Soul of Smoke Read Online Free PDF Page B

a rake by the dragon’s good foreclaw.
    Flat on her back, she could only stare at the car-sized head that hovered above her, luminous silver eyes filling her vision. Black lips curled back in a snarl, revealing a gaping maw full of pointed white teeth as long as her forearm and covered in slimy, yellow spittle.
    Something
pushed
against her mind, the pressure growing until her brain felt it would burst like a smashed grape. She screamed, her fingers clawing into the dirt as if she could use the earth to anchor her sanity.
    “
That’s right
,
ape.
Scream.
” A voice oozed through her brain, dirty and wrong. It forced its way into her mind, prying her open. Almost idly, it began flipping through memories. Her vision doubled as her true eyes watched silver ones loom closer while random images from her past flashed through her mind. She squirmed and gagged, bile climbing into her throat.
    “
Kai Monahan.
” Its mental voice was oddly flat against her brain. Black nostrils flared. ”
You smell crunchable.
”
    The pressure in her head doubled. Kai thought she screamed again, but wasn’t sure. The black head darted toward her, jaws gaping wide.
    A groan. A man’s voice, rough with pain, but strong. “
Go back to Cadarnle
,
Kavar.
Now.
”
    An ear-splitting roar. Voices that bounced around inside her head.
    Everything went blessedly dark.
    * * *
    Kai was cold. Her head throbbed. She rolled, the earth hard and uneven beneath her. The movement triggered a sensation like a knife twisting in her brain.
    Holy hell.
Where am I?
    Vision blurring, she lifted her head. She was on a shallow slope surrounded by dark, narrow pines and carpeted with their prickly castoffs. The dim, gray light of dawn filtered through the forest. Ten feet away, several people huddled around a figure on the ground, speaking in the mystery language.
    Images flashed through her brain. Finding Deryn. Trekking through the weird fog. Deryn’s brother, Rhys, and his fire-blue eyes.
    The battle came flooding back, and her stomach lurched.
Dragons.
Freaking dragons!
The last thing she remembered was Kavar popping her mind open like an oyster. Had he brought her here?
    Kai jumped to her feet but immediately fell forward on hands and knees, dead pine needles digging into her palms. Her heart drummed against the back of her ribs. Black hair fell in sheets on either side of her face. She closed her eyes and froze, wishing she hadn’t moved. It would only draw their attention.
    Taking short, shallow breaths, Kai hooked her hair behind one ear and turned to look at the dragons. She blinked, trying to force her eyes into focus. Her vision cleared enough to show her five figures bent over something on the ground.
    “I couldn’t put out the fire.”
    Kai nearly fainted in relief when she recognized Deryn’s voice. The tall girl separated from the group, led by the tiny woman who had offered to walk Kai to the ravine before the dragon attack. As they moved, Kai caught a glimpse of the prone figure at the center of the circle.
    Red hair. Rhys.
    Deryn’s hands were curled into tight, white-knuckled fists. “I couldn’t put out the fire, Ffion. He’s dying and it’s my fault.”
    Kai’s stomach lurched again and she swallowed bitter bile. She’d tried to save him. Had she risked her life for nothing?
    “You were injured,” said the tiny woman, Ffion. “We all did our best.” She pushed Deryn gently forward, a look of calm surety on her face. “Come on,
bach
.” Her voice was chirping and bird-like, “We’ll get to the waystation and Ashem will make the anti-venom. Rhys is strong. He’ll make it.” Though Ffion’s face was composed, her voice wavered on the last sentence.
    Through the awful headache and her own terrified confusion, Kai felt something in her chest unknot. For the moment, Rhys was alive, though his skin was ashen and he lay utterly still. If Ffion hadn’t said otherwise, Kai would’ve thought him dead.
    Cadoc leaned hard on Rhys’s