Spirit Flight Read Online Free PDF Page B

What if she was wrong, and they'd wanted
to make sure before notifying the authorities and claiming she was
missing?
    She should have woken Ukiah instead of
leaving. She should have screwed up the courage and climbed back to
the cave.
    Lightning flickered across the sky. A crack
of thunder made her flinch.
    Two people emerged from the strand of trees
she'd been heading for. "Marisa!" Ethan called, his words whipping
past her, carried by the wind.
    She turned and ran. An instant later
motorcycle engines roared to life.
    Fear nearly choked her. Not just at the
prospect of them catching her, but of them also killing Ukiah if he
emerged from the cave.
    She stumbled and went to her knees. The wind
grew in intensity, making it impossible for her to stand.
    The dark clouds in front of her became a
boiling, angry mass, spitting rain. A lightning strike sizzled
through the air, so close to her that she felt its energy across
her skin.
    A scream sounded behind her. High and
feminine. Abruptly ended.
    Another strike sizzled against her skin. A
third split into two, passing on either side of her.
    The engine sounds died.
    A thunderbird emerged from the cloud and
Marisa froze, rational mind and knowing heart battling, awe and
disbelief warring with her soul's certainty that the mythical
creature in front of her was Ukiah.
    He swooped toward her and she felt only a
rush of pleasure, an answering cry in her chest, a desire to join
him in flight. For a split second she thought he would pick her up
with talons as black as his eyes, but at the last instant he swung
upward.
    She turned to watch him, her breath catching
at the sight of the two motorcycles lying bent and twisted and
smoldering on the path, the two bodies next to them.
    Hesitantly she walked toward them. Her
emotions volatile, ever changing. Dread and relief mixed with
sadness.
    She got to Kaitlyn first. Shuddered when she
saw dead eyes staring vacantly at the sky, the charred place where
a lightning bolt had struck.
    Moving to Ethan, she knelt, tears coming
despite everything. He moaned and she jerked. Her hand flew to his
throat.
    She felt a pulse beating there. Alive. He
was still alive and she wasn't sorry.
    She wouldn't forgive him or allow him into
her life again. She wouldn't let him get away with what he'd done.
But he was her brother and she was glad he wasn't dead.
    She stood and looked around, expecting to
see Ukiah. But instead there was only the sense that he was
watching from deep in the clouds, hovering close but unseen to
ensure her safety.
    The wind pushed against her, urging her to
leave, to move on, toward the grove of trees and down the mountain.
The motorcycles were useless and there was nothing she could do for
Ethan other than get help.
    She ran. Pacing herself this time. The wind
against her back aiding her.
    It felt like she ran for hours, though she
had no idea how long it took to get to Hohoq. It seemed like a
lifetime ago when she and Ethan and Kaitlyn had stopped there for
lunch. Sat at the table, lingering, enjoying themselves, laughing
and teasing so that others smiled with them.
    Marisa closed the door on those memories and
entered the first place she came to. Hohoq General
Store .
    Her attention was immediately drawn to the
small, delicately carved birds and animals, then the man behind the
counter, a silver-haired version of Ukiah though this man's hair
was short.
    His eyes widened, he asked, "Which one of
the boys do you belong to?"
    "Let me handle this, Father," another man
said, stepping from behind a row of shelves and making Marisa's
heart rush to her throat.
    She hurled herself into his arms and hugged
him tight. He laughed softly and gently stroked her back. "My
brother misplace you?"
    Pulling away from him, she saw the sheriff's
star on his chest, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes. He was
older than Ukiah. "I need your help."
    She told him what'd happened, trying to
describe where she'd come from, parts of her story