On the Meldon Plain (The Fourline Trilogy Book 2) Read Online Free PDF

paused and glanced at the cab of the truck, half expecting to see Andris glaring back at her. “Um, it’s Nat, I need to—” The lock clicked open. She hesitated, then grabbed the handle and opened the door.
    Her boots clanked against the metal stairs. She leaned against the railing when she reached the walkway overlooking the interior forest, greenhouse, and practice arena that took up most of the warehouse. The blue training dummies still hung from the ceiling, interspersed among the trees. She picked up a small rock jammed into a walkway grate and tossed it at one of the suspended figures. The rock missed its mark and tumbled through the thick pine branches.
    Other than the familiar, continuous hum from the greenhouse fans, the warehouse was eerily quiet. She passed through an open door at the end of the walkway. Her steps down the stairs into the kitchen rang out. A single cup sat on the wooden kitchen table. She breathed in, smelling the dried herbs hanging from the ceiling racks, and tried to settle her nerves.
    Silence greeted her when she poked her head into the hallway leading to Ethet’s laboratory. It was dim, but a ray of light shone underneath the doors of the lab. She stumbled on the worn carpet and cursed under her breath before pushing open one of the doors.
    “Hello, Natalie.” Barba lifted a beaker of boiling water from a Bunsen burner and smiled. Nat took a seat on a familiar bench and watched Barba pour the water into two coffee cups. The table where Soris had lain after she’d brought him through the membrane was directly across from her. She looked away and found herself staring into the dark mouth of the tunnel leading to Fourline. She removed her jacket and cleared her throat.
    “Here,” Barba said. She handed Nat one of the cups. Steam curled around her face.
    “Smells familiar,” Nat said, glancing at the array of vials and bottles lining the shelves behind Barba. Did Ethet leave anything that will heal my wound or help me sleep through the night? she wondered.
    “Meldon tea, common beverage for Sisters,” Barba said, interrupting her thoughts. “You had several cups before you returned to Fourline.”
    Common for Sisters, but not me, Nat thought and placed her cup on the bench, in the void between her and the Sister.
    “I can’t tell you how happy I am that you’ve finally come back here. I understand why you left us so quickly after you returned with Soris.” Barba’s intelligent eyes softened into a sympathetic look. “I suppose you’re now wondering why your markings never faded?”
    “Barba,” Nat interrupted. Being in the room with the tunnel to Fourline had only increased her anxiety, and Barba’s preoccupation with her markings put her on edge. “I didn’t come to discuss my markings. I’m having some problems.” Her eyes flickered toward the tunnel entrance.
    “What kind of problems?” Barba adjusted her glasses.
    “Sleeping, for one. I can’t sleep without dreaming of Soris and the Nala that bit him, the one I killed.”
    “You killed a Nala?” Barba sat upright.
    “Didn’t Soris tell you?”
    “Natalie, Soris had very little memory of what happened after the Nala attacked him.” Barba placed her cup next to the Bunsen burner and turned down the flame. “I think it’s best you share what occurred with me.”
    Barba’s serious tone caused a flutter of nerves in Nat’s stomach. Her chest tightened and she swallowed. She didn’t want to relive the memory of that day.
    “Well?” Barba crossed her arms and waited. The thrum reverberating from the tunnel entrance filled the silent space between them.
    “I fell asleep instead of watching out for him.” Nat’s voice broke. She traced the lip of her cup with her finger. “When I woke up, I knew something was wrong. The forest was quiet, no birdsong. Soris was by the river, filling our water flask.” Nat closed her eyes, remembering him turning and yelling before the Nala pounced. “A Nala leapt over