The Boys of Fire and Ash Read Online Free PDF Page A

little—”
    I was afraid Fiver would pounce. My hand shot out in front of me and my palm slammed into his nose. He cried out.
    “Shut up!” I said again. “He’s gone!”
    “I’m bleeding!”
    I strained to listen, expecting to hear the stranger shifting in the shadows behind me. I had a sick feeling the two of us would be jumped at any second. But Fiver was groaning and sniffing, and it was blocking the background noise.
    “Urgle! I’m gonna kill you for this. I’m— Wait, who’s gone?”
    Finally the big oaf had heard me.
    “Blaze,” I rasped.
    The two of us stayed frozen in the dark, our ears searching for any sign of the stranger.
    Nothing but snores, and coughing, and a mumbling sound.
    “Wait, hear it?” I whispered.
    The mumbling voice was gruff and deep, unfamiliar, not one of the Brothers.
    “I see you, I see you,” it hissed, “filthy demon Tunrar. Bah!” It was coming from near the entrance, along with the shuffling sound of feet. Blaze was up and he was moving.
    “What’s he doing?” asked Fiver.
    I didn’t know. I wasn’t sure I wanted to. But if he was moving, Crow had fixed him good enough. He was feeling better.
    I scrambled off the Platform and headed for Crow’s sleeping space as best I could. I felt Fiver’s desperate fingerstouching my back every so often as he tried to follow me through the dark.
    Again, the cry of the creatures somewhere in the distance invaded the A-Frame and my head knocked into the post that held up Crow’s hammock. My eyes welled with tears and I cursed as Fiver grabbed my arm and moved in close to me. He was panting, his rank breath wrinkling my nose. He was scared.
    I reached up and felt around, my hands landing on Crow’s sleeping face.
    “Hey! Hey!” he whispered. “What are you doing?”
    “Wake up!”
    “Urgs?”
    “Yeah! Get up. Blaze is on his feet.”
    “What?” Crow was groggy, he hadn’t quite come to.
    Fiver scoffed in the dark and I heard a scuffle, then a body slammed against my shoulder and pushed me back.
    “Hey! Easy!” yelled Crow.
    Fiver must have grabbed him and pulled him down off his bed, because in that instant Crow was standing in front of me, his hands on my shoulders.
    “What’s going on?” he asked.
    “Blaze!” snapped Fiver.
    “He’s up,” I said. “Listen.”
    Crow said nothing for a moment.
    “Not the baby, not my baby, can’t let them have the baby.” The mumbling was faster now, rambling. “What have I done? What have I done?”
    At that, I felt Crow move away from me. He was headed for Blaze.
    “Hey! What are you—?” I knew Crow wouldn’t answer. When Crow was focused on something, everything else fellaway from him. I reached back towards Crow’s sleeping space and felt around for anything. I felt a heavy pot, and clanged a bowl. Fiver figured out what I was doing and followed suit. Armed with cookware, we tried our best to follow Crow.
    It was tough, especially with Fiver’s clumsy hands constantly reaching out for me making me jump. I could hear Crow, a long way in front. My best guess was by the fire pit.
    Suddenly, a small flame lit up Crow’s face.
    “Psst!”
He motioned to us, waving his little torch.
    Thrilled to have light, Fiver and I scurried over to him.
    “You better not break those,” Crow said when we reached him.
    I looked at the charred black skillet in my hand, then the wooden spoon in the hands of Fiver. We looked pathetic.
    Crow suppressed a smile and led the way.
    We passed the entrance, headed towards the front corner where Av and his Little Brother slept. The mumbling was easier to hear now, Blaze was close.
    “Beginning is secrets…. Beginning is lies!” Blaze’s outline appeared in the light of the torch. He was pacing back and forth, not far from Av and Goobs’s sleeping place.
    He was shaking his head back and forth, over and over. Crow broke away from me and Fiver, moving in for a better look. “Look at his eyes,” he told us.
    In the light of the torch