Rise of the Mare (Fall of Man Book 2) Read Online Free PDF

She actually hissed at
Iry.
    Even though I was fearful of sinking,
I was prepared to jump into the water.
    Nito wasn’t just any Sybaris, she was
a high priestess, a princess. She was third in line to the throne
of the Ancients. Making eye contact with them was strictly
forbidden, as I made sure to do as she stood behind Iry.
    “Elder!” she cried out. “Command this
educator to step aside.”
    My insides shuddered as the dark
robed Elder made his way toward us. He sickened me, his stench
worse than any other Sybaris. Knowing how they fed on my brother
made my bowels churn.
    His voice was raspy and he spoke a
language I did not understand. He said a single sentence, turned,
and walked away.
    The corner of Iry’s mouth raised in
gloating smile, and Nito’s anger told me the Elder had refused.
    She sneered at me. “You will be mine
at the ceremony. The educator is low level. He led you here.”
    “You baited me and threatened me,” I
argued.
    “It proves the control I have and you
will be under my control soon enough, Mare.” With that, she rushed
away, almost gliding down the pier.
    When the passage across the pier was
clear, I turned to Iry. “Can they take away my choice?”
    “No. Not that I know of,” he said.
“However, we’re talking about Nito, and she will do everything in
her power to change the rules.”
    “Can she?”Iry took a deep breath.
“Let’s hope not.”

TEN – TANNER
     
    Perhaps it wasn’t the brightest of ideas. I was pretty positive
when I returned I was going to get my rear end handed to me by
Davis. After he was asleep and in that timeframe when it was safe
for everyone to be at ease, I snatched up one of the cars and
headed out toward the Salton Sea.
    I knew Vala was on horseback. I also
knew she’d stop for the night and wouldn’t get going until the
morning.
    I hoped I wouldn’t miss her.
    When I arrived at the holding camp,
she had been at and left the bait shop. There was still the aroma
of food and I was hopeful I could catch her. By the time I reached
the Salton Sea, Vala was a third of the way out, floating on what
we called the ‘Braft’.
    She was too far out to call and she
never looked back. Though I hoped against all hope that she would,
she didn’t.
    The horse, Sandstorm was still there.
He hadn’t run off. It was as if he were waiting for her to
return.
    “She’s not coming back, boy.” I
stroked his mane. “You might as well leave.”
    I thought of giving him a swat to get
going, but I didn’t. Maybe he’d follow me back.
    I stayed there until Vala was no
longer in my sight. My heart sunk a little. At least I knew I
tried. Inadvertently, that failed trip succeeded in something else;
making me realize I was wrong about her.
    Davis had explained her reasoning,
and before I left the sea, I resolved to accept it and wait for her
return or for Vala to contact us.
    It was the beginning of the war. One
I had waited my lifetime to see, and the first shot would be fired
by a lone girl who wandered into our city and into our lives.
    Having been up all night, I didn’t
realize how tired I was and the feeling of ‘burn’ against my face
was what woke me. The sun was beating down on me. I jumped up,
looked at my watch, and saw it was two PM. I had been gone eight
hours at least. Now, Davis wasn’t going to be mad, he was going to
worried.
    I rushed back to the car, hoping I
had enough fuel, started it, and took off.
    The first part of my route was
frantic with thoughts on how I would talk my way out of it, maybe
even lie. I could tell him I got a vision from Vala and she was in
trouble.
    Nah. He’d ask why I didn’t wake him
and instead just stole the car.
    I went through every excuse in the
book except for the truth. I didn’t want to tell him that I was
being sappy and needed to try one more time to stop her.
    I had made it to the cabin and back
on the old highway. A single lane had been formed in the growth;
the rest of the highway was just as much a part