Jack Staples and the City of Shadows Read Online Free PDF

diving away from the Drogule’s huge fist. Another pillar crumbled and Jack dove behind some rubble in an attempt to hide.
    Alexia scanned the square. It was filled to bursting with dark servants, and even with the Atherial Cloak, it would be impossible to cross. But Jack was backed into a corner with nowhere to hide. Alexia wanted to scream as the Drogule raised both fists high.
    Suddenly, a piercing voice sounded from somewhere above. It was so pure and strong that it penetrated the chaos below. For a brief moment the fighting stopped and the courtyard became still. Man, creature, monster, and beast gazed toward the heavens.
    A small figure hovered above the square. Her hair spread above her like a fan and glowed with a golden light. Her eyes were a thunderstorm, and as she sang, each word shattered the night. Alexia couldn’t understand the language, but it didn’t matter. The song was filled with such sorrow and loss that she wanted to weep.
    â€œElion!” Alexia whispered. The Sephari’s voice was beautiful and terrifying beyond words. Every eye stayed pasted to the sky. As Elion stretched out her arms, wisps of colored mist began rising from paving stones and walls.
    The dark servants shied away from the mist as stones burst free and shot upward to spin slowly around Elion. Alexia didn’t move. It was mesmerizing. Stone and earth splintered from the ground, adding to the otherworldly tornado. Even the black lacquered coach bolted upward. Alexia saw the coachman, Master Hampton, lying flat on his back, clutching his eyes as if the light were too bright. The poor man must have been hiding under the coach!
    Gradually the battle began again, and Alexia was about to flee when something grabbed her from behind and began hauling her backward.
    She shrieked as she was dragged through an open doorway and dropped to the ground. Alexia scrambled to her feet and saw Wild closing the door. “What are you doing just standing there?” he shouted. “That cloak doesn’t make you totally invisible, you know!”
    Slam! Alexia’s fist connected solidly with Wild’s jaw. “Don’t ever do that again!” she growled. “I was coming if you had just waited a second, you sheep-head!”
    Wild rose to his feet, probing his jaw tenderly. “You punched me! What’s wrong with you?”
    â€œMaybe I don’t like being dragged about and thrown to the ground!”
    â€œWhatever Elion is doing,” Wild said, “it’s not some fireworks show on Guy Fawkes Day. You can’t just sit and watch like a country bumpkin!”
    Alexia balled her fists. Of anyone she’d met, Wild knew the quickest way to get under her skin. The boy was infuriating. She was about to hit him again when the wooden door burst open. Both children leaped back as four Oriax tried to enter the passageway at the same time, momentarily becoming stuck in the doorway. The beasts squealed and brayed as they tried to flee whatever was happening outside.
    â€œI know you want to punch me again”—Wild offered a half grin—“but it might be best if we run now.” He darted down the darkened passageway without another word.
    Alexia was furious. Had he really just grinned at her? As the two children rounded a corner, they skidded to a stop. “Get down!” Wild screamed. Alexia shrieked when she saw the cannon aimed directly at them.
    Boom!
    Alexia dropped and threw her body back as the cannonball whizzed overhead. The noise was deafening and the air instantly filled with dust and debris. For a long moment, she didn’t move but stared upward, catching her breath. Her ears rang and she was dizzy. When she finally struggled to her feet, Alexia was exceedingly woozy.
    The cannonball had burst through the back wall, shot across the courtyard, and exploded through a wall on the opposite side. Alexia leaned heavily against the ruined wall and rubbed at her temples. Inside