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

me, slammed into my shoulder, and landed on Soris. I froze, Sister. I couldn’t move.” Her chin slumped against her chest. “It bit Soris and told me it would make him a duozi.” She wiped a tear away with the back of her sleeve.
    “Natalie, what happened to the Nala?”
    Nat sniffed and glanced at the Sister. She’d never seen Barba look so concerned.
    “It threatened me. I used your dagger and stabbed it, but it was too late for Soris. It was my fault, Barba. If I’d been honest with Soris and told him I wasn’t a real Sister, then maybe he wouldn’t have trusted me so much to protect him. Instead of protecting him, I froze,” she said, her lips turning down.
    “What did you do with the Nala’s body?”
    “What does it matter?” she asked, irritated with Barba’s interest in the creature. “It’s dead.”
    “It matters a great deal.”
    “I pushed the body into the river and went to find help for Soris.”
    Barba entwined her fingers and walked toward the tunnel entrance. “Natalie, these dreams you’ve been having . . . Are Soris and the dead Nala in them?”
    “Yes, and last night the creature got into my dream space.”
    “You invited it in?” Barba spun around so fast her glasses lifted off her nose.
    “No . . . Well, yes. I thought the Nala was Soris. Maybe it was. I don’t know.” She pressed the heel of her hand against her forehead. “Look, Sister, like I said, I need help. The Nala wounded me, and the wound hasn’t healed. And these dreams—”
    “It bit you?” Barba rushed to Nat.
    “No, it just grazed my shoulder.”
    Barba pulled the neck of her shirt down, exposing the discolored skin. She poked around the wound.
    “Did Ethet leave anything here that can heal this and stop my nightmares?” Nat stared at the wall of bottles and vials. “Ouch!” She flinched away from Barba’s probing fingers. Barba readjusted the neck of her shirt. She twisted her lips and regarded Nat for a moment before she spoke.
    “You’ll have to ask Ethet, Natalie.”
    “She’s coming back?” Maybe there was an end to her pain.
    “No, my dear, she’s not coming back. But you’re going to Fourline.”
    “What?” Nat’s mouth hung open. “I’m not going back! I never should have gone in the first place.” She thrust a finger at her chest. “If it wasn’t for me, Soris would be . . . Well, he’d be what he was instead of a duozi.”
    “Listen to me, Natalie.” Barba grasped her forearm. “You made it possible for Estos and everyone else to return to Fourline. Since then, we’ve learned how closely linked Mudug and the Nala are. He and the Chemist . . .” A distasteful expression crossed her face. Her grip tightened. “I don’t know how much you saw of Mudug’s dealings, but know this: The people of Fourline are nothing more than disposable pawns to him. People who disagree with him disappear or die like Emilia. He will continue to destroy anyone who counters him, and he’s letting the Nala run rampant. More people will end up like Soris if Mudug isn’t stopped.”
    She took a deep breath. “Estos is the one person who can expose Mudug for what he is and what he’s done.” She dropped her hand. “Without Estos, the rebels have no rallying cause. Don’t for a second think what you did was a waste. I am certain Soris feels the same way, regardless of his transformation.”
    “None of that changes the fact that Soris believed I would—that I could—protect him. He believed in me and I lied to him.” Nat clutched the front of her shirt and blinked away her tears. Expressing her guilt openly wasn’t cathartic; it was a knife to her heart.
    “When we sent you in, none of us believed a Nala would attack a Warrior Sister. What happened to Soris wasn’t your fault. It was ours. The Nala were bound by an accord that should have kept both of you safe. We were wrong. The accord is broken.”
    “The Rim Accord.” Nat wiped her nose with her sleeve. She felt exhausted