Shoots and Tatters (Bitter Ashes Book 5) by Sara C. Roethle

Author:Sara C. Roethle [Roethle, Sara C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Vulture's Eye Publications
Published: 2018-06-14T16:00:00+00:00

10

Once again, we all piled back into the vehicles, though this time we took three. I ate a sandwich in the passenger seat of my truck while Aila drove. I had a second one sitting in my lap. If I didn’t have any fresh dead to gain extra energy from, food was the next best option.

In the back seat were Freyja, Alaric, and Loki. The car behind us held Mikael, Sophie, Alejandro, Faas, Frode, and the third vehicle, a forest green SUV, held our other volunteers. That we had so many willing to face Hecate and whatever magics might await us both warmed and chilled my heart. Some would likely perish.

We’d debated on bringing Marcos in his unresponsive state, but in the end had settled on lugging him into the SUV. If he woke up at some point, we wanted him where he could be useful to us.

I finished my first sandwich and reached for the second one as we drove down the highway, heading toward Hillsboro. There were a few abandoned vehicles on the side of the road, and not much traffic besides.

With one hand on my sandwich, I used the other to fiddle with the radio knobs, hoping for some news updates. After a few ticks of static, a woman’s voice came in loud and clear.

“ . . . reports of blackouts in Hillsboro reached us right before all communication was lost. Coupled with the slew of recent traffic incidents, the city seems to have come to a virtual standstill. Authorities are currently investigating reports of what we can only believe are illusions: spectral forms, flashing lights, and unknown creatures. A public warning has been issued to not venture into Hillsboro until further investigation can be conducted.”

I quickly hit the radio button to shut it off. “Well, that does not sound good.”

“Is there a large population in Hillsboro?” Freyja questioned.

“Around 105,000,” Alaric replied.

I started eating my second sandwich as I turned to engage the backseat passengers.

“Fairly large, then,” Freyja stated thoughtfully. “It could be that the magic is drawn to such a large congregation of people.”

“But there are other cities,” I countered. “Why here?”

Freyja shrugged. “To quote your earlier statement, there’s only one way to find out.”

I glanced at Alaric in the middle of the backseat, meeting his worried gaze, then turned around, looking out the window ahead of me. We’d hit the outskirts of Hillsboro, and it seemed like a ghost town.

Aila slowed the vehicle, forcing those following to slow in our wake. There were more abandoned vehicles here, some pulled off to the side, but some left obstructing the street. It was only a matter of time until one would block our way entirely.

I nearly jumped when another moving vehicle appeared, a small white car, heading slowly our way. The passengers in the car glanced about warily, the female driver white-knuckling it on the steering wheel. She met my gaze as we stopped our vehicle to let her pass around a truck blocking half of the intersection, but she didn’t smile or wave.

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