Heroes of Falledge Book One: Black Hellebore Read Online Free PDF Page A

face, his body covered in dark clothing. When their eyes locked, the guy straightened and ran.
    Heights normally didn't bother Nicholas, but chasing someone on a narrow catwalk with huge tubs of questionable liquids beneath him made him nervous. He kept his gaze on his prey and winced when the guy dropped something into another vat. A loud hissing sound echoed throughout the large room. The black liquid turned a green color, and bubbles formed and broke and formed again.
    Nicholas was gaining on the guy. He reached out, and his fingertips brushed against the guy's shirt. The guy burst forward and increased the distance between them. Every so often, he tossed more bundles into vats.
    They neared the end of the catwalk. Nicholas stopped, rocked on his heels, and lunged. He plowed into the guy. The rest of the bundles, three or four more, fell to the ground, none of them making it into the nearby vats, for which Nicholas was grateful. He forced the guy to roll over.
    Blue eyes, the whites black, stared at him. Terrified, Nicholas jerked back, keeping a tight grip on the guy's collar. "What the hell are you doing?" he asked through gritted teeth. His chest heaved, and he sucked down air from the exertion of the chase.
    "What the hell are you doing here?" the guy hissed. He relaxed his body in Nicholas' grip before shooting up, connecting the tip of his head with Nicholas' lower jaw.
    Nicholas stumbled backward. His grip loosened, and the guy squirmed free. Nicholas' left leg didn't touch the beam, and he started to fall. He managed to grab onto the ledge.
    The guy darted forward and ran. He hurried down steps and soon was running beneath Nicholas.
    With a deep breath, Nicholas pulled himself back onto the ledge and tore after the guy. He had a decent lead, but Nicholas managed to narrow the distance between them. It helped that the guy ran in a straight line.
    That is, until he looked over his shoulder and noticed Nicholas. How he hadn't realized he was still chasing him, Nicholas didn't know, because their footsteps pounded against the concrete floor, not exactly in uniform, and his breathing was hard and laborious. Weights he could handle, running not so much. He needed to work on his endurance.
    The guy darted between two huge tubs that stretched many feet above them. Nicholas followed and glanced to the right and left. The guy was nowhere in sight.
    Damn it! Where was he?
    He should have just kept his nose out of this and never entered in the first place. Should have found a phone and called the police. Should have--
    A sudden punch to his kidney had him howling. He whirled around, his hands up. A large piece of wood came toward him. He grabbed it and yanked. They played a vicious game of tug-of-war, but Nicholas was stronger than the scrawny guy. He ripped the wood away, but before he could use it as a weapon, the guy darted away again.
    Nicholas ran, still holding the heavy wood, but carrying it was cumbersome, so he tucked it behind a tub.
    Now where was the little rat?
    He glanced everywhere, finally spying a hunched-over form in the corner. As Nicholas charged him, the tub between them tipped forward, the contents splashing onto the floor, flowing in a rush toward Nicholas. The green liquid bubbled and fizzed, coating the floor. Nicholas jumped around and ran. Screw the guy. He was getting out of here.
    Nicholas raced toward the first exit he saw. The handle refused to budge. Locked. He blasted his fist into it and hurried away, having no choice but to return to the catwalks.
    The guy must have used another set of stairs because he was up here, too. His thin lips curled into a nasty smile. "You picked the wrong day to be a hero."
    Nicholas shook his head. "I'm no hero." He squatted and leaped across to land in front of the guy on the other catwalk.
    The guy grabbed his shoulders. They forced each other back in turn, a bizarre, high-stakes dance.
    The catwalks swayed suddenly and forced them to let go of each other.