Wild Blue Yonder (The Ceruleans: Book 3) Read Online Free Page A

and the truth, the expectations and the
reality, until the sky outside darkened and it was all I could do to keep from
flinging open the window and screaming into the wind.
    Afterwards, when the room was still but for the occasional
sigh from Jude and the occasional sniff from me, and I sat staring out of the window
into the darkness, I sorted through the memories and pulled out those parts
that mattered. In my mind’s eye, I created a stage – empty and echoey; wooden boards
framed by red velvet curtains. Centre-stage I set two wooden chairs cast in the
stark light of a spotlight. I sat Jude on one and Scarlett on the other, and
handed each a script – the pages muddled, the ink blurred in places. Then I
settled down in the stalls and watched as they played through each montage, and
I sought the meaning in the madness.
    *
    Scarlett: Is this it? This little island?
    Jude: This is all of Cerulea.
    Scarlett: How can it be so small?
    Jude: This is all we need. There aren’t many of us.
    Scarlett: But there must be more than this, surely!
    Jude: We assume there are others, beyond Devon and
Cornwall. But we don’t cross the border.
    *
    Scarlett: I feel my heart beating. Like I’m alive still.
Am I alive?
    Jude: Yes. You live and breathe.
    Scarlett: Like a human.
    Jude: Yes.
    Scarlett: But superhuman.
    Jude: Hardly.
    Scarlett: But the powers…
    Jude: We can heal. That’s it.
    Scarlett: And Travel in an instant.
    Jude: Yes. I can do that.
    Scarlett: Just you?
    Jude: The men… the men do that.
    *
    Scarlett: This island – televisions, corner sofas,
washing machines. It’s like home.
    Jude: What were you expecting, a castle on a cloud?
    Scarlett: Kind of.
    Jude: We’re pretty ordinary people here. We just happen
to have a gift.
    Scarlett: So this island is real. Someone bought it, you
said. Where is it? Scotland?
    Jude: Why would you think that?
    Scarlett: That ‘Hame’ll Dae Me’ picture in my room.
    Jude: That’s just a picture, Scarlett. I told you, we
don’t leave the boundaries of Devon and Cornwall.
    Scarlett: What! We’re still there?
    Jude: Off the Devonshire coast.
    Scarlett: Where? Where exactly? Jude… I’m close? I’m
close to Twycombe? To home?
    Jude: No, you are home.
    *
    Scarlett: All the people in that room – they live here?
    Jude: The women do. The men come and go between the
mainland and here.
    Scarlett: Where are the other women?
    Jude: There are four others. They’re with Evangeline now.
    Scarlett: Nine women in total, including me?
    Jude: Yes.
    Scarlett: Why are there so few?
    Jude: Females are rare among us. That’s why everyone was
so welcoming. We’ve been waiting for you for a long time.
    *
    Scarlett: I want to go home.
    Jude: I know.
    Scarlett: I miss Luke. And Cara. And my mum. Even Chester
– I miss that dog.
    Jude: I know.
    Scarlett: I miss the cottage. I miss the beach. I miss
surfing. I miss Luke!
    Jude: I know.
    Scarlett: Take me back, Jude. Please.
    Jude: I’m sorry. I can’t.
    *
    Scarlett: If I’m to stay here, on this island, how am I
to use my gift?
    Jude: You don’t need to.
    Scarlett: But all the people I could help…
    Jude: There are plenty of us to do that.
    Scarlett: Why not me?
    Jude: You’re… different.
    *
    Scarlett: You were born here?
    Jude: Yes.
    Scarlett: You grew up here?
    Jude: Yes. Until the age of five, when I moved to the
mainland to begin training.
    Scarlett: Training?
    Jude: For the work we do. Healing.
    Scarlett: Were all of those people downstairs born here
too?
    Jude: No. Some were Claimed, as you were.
    *
    Scarlett: This island is tiny, and I’ve seen it all.
There’s nowhere for Sienna to be held. Where is she?
    Jude: She’s with the Fallen.
    Scarlett: Where are the Fallen?
    Jude: They were cast out. They don’t come here now.
    Scarlett: Where are they?
    Jude: We don’t know, exactly…
    Scarlett: You don’t know! You don’t know where my sister
is? But you said Sienna was here, in Cerulea! Captive!
    Jude: No, I never –
    Scarlett: