Evan Burl and the Falling, Vol. 1-2 Read Online Free PDF Page B

with anticipation. Watching my fingers move, I felt they belonged to someone else. They seemed about to strike an invisible match in the air, and then they stopped.
    What were they waiting for?
    With a crash, splinters of wood shattered against my face. Henri screamed. A fist burst through the door.  
    Light streaked through dust-clogged air.

CHAPTER SIX

    A melon-size fist broke through the solid koa-wood door like it was made of match sticks. Five cracked-stone fingers unclenched, ripping away what was left of the door. The jamb and part of the wall disappeared into a cloud of dust.  
    Light flooded in, drowning us. I blinked, swearing at myself for waiting that last second. Three shadows rose, silhouetted against the towering windows behind them. The only adults I'd ever really known: Uncle Mazol, Ballard, and Yesler. The Warts.
    Ballard reached through the dust, yanking Henri by the hair. She dissolved into the light, screaming.  
    I jumped up, plunging blindly after her. Pain shot through my leg, a constant reminder of the night I fell off the tower with Pike. Ballard's free hand became a wall in front of me. I made out the outline of Henri's body crumpled at Mazol's feet.  
    I fought to reach Henri. Ballard caught me by the neck. Uncle Mazol yanked Henri's arm. Twisting it behind her back, he forced Henri to her feet.
    "You canis." Mazol shook her. "Made us miss a full half-day of processing."  
    She sobbed.  
    Mazol squeezed her mouth. "This if for your own good, can't you see that?"
    I pried at Ballard's fingers but might as well have been trying to rip roots from the ground. "You're hurting her!"  
    Yesler backhanded me across the face. The sting of his gaudy rings cut my cheek. I tasted blood.
    "That's enough." My uncle was particular about who got to beat me and when. "All of you, follow me."  
    Mazol dragged Henri by the arm. She tripped to keep up. Ballard pulled me along by the back of my shirt. My bad leg screamed with every step. Yesler followed last; unblinking, eyes grinning through his porcelain mask. As we turned toward the castle's domed entrance hall, I caught a glimpse into a room I hadn't seen in years.  
    For a moment, I was taken back to playing with toys, pretending to fight off bad guys with sticks and Mazol smiling like a man who enjoyed kids but didn't know how to show it. Now Mazol was the bad guy.
    We stopped in the center of a towering room. Carved marble staircases swept up both sides of the room to a balcony. The front wall was lined with windows and two large doors that led to the stairs and courtyard. The windows were covered with velvet curtains that allowed only cracks of sun to pass around their edges. Dozens of statues and tables and bookshelves covered in white dust sheets surrounded us like ghosts.
    Mazol released Henri and began to search under sheets. "Someone find me a stool."  
    Yesler took a turn around Henri. I imagined him inspecting a defective clanker in much the same way. Slipping a knife slowly from his belt, he licked the blade then pressed it to her throat. "Like stealing food? Skipping out on work all day?" Yesler glanced in Mazol's direction. He pressed the dagger deeper into Henri's skin. A trickle of blood ran down the edge. Henri squirmed and cried out. He pushed harder.
    "Does it hurt?"
    I lunged at him, but Ballard yanked me back.  
    Pulling a dusty white sheet off a set of brightly painted tables, Mazol looked over his shoulder. "Cut it out."  
    Yesler put his knife away but didn't turn away from Henri. Mazol dragged a burnt orange stool across the mosaic tile floor. The screech seemed to linger long after the stool had stopped moving.
    "Uncle Mazol," I said, fighting against Ballard's grip.
    He ignored me.
    "I stole the food."
    Mazol waved his hand at me for silence. Yesler pulled Henri to the stool.
    "She didn't do anything wrong!"
    There was barely room for both of Henri's feet on the stool. "Stand here until sun-up. You'll have plenty of time to