Unleashed: The Deepest Fears Lie Within (Secrets of the Makai) Read Online Free
Author: Toni Kerr
Tags: Young Adult Urban Fantasy
creatures froze.
Tristan opened his mouth to apologize as a thick shadow swallowed the starlight above them. The darkness made the creatures seem brighter for a moment. The shooting object changed direction and blinked out when it hit the trunk of a tree.
The winged girl dropped enough to launch herself from the palm of his hand into the air. She flew for cover in the cracks of the rock wall. Others were doing the same thing in a panicked stampede. Some pulled flowers over themselves and ducked behind leaves, trying to conceal the light emanating from their bodies.
A moldy smell of decomposing earth seeped down the rock wall, choking out the fragrance of flowers. And something else. A smell he recognized from Ireland. Death.
He searched for Victor and Landon, unable to determine where they were, or if they were with him at all.
At the top of the rocky cliff wall, a monstrous ball of leaves rolled forward on twiggy arms. Black holes formed into eyes and a mouth.
Everything became still.
The leaves of its face rustled as an exhaling wind filled the clearing. Screams of terror rose again. Creatures dropped from useless hiding places, their lights blown out like candles as the masses shifted from glittering dust to black ash. The rock wall seemed to dissolve in an outpouring of the same dying substance as the wind continued to circle.
Tristan took several steps back, stunned by the shower of death that blackened everything. The web of lanterns vaporized before hitting the ground. Something fell into the palm of his hand—a girl that no longer glowed. Half a wing twitched into a tiny cloud of dust.
“What’s going on?” Tristan asked, though he didn’t expect to be answered.
“King of the Hunters,” the tiny girl said in perfect English. Beautiful locks of pale-blue hair fell away in waves of powder. “I summoned blood of a dragon and sacrifice my own to save our queen’s first born. Be quick! The hunter will soon know you are here!”
“Me personally?” He’d be hard to miss, being the only giant human in the area.
High above, the leaf monster was shifting into an all-consuming tornado. Tristan raised the girl closer to his face, willing himself not to notice her bare legs and arms disintegrating inch by inch.
“Trust no one. Save the first born.” Her sapphire eyes bore into his, and seemed to be the last thing to go.
“But I’m not a dragon.” Tristan covered the pile of ash with his free hand and glanced up in time to see the leafy tornado descend from the cliff. Sand pelted the side of his face, stinging his eyes, blasting away the petals of the pure white rose.
The shimmering sapphire disappeared in a wave of dirt and debris and ash of the dead.
3 - A N EW H OME -
TRISTAN SEIZED A LUNGFUL of air as a red splotch, haloed by orange and yellow, blurred before him. In a blink the splotch was gone and Landon was standing in front of him, shaking him with a firm grip on the shoulders.
“Your eyes,” Landon gasped, before releasing his grip and walking away.
Tristan glanced at Victor, then down at the pile of ash in his hand, ignoring the comment. “What was I supposed to do?”
Victor and Landon remained silent.
“Don’t tell me you didn’t see any of that....” Tristan scanned the clearing to avoid the obvious answer. Nothing terrible loomed over the top of the rock wall. The sky was neither dark nor light, still in the late stages of dawn. Tristan walked to the wall itself to search for proof that something had once made it magical, while Victor talked to Landon in hushed whispers.
Morning dew glistened on the wall, half-caked with dirt and moss. There were no traces of it ever supporting the type of life he’d witnessed. All he had was a handful of ash.
He held it out for Victor and Landon when they approached, but apparently they couldn’t see that either.
Tristan turned away. If they didn’t suspect he was a bit crazy before, they sure would if he tried to explain anything. He
Tristan opened his mouth to apologize as a thick shadow swallowed the starlight above them. The darkness made the creatures seem brighter for a moment. The shooting object changed direction and blinked out when it hit the trunk of a tree.
The winged girl dropped enough to launch herself from the palm of his hand into the air. She flew for cover in the cracks of the rock wall. Others were doing the same thing in a panicked stampede. Some pulled flowers over themselves and ducked behind leaves, trying to conceal the light emanating from their bodies.
A moldy smell of decomposing earth seeped down the rock wall, choking out the fragrance of flowers. And something else. A smell he recognized from Ireland. Death.
He searched for Victor and Landon, unable to determine where they were, or if they were with him at all.
At the top of the rocky cliff wall, a monstrous ball of leaves rolled forward on twiggy arms. Black holes formed into eyes and a mouth.
Everything became still.
The leaves of its face rustled as an exhaling wind filled the clearing. Screams of terror rose again. Creatures dropped from useless hiding places, their lights blown out like candles as the masses shifted from glittering dust to black ash. The rock wall seemed to dissolve in an outpouring of the same dying substance as the wind continued to circle.
Tristan took several steps back, stunned by the shower of death that blackened everything. The web of lanterns vaporized before hitting the ground. Something fell into the palm of his hand—a girl that no longer glowed. Half a wing twitched into a tiny cloud of dust.
“What’s going on?” Tristan asked, though he didn’t expect to be answered.
“King of the Hunters,” the tiny girl said in perfect English. Beautiful locks of pale-blue hair fell away in waves of powder. “I summoned blood of a dragon and sacrifice my own to save our queen’s first born. Be quick! The hunter will soon know you are here!”
“Me personally?” He’d be hard to miss, being the only giant human in the area.
High above, the leaf monster was shifting into an all-consuming tornado. Tristan raised the girl closer to his face, willing himself not to notice her bare legs and arms disintegrating inch by inch.
“Trust no one. Save the first born.” Her sapphire eyes bore into his, and seemed to be the last thing to go.
“But I’m not a dragon.” Tristan covered the pile of ash with his free hand and glanced up in time to see the leafy tornado descend from the cliff. Sand pelted the side of his face, stinging his eyes, blasting away the petals of the pure white rose.
The shimmering sapphire disappeared in a wave of dirt and debris and ash of the dead.
3 - A N EW H OME -
TRISTAN SEIZED A LUNGFUL of air as a red splotch, haloed by orange and yellow, blurred before him. In a blink the splotch was gone and Landon was standing in front of him, shaking him with a firm grip on the shoulders.
“Your eyes,” Landon gasped, before releasing his grip and walking away.
Tristan glanced at Victor, then down at the pile of ash in his hand, ignoring the comment. “What was I supposed to do?”
Victor and Landon remained silent.
“Don’t tell me you didn’t see any of that....” Tristan scanned the clearing to avoid the obvious answer. Nothing terrible loomed over the top of the rock wall. The sky was neither dark nor light, still in the late stages of dawn. Tristan walked to the wall itself to search for proof that something had once made it magical, while Victor talked to Landon in hushed whispers.
Morning dew glistened on the wall, half-caked with dirt and moss. There were no traces of it ever supporting the type of life he’d witnessed. All he had was a handful of ash.
He held it out for Victor and Landon when they approached, but apparently they couldn’t see that either.
Tristan turned away. If they didn’t suspect he was a bit crazy before, they sure would if he tried to explain anything. He
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