Death of the Body (Crossing Death) Read Online Free

Death of the Body (Crossing Death)
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parliament towers, perhaps.
    Hailey looked at me incredulously. I knew the time for protecting them from what I had seen had passed. Her eyes flickered briefly to the smoke-darkened sky, then back to mine.
    “Show us what you saw,” she commanded.
    The muscles along my jawline tightened. I drew in a deep breath in protest but held out a hand to each of them. I closed my eyes and took my memory back to what I had seen through the eyes of the rose. The warm energy from my friends’ palms resting on my own began to crawl slowly up my arms. The sensation continued past my shoulders and up my neck until the warmth penetrated my head.
    The vision pushed its way to the front of my mind as Hailey and Ralph pulled out the conversation with Joshua the Elder, the smoke-filled town square, the flames devouring the bush I had used for communication, and even the feeling of what it was like for that poor plant in the final moments before it couldn’t support my presence.
    At first they felt my fear, but then I felt theirs. Seeing into each other’s minds was a two-way road. I could hear Ralph’s breath quicken as if I had breathed it myself, and Hailey’s logic started to fail her.
    “We have to find Joshua,” she said. “We need to find out what happened to our family.”
    By family, she meant everyone.
    The horse stopped abruptly. We were at the city gates but an odd silence blanketed the town. A solid brick wall surrounded our town, the only entrance through an iron barred gate.
    The entrance had never been closed to us before. Watchmen on the walls would have signaled our presence and the gates would have swung open. The town should have been alive with commotion and celebration as the dining hall was prepared.
    Memories of smiles from the women and looks of pride from the men were replaced by empty silence. I realized I had no idea how we were going to get into the town.
    I threw Hailey and Ralph a frustrated glance, thinking it must have startled them because they were inching toward the far side of the wagon and wore fearful expressions. It took me a few moments to realize they weren’t looking at me, but behind me, toward a hill that was outside of the city wall. I had the strange sensation of someone watching me. I bolted over the side of the cart in terror. My quick movement was enough to justify Hailey and Ralph’s fear. In an instant they were at my side on the ground, huddled behind the wagon.
    “What is it?” I asked nervously.
    “Someone is coming towards us,” Ralph replied in a whisper.
    I stole a peek over the wagon and saw a slouched, hooded figure slithering along the edge of the city wall, down the hill toward us. With its quick movements and the dim light of the setting sun, it looked like a shadow.
    “Edmund,” Hailey pleaded. “Edmund, what do we do?”
    The figure was close enough now that we could hear the thudding of footsteps, accented occasionally by the crunching sound of a dry leaf or twig.
    “Edmund, don’t let it see you,” Ralph said, tugging on the blanket I still held around me to hide my nakedness.
    I was frozen. I had no idea what to do, but there was something about the way the figure moved that looked familiar. As the shadow got closer I could make out the shape of a man in a hooded cloak; he was almost close enough to make out his features.
    The figure stopped suddenly. He stared in our direction, as though he had just noticed the wagon. His weight shifted nervously from one leg to the other before he slowly inched his way towards us.
    The figure called out, but it was a cautious cry, “Ed? Edmund?”
    My eyes grew wide. The next words fell out of my mouth. “It’s Joshua!”
    The three of us leapt from behind the cart and ran toward him. His gasp of relief was carried on the wind. When we got close enough, the same relief was obvious on his face.
    “Mother Earth!” Joshua exclaimed as we drew ourselves to him. “What happened to you?”
    The concern on Joshua’s face
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