Lady of the Star Wind Read Online Free Page B

its throat, baring impressive fangs.
    “Behold the Globes of Amarkana.” She yanked at a corner of what Mark had assumed to be the tent’s rear wall. The shimmering panel fell away, revealing a tree taller than Mark fashioned entirely from crystal. Jagged, sharp branches of clear glass, patterned with leaves incised deep into the surface, jutted from a thick trunk at odd angles. At the tip of each branch hung a perfect golden ball, ethereal bubbles made of solid material. The globes were translucent, empty at first glance, but then Mark saw faint spirals of white smoke in some, flickering lightning in others, flames in a few. Several appeared to contain misty rain droplets suspended as if captured in midair…the branches stirred with a faint chiming sound.
    “The time is nearly gone.” Lajollae’s voice broke into their fascination.
    He checked the floating timer. Sure enough, the upper bubble was almost empty of the sparkling contents, sagging in upon itself. “What do we do?”
    “Pick the globe meant for you,” Lajollae said. “You’ll know which one is your destiny.”  
    “What if we pick differently?” Sandy clutched at his sleeve. “I can’t lose you again!”
    Lajollae shook her head. “You can each choose your own destination, or one may decide for both.”
    Mark and Sandy exchanged glances. “We stick together,” he said, clenching his jaw.
    “Agreed, this mad escapade we’re on is because I trusted you,” Sandy said, releasing his sleeve with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “So I trust you to decide for us.”
    Mark took a step toward the globes, studying them, trying to decide which to pick, not sure what would happen next—there was no retreat, no other way to end this.
    He kept going back to one particular globe, high on the tree, dangling precariously on its crystal branch. Nothing differentiated this bubble from all the rest, but it drew him nonetheless.
    When he stretched to touch the globe, it fell into his hand.  
    “You’ve chosen, now breathe the air of the destination you’ve selected,” Lajollae said in a harsh whisper. “Make haste, for your time is over—I’m leaving this place for my next station.”
    Mark stared at the surprisingly heavy globe in his hand, not sure what she wanted him to do. Breathe the air? Was that what the shimmering glass encapsulated—air from somewhere else? How could air win them freedom from Kliin’s pursuit?
    Mark knelt, the gesture feeling somehow appropriate at this moment. He let the globe roll from his fingertips onto the carpet. Rising, he positioned his heavy boot on top of the orb and glanced at Lajollae. Features difficult to discern in the blinding aura now surrounding her, she nodded. Mark drew Sandy into his arms. Closing her eyes, leaning against him, she locked her hands behind his back, over his spine. Angry shouting grew closer, Kliin calling the princess’s name. Mark raised his foot and brought it down in one violent motion, shattering the globe.
    Heat and a rush of spice-scented air swirled around them. Mark felt as if he’d been picked up by a whirlwind. He was afraid to open his eyes as the air filled with grit, scraping across every inch of exposed flesh. Tightening his arms around Sandy, he buried his face in her soft, fragrant hair. From the sensations, he’d have said they were flying through the air, yet a solid footing remained under his boots.
    Worries flooded Mark’s mind. Had Lajollae been trying to save them, or had she sent them into the path of some worse fate?
    Too late for regrets.  

CHAPTER TWO

    The first time Mark opened his eyes, the world continued to swirl around him, so he blinked hard, hoping to quell the vertigo. His head ached like he’d been on a three-day bender with cheap rotgut, his left shoulder throbbed like someone had stuck a jagged knife into it, and his stomach was on fire with cramping pain. Closing his eyes against the mad whirl of the vertigo, he tried to curl into the