Divided: The Alliance Series Book Four Read Online Free PDF Page B

into their usual disapproval.
    “I need to speak to you. It’s urgent.”
    “I gathered, seeing as Ada Fletcher’s tracker has disappeared from our system.”
    No.
    She had no way to communicate with us now, from whichever world she was on.
    “They took her,” were the first, stupid words that came out of my mouth. The world tilted and swam, like through a half-formed doorway. The bright ceiling lights made my headache even worse. I had to make her believe me. “Cethrax has been using the hidden Passage to attack patrols. Ada and I went to check, and we ran into the creatures who’d been enslaving the Vox. They’re not human. They took her, and I was left on Vey-Xanetha. Someone there saved my life, but I was too late. I don’t know which world they’re on.” Ms Weston’s eyebrows rose higher with every word I spoke. “Look, it’s urgent. Whoever those Stoneskin people are, they’re dangerous, and now they have hold of Ada. I can’t find her.”
    A pause. Saki and Ms Weston stared at me, at the blood dripping from my hands, soaking me through to the skin. Then Ms Weston beckoned me downstairs. Not to the lifts, but to the stairs that led to the infirmary and the cells. Oh, shit. Tell me she isn’t going to lock me away.
    “Hold on,” I said. “I want to speak to the council.”
    “Kay, you’re in no fit state to speak to anyone, and I won’t discuss confidential matters in the entrance hall.”
    I opened my mouth to protest, but I guessed she didn’t want me dripping blood all over her office, either. Smothering an impatient sigh, I followed her downstairs, the nurse trailing me. Ms Weston pushed open a door to the nearest office, which was unoccupied.
    “Let me get this story straight,” said Ms Weston, who’d taken out her communicator. “Carl tells me you’re claiming a group of non-humans have captured Ada. These… Stoneskins.
    “That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
    “You saw them?”
    “They killed me. Tried to,” I amended, as Ms Weston’s eyes landed on the blood pooling at my feet. Crap. “Someone we helped on Vey-Xanetha saved my life. It’s the truth.”
    “Where did that blood come from, then?” she asked. “It is yours, isn’t it?”
    She thought I’d killed someone? “Yes, it is,” I snapped, momentarily forgetting this was my boss I was yelling at. “Look at the files on Vey-Xanetha and you’ll see some magic-wielders with a particularly strong link to Xanet are able to heal people even close to death. Those Stoneskins—the name speaks for itself, but they’re made of adamantine. Real adamantine. We had no way to fight them. We were outnumbered, and they somehow opened a door to Vey-Xanetha from the Passages.”
    “Speaking of Vey-Xanetha,” said Ms Weston, “there are gaps in your report. The council want an explanation.”
    “They’ll get one,” I said tightly, “after I find Ada.”
    “Carl tells me he found no trace of Ada in the Passages, nor of any doorway you claim to have found.”
    “They must have closed it, then.” Dammit. “The council have made statements on less evidence. Ada’s in danger, and so are the rest of us if we don’t stop them.”
    “The most we can do is send out search patrols and put the word out within the Alliance.” Ms Weston went dangerously still. “I’m sure you can guess why we can’t allow word to spread about Ada beyond the Allied worlds.”
    Ice slid down my spine. “Enzar.” Few people outside the Alliance knew who Ada was and where she’d really come from, but one of the first things her guardian had demanded when their shelter had been discovered was confirmation that nobody outside the Alliance would ever know about Ada, her magic, or her history. Even people close to her had taken advantage and almost got her killed. There were worlds outside the Alliance which would no doubt do anything to get their hands on a magic source.
    “Enzar,” Ms Weston repeated. “I promised her guardian I would allow