Playing With Fire Read Online Free PDF Page A

bookworm removed my poorly made
bandage, carefully cleaning it with a wet rag, then picked up a needle. Through
the hole in my shirt he examined my wound, thinking of the best place for the
first stitch.
    “You’ll
have plenty of time to tell it while I fix your shoulder,” He said with a calm
tone. The bookworm’s voice made me a little bit drowsy, so I hardly felt the
first tug and pull of the needle slipping into my shoulder.
    I
told the story, beginning to end, making sure I didn’t leave anything out.
Darren came over while I was telling what happened. For the first time in days
I examined my brother. He had pale blue eyes that were always alive with joy
and long brown hair that fell over his forehead in long wisps, but unlike the
rest of my brothers his hair looked like he actually tried to take care of it
sometimes. His skin was snowy white, but was bruised and cut. It wasn’t
unusual. Guards would beat him whenever he got caught. They didn’t beat him
just because he had broken a law or because he made fun of them while being
arrested though it probably encouraged them a great deal. It was because they
knew he didn’t have an actual family that could do something about it. I would
never tell him or any of my other brothers about it but every time Darren came
back and looked like he’d been beaten I take it out on any guard I find that
night unfortunate enough to go out alone. The funny thing is they never saw it coming,
let alone see me at all, the poor idiots.
    Usually
when he and I are in the same room we fight like there is no tomorrow, physically
and verbally. But his eyes were swimming with guilt and worry as if he were to
blame for my shoulder injury. He only looked at me like that one time before
after I had broken my arm falling out of a tree when he was supposed to be
watching me. It was just such times that reminded me he was my big brother, and
even though we fought we still cared about each other. It made me a little sick
because I hate all that mushy crap.
    When
I finished my story I waited for a response from the bookworm. Everyone else
seemed to wait for him to speak as well and all eyes were on him, all except
for Vaze, whose curious blue eyes still hadn’t left me. It unnerved me. I
wasn’t used to being stared at, or even used to being given a second glance.
    “I
had hoped that Siren’s sacrifice would have prevented this, but it seems that
Aru’s plan failed.” The bookworm’s words sounded grave though they made no
sense to me. I glanced around to see if my brothers looked like they had a clue
what he meant. They all had blank faces, except for Jake, whose face was filled
with fear.
    “Wait,
what are you talking about?” I asked, feeling as if there was a bunch more to
the situation than how I found Vaze. Instead of the bookworm answering, Jake
took his turn to explain.
    “Scarlet…there
are things I didn’t tell you about. When I found you in the forest, you weren’t
alone,” Jake said slowly, as if trying to find the easiest way to explain.
“There was a woman there and a boy that was exactly like a younger version of the
one that had attacked you and Vaze. At the time I had been sleeping on a tree
branch like I always did before I had found you and the others, but was woken
up when a loud crash came from behind me. Then I saw the woman hiding behind a
tree, clutching a baby to her chest. Tears were streaming from her eyes, but
they weren’t like tears that come from a regular person, they were like liquid
amber. When I looked closer I saw that she didn’t look all that human. Her skin
had a gold twinge to it and her eyes were deep purple. She was dressed like
royalty, even though her clothes were torn and shredded. But the strangest
thing was that she seemed to glow.
    The
boy was getting closer and closer to her, and immediately I knew that was bad.
The woman kissed the baby’s forehead and set it down on the ground. She then
touched a pile of leaves next to her and it