The Fire Sisters (Brilliant Darkness 3) Read Online Free Page A

pushing apart.
    “That’s not selfishness, Moon. You love Petrel, and you don’t want to lose him. Of course you want Yani to have a father. I don’t blame you a bit.” I hold her, breathing in the floral scent of her hair, mindful of the baby. “We’ll bring your brother home, I promise.”
    It’s all I can do not to break down myself as I listen to her cry. I find and nuzzle Yani’s fuzzy head before I turn away.
    Arika kisses my hands, thanking me in a voice hollowed out with tears. Nerang thanks me, too, with sincerity. Petrel, Konol, and a few others touch my arm and wish me luck.
    Peree takes my hand, keeping me close, as we start down the path from the village, heading toward the water hole and the uncertainty beyond. My body tenses at the thought of the vast, unknown forest ahead. The river… Restless, did Kai call it? And the Cloister. Will I really be able to help with the search? Or will my Sightlessness only hold the group up?
    “Fennel.”
    Moray . Warily, I turn to him.
    “I picked this up. Before.”
    Not Moray, Conda. His voice is quieter and a lot less smug than his brother’s. He places something very familiar in my hand. It’s a long, slim stick, smooth and highly polished, with well-worn leather strips wrapped tightly around the top.
    Aloe’s cane.
    “Your brother dropped it when he… Anyway, I was going to give it to you as a gift at your partnering ceremony. I thought you’d want it back.”
    I run my hands up and down the cane, too stunned to speak. Eland took it from our shelter before we left for Koolkuna, and I’d assumed it had stayed where it lay when he died.
    My shoulders fall back into place, and the tears that were threatening to choke me from all the goodbyes dry up. To have this tangible piece of my mother again fills me with a true sense of peace and purpose I haven’t felt since before Eland was killed. Aloe would have gone to rescue the children. She would have done whatever she had to—proudly and without a fuss—no matter what the personal cost. I will try to follow her example.
    I offer Conda a shaky smile. “Thank you. It… it means more than you know to have this.”
    “You’re welcome.” He sounds pleased.
    Aloe’s cane in hand, I fall into step between Peree and Conda. I pray it holds something of my mother still, some essence of her mental and physical strength, because without a doubt, I’m going to need it to find the Fire Sisters and bring the children home.
     

Chapter Three
    We follow the stream out of the village, moving quickly. It had been a beautiful fall day, but the sun fades now, cooling the air. As I listen to the water rushing headlong away from everything familiar, I shiver and wonder when we’ll be able to return to Koolkuna, and what will happen to us before we do.
    “Who’s really in charge of this little expedition?” Moray asks. “So I know who to blame when it all goes to hell?”
    I grit my teeth, determined not to get into it with him so soon after setting off. Surprisingly, Conda lets out an exasperated mutter.
    Derain answers. “Kaiya has agreed to guide us, as she is the only one who has been to the Cloister. Amarina and I will make decisions for the group. Is that a problem?”
    In my experience, Derain is a sweet and friendly man, more likely to hug than fight. He must know Moray, though, because he sounds cautious.
    Moray snorts. “No, no problem. A girl, a one-handed man, and a tiny, little woman are in charge. No problem at all.”
    One-handed man? I suddenly remember Kora told me, the night we arrived in Koolkuna, that Derain had cut his hand making a toy for Darel while we were gone.
    “How is it?” I ask Peree in an undertone. “Derain’s hand?”
    “Not good. He cut a few fingers to the bone. Can't seem to do much with it.”
    I frown. I didn’t realize the injury was so severe.
    “This whole mission is like one of those stories the elders used to tell us,” Cuda says. “Remember, Moray? The ones where