Evolution Read Online Free PDF

hours later, when the screaming and explosions
have been replaced by voices and quiet footsteps, we open the trap door and
climb out.  We walk out into the street and look around.
    There is still smoke pouring into the sky near the gates,
but other than that, no sign of destruction.  The streets are mostly
quiet, vacant.  Across the way, a girl and a boy are huddled together on
the curb, sobbing quietly.  A group of men are talking in low voices on
the corner by Canson’s store.  One of them glances our way, sees us, and
detaches himself to come talk to us.  It’s Julian Moore.
    He stops in front of us and nods uncertainly, “Eden.”
    “Hey Julian,” I say, sounding incredibly normal.  My
voice doesn’t even shake.  “I take it we won?”
    “Looks like it.”  He looks off toward the gate.
    “Any news?”
    Julian turns back to me, his eyes scanning over me.  “A
couple of people got hurt,” he says.  “Your friend is tending to them.”
    “My friend?”  My heart jumps as I realize.  “You
mean Neveah?”
    He nods.  “Looked like she had her hands full.”
    I have to force myself to calmness.  “Where is she?”
    “Just in the marketplace,” he says, tilting his head that
way.
    I’m off and running.  I barrel down the street, Jacob
and Taylor on my heels.  I don’t stop until I see her.  At a small
distance, my feet skid to a stop on the broken pavement.
    A cluster of people is gathered around a covered stall where
they have moved a few wounded people to shelter.  Laid out on the ground
are three people, one of them the girl whose leg was crushed.  Neveah is
on her knees at the girl’s side, her arm around the girl’s shoulders, tipping a
bowl with some concoction into her mouth.  Probably something for the
pain.  I sigh, my body flooding with relief.  The girl could not be
in better hands.  And Neveah looks OK.  She looks unharmed.
    Even though I am longing to rush to her, I know I can’t
disturb her now.  I would just get in her way when she needs to concentrate
and do what she does best.  She already has a few helpers— likely family
members of the wounded.  So I watch from a distance for a while, allowing
the relief to wash through.  For now, that has to be enough.
    But inside, as the newness of the relief begins to wear off
along with the shock of the battle, I’m thinking, plotting.  Neveah is
free.  We need to get out of here more than ever.  The Sentries may
have been held off for now, but that won’t last long.  More will come. 
More will always come.  And that voice .  Unease rises
within me as I remember.  We’re marked for destruction.  This will
never stop, unless I stop it.
    But we can’t leave without Apollon.  Not as long as
there’s a chance that he’s alive.  I have to find him.
    I turn and stroll down the street, saunter into the Rustler
like the world is mine.  Everyone seems to think that’s the way it is, so
why not make that work for me?  The bar is packed full of people desperate
to retreat from the nightmare we’ve just experienced.  The tables are all
full, but people make room for me at the bar as soon as I walk that way.
    Arthur starts pouring the good whiskey when he sees
me.  I wave my hand to encompass the entirety of the Rustler.  “A
round.”  Not that I have any money.  Arthur pulls out a different
bottle and starts pouring, anyway.
    That’s all it takes to get everyone’s attention.  Tense
whispers fall to silence.  I spend a moment looking from face to
face.  The men who were talking on the corner are here, including Canson,
Lloyd, and Julian.  I used to play cards with them.  Now they stare
at me in awe like I am an entirely different person.  Then there’s a
number I can’t put names to but recognize none-the-less.  My two
bodyguards lean up against either side of the door, arms crossed, looking
cautious and amused.  They’re waiting to see what I’m going to do.
    I raise my voice loud enough to