Pilgrim Read Online Free Page A

the
strength of the field.”
    “Okay, so come up with another plan,” Nova
said.
    “Crusader and I are working on it.”
    “Work faster,” she said, struggling to keep
her panic from boiling over. “I really don’t feel like being a
sacrificial lamb.”
    “How would you feel about calling in help?”
Cal said.
    “No way. I am not turning into the Jagged
Maw’s running joke. You find a way to get me out of this.”
    ***
     
    The sun was setting and cast an orange glow
over the countryside. The grass and sky shone in the dying light
and Nova was forced to narrow her eyes against the glare. Her arms
and legs ached. She had been tied up like a dead pig and she longed
to be let down. No matter how hard she struggled, there was no way
to get free of the ropes; the knots were too well tied.
    Campfire smoke occasionally crept up her
nostrils. Voices drifted to her, but she was alone. The wind blew
over her goose bump-covered skin as the day disappeared, bringing
an icy cold. She drew a deep breath and let her mind race. She
needed Cal and Crusader to get her out of here. Maybe once the
children were asleep, she could escape.
    The drums started beating. They reverberated
around the countryside in a steady booming rhythm.
    Her stomach clenched as the drums neared,
accompanied by high pitched wails.
    She looked right, toward the collection of
tents. A procession approached. A young girl of about five was at
its helm. Behind her, a young boy beat on a drum made from a metal
canister covered in animal hide. The lead girl had red lines on her
cheeks and a single line running down the centre of her face. She
stared at Nova, her eyes bulging.
    The girl stopped beside Nova’s head and the
others fanned out. Each of them had various markings on their
faces, painted in red ochre. The ten children created a rough
circle around Nova and the pyre on which she was strung. The final
child, who was no older than ten, set down a wooden box in front of
the first girl.
    “As you requested, Sora,” said the younger
child before backing away to join the other children.
    Sora stared at Nova, retracting her lips to
reveal pointed teeth. Her eyes were sunk deep into her head,
leaving dark circles around their edges. She bent down and thrust
her hand into the crate. When she stood straight, she held a
struggling rabbit by the scruff of its white neck. It whimpered and
pawed at her. The girl’s smile widened.
    Nova frowned and looked to the other
children, but they were all staring at her with blank
expressions.
    “What are you doing?” Nova said. “I don’t
mean any harm and can help you. I have food and technology.”
    “Silence!” the girl, Sora, said. “Your
sorcery is not welcome here. You will be sacrificed to the mighty
Rock.”
    Sora wore a white piece of fabric wrapped
around her like a simple dress. It was stained with dirt and
speckled with blood. She held the rabbit up to Nova’s face, reached
her left hand out, grabbed hold of the rabbit’s neck, and
twisted.
    Snap.
    The rabbit stilled and sagged. The girl
tossed it towards Nova. It sailed in an arc up and then under
Nova’s body where it landed with a thump on the pile of sticks.
    The girl reached into the crate and
retrieved another struggling rabbit. Her lips widened and her eyes
glowed. The other children didn’t move.
    Nova gritted her teeth as blood pounded in
her ears. She was no stranger to death, but watching the rabbit
slaughter made something stir inside her. Her stomach rolled as she
watched their innocent lives snuffed out. She clenched her fists
and strained to get free but the ropes held firm. She couldn’t stop
the slaughter but she was determined not to watch.
    The worst thing was that Sora’s wide eyes
and curled lip stayed frozen as she snapped each rabbit’s neck.
    “Cal, I don’t think I’ll have much longer,
you really need to work this out,” Nova said.
    “My systems recommend you try to escape,”
Cal replied into her head. “The