A Deadly Bloom (The Plague Bloom Book 1) by Kody Boye

Author:Kody Boye [Boye, Kody]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-06-02T22:00:00+00:00

14

Homecoming

I am awakened the morning of our homecoming by the gentle pull of inertia against my body as Blooma comes to a standstill within the sky. Tired physically, weary in spirit, but most of all, scared, I open my eyes only to find that my hand has gone numb from its desperate hold around the Lance at my side.

“Bryce?” Peter asks at my side.

“Yes?” I reply.

“Are you ready?”

I don’t think there’s any way anyone could be ready, considering everything that could happen, but nonetheless, I nod and push myself upright just in time for Delvin to come walking into the room.

“We are here,” the young Elf says.

“How’s the situation on the ground?” Peter asks.

“Not good.”

His words alone are enough to rattle me, but his face tells a different story. Of turmoil. Of pain. Of hardship. Of distrust. I try not to look at the Elf as the party who journeyed to the ground rise, but find myself trapped within his opulent blue gaze.

What could be happening, I wonder, to merit such a reaction?

It was bad enough that someone had tried to poison the Elves when they’d first arrived. But now?

I shake my head, and wait for Peter to come to my side before stepping forward.

Within moments everyone has risen; and while the fear is palpable within the air, it is Delvin’s uneasy gaze and cautious demeanor that cause the hairs on the back of my neck to stand on end.

“Let us go,” he then says.

I follow calmly, though hesitantly at that, tightening my grip on the Lance the further we walk. At one point my fingers begin to throb, and I can imagine the blood rushing from them into other parts of my body. Danger! they screech. A monster is afoot!

A monster, I know, that could easily tear our world asunder.

As we come to stand and walk within Blooma’s outer hallways, I inhale a breath and hold it in, desperate for some kind of relief when I feel ready to burst.

“Bryce,” Peter whispers. “Relax.”

I can’t, so I merely shake my head.

When his hand falls upon my shoulder, I instantaneously tense.

Peter pulls his palm away a short moment later.

“Be warned,” Delvin says when the light spilling into Blooma becomes more than visible. “The unrest is great.”

He doesn’t have to elaborate further. The closer we get to the opening in Blooma’s side, the easier it becomes to hear the voices chanting on the Earthwalker’s backs. What they’re saying I can’t be sure at first, but as we draw closer, it filters in—like bugs chirping in the night.

Kira’s Lance, Kira’s Lance, Kira’s Lance.

The drumbeat staccato brings gooseflesh along my arms.

“Don’t panic,” Latarya says. “Just stay behind us.”

I nod; and with that, wait for the others who have drawn up behind us to push forward, as though shielding me from the unholy advances of this world.

The guard hesitates as he centers his gaze on me.

The ramparts look so far away and yet are so horribly close.

If someone tries to step forward—if someone attempts to breech Blooma—then I don’t know what I’ll do.

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