The Complete Series by Saffron Bryant

Author:Saffron Bryant
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Saffron Bryant
Published: 2020-05-29T14:01:59+00:00

Chapter 21

Ash stepped over a muddy puddle and clung to the unlit parts of the street. He searched the street for hidden dangers, but his mind floated far away. He’d touched the sun. The hung-over feeling of the day before had faded, leaving him with a deep yearning to feel that level of power again.

He’d come to the less savory parts of the Institute with one thought in mind; he had to get more Chromium. Let the consequences be damned; he’d touched the sun. He feared nothing from the people who lurked in the shadows of passing alleys. How could a mere mortal blade harm one such as him?

He relived the power flowing through him, unlimited and unmatched. Thimble, everyone, thought it was impossible, but he’d done it. That made him unmatched, and the knowledge made his skin tingle with power.

Twisting alleys and dark roads led him deeper into the Institute, but the thieves must have sensed his confidence because they stayed out of sight.

Ash stopped at the entrance to a dimly lit tavern that spilled smoke out across the road. He entered and scanned the crowd; some played cards but most huddled over their drinks and glared down at the table.

Ash strode to the bar, ignoring the lidded stares cast his way, and jumped up on it so he towered over the crowd. Silence fell.

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing on my bar?!” A round man in a filthy apron waddled toward him, face red.

“I’ve come to make an offer!” Ash grinned because that was all his face seemed capable of.

“I don’t want peddlers climbing all over my bar!” the barman said.

“I offer healing, for a fee.”

A few in the crowd muttered to each other. Some edged closer to the door, ready to make a break if things turned ugly.

“Get out of here, charlatan!”

Ash’s grin widened. He reached for the fire in the corner of the room and drew its energy to him. He converted it to light at the same time so that it made a glowing line across the room. People scrambled over each other to get away from it, mouths dropping.

“I’m no charlatan,” Ash said. “I’m approved to heal by the Council.”

“Get back to where you belong then!” yelled someone from the back.

Ash tossed the ball of light into the air. The barman stopped short. His head bobbed as he followed the glowing light.

“Come now,” Ash said. “I’m sure you know of some people who need healing but maybe don’t want to go to the hospital? I offer the real thing, no questions asked. All I want is a few coins for my trouble.”

A wave of noise surged from the crowd, but no one approached.

“I tell you what,” Ash said, drawing on his experience of selling his services in Falconwall. “The first volunteer gets treated for free. After that, you pay.”

The briefest pause preceded a sudden mad dash toward the bar. People shoved and clawed at each other, some called out, but their voices drowned in the general din.

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