don’t have anywhere else to be, because I’m planning on waiting here until whatever it is I need to find shows up,” Chace added.
    “I need the rest.”
    “It’ll be sundown soon anyway.”
    “Then lets get our campsite set up.”
    Chace shivered, the chill of the early evening air working through him. With some impatience, he helped Gunner set up their small camp: a two-man pup tent with space blankets, a tiny stove and a compressed wood log guaranteed to burn for twelve hours. Gunner started the small fire, and they sat on either side of it, the only sound