The Missing Monarch Read Online Free PDF Page A

unflinching
fog before them. “He’s worth fighting for.”
    * * *
    Thad had to fight to keep pace with Monica as she tore
through the fog. Thankfully, he spent a lot of time at the platform gym when he
wasn’t working. Still it was a jolt to his system, sprinting through the
fog-drenched air, wishing he could go back in time and change all that had
happened.All he could do now was run and hope he wasn’t too late.
    Step after step, they hurtled together through the dense mist,
which clung to them in thick droplets, threatening to soak their water-resistant
clothes, weighing them down. Reminding himself to trust the coordinates on
Monica’s watch, Thad tried to shake off the disorienting feeling of isolation
brought on by theblinding clouds, whose obscuring whiteness blocked out
everything beyond the few steps in front of them. The alabaster tendrils
stretched like fingers across the landscape, veiling what lay ahead and
shrouding their future.
    Monica clutched his arm, pulling him back as she slowed to a
stop.
    “Need a breather?” He couldn’t blame her for being tired. She’d
set arelentless pace.
    But she shook her head and pointed up. “Did you see it?”
    “No.” Without the steady plod of their footsteps and the rustle
of their wet garments, Thad picked up the drone of an engine somewhere in the
distance. “I can hear it, though.”
    “How far away do you think—”
    Before she could finish her question, the drone roared down
upon them, its wheeledlanding gear piercing the fog like claws above their
heads.
    Thad grabbed Monica by the shoulders as he flung himself down,
landing hard on his shoulder, uncertain whether it was more important to shield
her from the hard damp ground, or the threat above them.
    The plane swept past them, out of sight again, and Thad pulled
Monica back to her feet. He didn’t recognizethe plane, but it certainly wasn’t
one belonging to his oil fleet, or the plane that had brought them to shore.
“What was that?”
    “It looks like the little jet that brought me to Deadhorse.”
Monica stared through the mist in the direction the aircraft had disappeared.
“They told me it couldn’t land on the permafrost. It needs tarmac.”
    “So what is it doing?”
    “Lookingfor us?” Monica’s guess sounded frantic.
    The roar of the engine grew louder as the plane bore down on
them from somewhere in the disorienting fog. Since they couldn’t see the jet,
Thad realized the pilot wouldn’t be able to see them, either. Flying by
instruments, the pilot could avoid scraping the earth, but they stood tall
enough off the ground that it could crash rightinto them in the thick fog.
    “Run!” He grabbed her arm and pulled her forward. They sprinted
at a faster pace than they’d adopted earlier.
    Still, Monica looked at him with terror in her eyes. “Where are
we going to hide?”
    “Just run.” He could hear the plane bearing down on them again.
“This way.” Tugging her off to the right, he hoped they could lose their
pursuersin the fog if they veered off the course of the road. Surely the plane
was using the coordinates of the road to find them—the pilot wouldn’t be able to
see anything through the blanketing clouds.
    It was all they could do to keep running for Deadhorse. Too bad
the tiny town was still miles away.
    Above them the sound of the approaching plane grew louder with
its descent,but each time he thought they were about to be buzzed, the sound
faded again through the dense fog. Monica’s dead sprint lagged slightly. He knew
she had to be winded. They couldn’t keep up their frantic pace forever.
    “What do you think?” She panted, gulping air as she tried to
speak. “They can’t land that plane here.”
    Thad understood what she was asking. Even if the planehad been
sent by Octavian, what was his goal? They couldn’t scoop them up and carry them
off.
    “The pilot must have told them we left his plane. Maybe they’re
just trying to keep tabs on