Windswept (The Airborne Saga) Read Online Free Page A

cry. Off balance herself, Avery staggered backwards and hit the pavement with her backside. She blinked until her vision cleared and saw the person that she had run into.
     
    “Leela!” She gasped, recognizing the small form of her friend. The brunette had also been knocked backwards, much farther than Avery had been. Her books had scattered all over the concrete and the expression she wore proved she hadn’t seen it coming either.
     
    “Adalyn’s here!” Avery blurted.
     
    “Adalyn, ” Leela echoed. The girl sat up and repeated the name a second time. Leela blinked rapidly as if she’d been completely struck dumb by the blow. She finally managed to form words.
     
    “No. Oh no, I knew I shouldn’t have let you come back. I didn’t think they’d find you so quickly. Avery, you shouldn’t have come ,” the girl whispered.
     
    Avery heard every syllable clearly but didn’t respond immediately. Her mouth flopped and a free hand pressed to her forehead. She pieced it together aloud.
     
    “You knew she was here, Leela,” Avery said. “You knew that there were harpies! Leela, that’s why you told me to stay with Mason! No frikkin way, Leela!”
     
    “Avery, it’s not like that. I meant to explain—I told you I wanted to talk to you. I just wasn’t sure about everything...not until just now.” Leela defended herself but didn’t let her voice rise. Leela apparently was the only one who remembered they still stood outside and in the vulnerable open. She made a violent gesture for them to go inside. Avery didn’t take the bait.
     
                  “The harpie that brought me here is injured. I had to leave him…” Avery whispered. Her eyes went back to the woods. “Maybe I can help him. I may have to go back.”
     
                  Leela’s hand found Avery’s arm and gave her a firm tug.
     
                  “We’ll get help, Avery. But you can’t help him now… Please, come inside. You can’t fight this!”
     
                  “Adalyn didn’t charge me. Maybe if I…” Avery’s thoughts still wondered, and she flexed her arm. She couldn’t feel the magic react.
     
                  “No, Avery! You don’t know what you’re up against!” Leela’s voice cracked when she caught a volume between a yell and a harsh whisper.
     
                  Avery double took again. “What am I up against? Leela, what’s going on?”
     
                  Leela pressed her hands to her mouth and didn’t answer. Silently beckoning Avery, she went for the door. Avery followed like a drone. Her mind wasn’t on her feet that led her back to the dorm. Leela animated enough to pull out her phone and dial it—Nate no doubt. But what she said in a flurry of hushed voices, Avery didn’t know. They cleared the door to their dorm room when Leela ended the call. She turned on Avery again.
     
                  “I have something to show you. I think it’s best you see it…it’s better to figure it out for yourself than listen to me trying to explain it. Sit…” Leela waved at one of the twin beds pressed up in the corner. Unable to obey or do anything besides an anxious dance, Avery hovered until Leela returned with something.
     
                  “Here,” Leela said as she handed over the large paper that was difficult to hold. Avery took on a different approach and spread it out on the bed.  Once opened fully, she could identify the paper as a map of Alaska. The names of the cities were printed in bold. Anchorage, Wasilla, Juno. Mayweather didn’t quite make the map but the city nearby, Seward did. Scattered around the map were small orange stickies that didn’t pin to any city but exact coordinates. Avery could tell by the brutal life of the fraying map and crumpled stickers that Leela had beaten it down for precision.
     
                  “What is it?” Avery asked for