Into the Fire (The Mieshka Files, Book One) Read Online Free PDF Page A

pocket.
    Treats. Hah. All she had were textbooks and Kleenexes.
    “So, what’s a girl like you doing in a place like this?” He had a wry look in his eye.
    “Skipping.” She kept her tone dry. Despite that, there was a flash of teeth in his smile.
    “Had enough?”
    She folded her knees closer to her chest, hunching over to hug them.
    “You could say that.”
    They were interrupted by footsteps approaching in the corridor. The shadows at the entrance danced briefly across the floor before a man appeared. The woman—Jo—was close behind.
    “—probably just the ship,” she was saying. She stopped short at the opposite side of the pit, leaned against a pillar, and crossed her arms over her chest.
    Ship? Robin had said the Fire Mage’s ship was underneath here.
    “Probably not,” said the other man—the Fire Mage, she assumed. As he crossed the pit, she tried to make herself smaller. He stretched a hand out to Buck.
    “Gimme that.”
    Buck handed over the silent tracker. The beeps returned as the man flipped it over, holding it lengthwise between his hands. Orange light reflected off his face as he operated it. Mieshka stared.
    It was hard to see in the dim room, but both his hair and his eyes were light-coloured. His worn t-shirt had several dark smudges across it. There were holes in his jeans.
    Not quite what she expected.
    A four inch square orange screen rolled out of the front edge of the device and hovered in the air. It was a miniature version of the one above the fountain.
    “So? Did Buck break it?” Jo slipped onto the dais, ignoring the shimmering display of names. She carried two guns, Mieshka noticed.
    “No.” Aiden was still fiddling with it. He hmm ed, suddenly catching her eyes. “Ever set something on fire with your mind?”
    Mieshka froze, feeling as though she were in the headlights. “No?”
    “Damn. That would have made it easy.” He put the device away. It stopped beeping.
    “What’s your name?”
    “Mieshka.”
    He paused. For the first time, she saw him smile.
    “Bonus points for the name. Well, Mieshka, I need a bigger computer to scan you properly.”
    “What?” Scan?
    “This thingy here says you have magic, but it wasn’t made for this world. It can’t tell me what kind you have.”
    “I have magic?”
    “I’m afraid so.”
    She sat there, stunned.
    The Mage apparently didn’t have time to deal with a confused teen.
    “Wanna see my spaceship?”
    So this is what happens when you skip school. She’d been missing out.

CHAPTER 3
    Aiden led them behind the fountain, where a black wall stretched up to meet the memorial’s screen. Backlit by the fiery names, their reflections became dim silhouettes on its glassy, obsidian surface. Behind them, the mythological tapestry wavered in the gloom.
    Aiden splayed his hand against the wall. The main screen flickered above. Burning orange lines slid across the black surface like a magic Etch-a-Sketch. They formed a square in the wall, which slid aside with a subtle hiss . Behind it, the aluminum doors of a freight elevator were slower to open.
    The four of them walked in. Mieshka found herself crowded against the control panel, wincing at the light. As the doors rumbled to a close, Aiden reached around to push the lowest button. With a lurch, the elevator began its descent.
    Buck held her backpack, and Mieshka tried not to fidget as its absence weighed on her. She stared straight ahead, aware of three sets of eyes discreetly studying her. Her head throbbed. There was no sound except for the less-than comforting, grinding screeches from outside the elevator.
    Aiden was the first to break the silence: “You’re a redhead.”
    “Well spotted, sir.” Jo leaned against the opposite wall, arms folded over her chest.
    “Shut it. I’m tired.”
    The elevator rumbled on. Mieshka caught her blurred reflection in the brushed aluminum siding, the light blue of her jeans, the darker blue of her hoodie, and the blob of orange that was