Dusker Dark: Book 3 in the Bisecter Series by Stephanie Fazio

Author:Stephanie Fazio [Fazio, Stephanie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Syafant Press
Published: 2019-08-26T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 19

What in the sun,” Dayne breathes, “is that?”

“I’ve never seen…black flames,” Wokee gasps.

We all stare, dumbstruck, as the black flames consume the puddle.

“I’ve never,” Dayne whispers, his words trailing off as he stares at the flames.

In mere seconds, all that’s left of the puddle are blackened, bubbling bits of earth.

Even though there’s nothing left to burn, smoke still rises. We shield our faces, our eyes streaming as black smoke rises from the place where the puddle used to be. Dayne, who is closest, coughs until he doubles over.

All the while, smoke continues to billow around us. It’s far more smoke than should ever have come from one small fire.

“Have you ever seen anything burn like that?” I ask no one in particular.

From the way no one answers, I can tell they’re as disturbed as I am.

“The blue part of a normal flame is hottest,” Wokee says. “So maybe the black color means it’s an even hotter fire.” He coughs into his sleeve.

I look up at the dense cloud of smoke hanging just over our heads. It sits like a mass, without dispersing, as it covers us in shadow.

“Let’s all go back into the caves,” Dayne says, his eyes bloodshot and still streaming tears. “Whatever we’re breathing in, it can’t be good.”

“Well,” Wokee says, his voice raspy from the smoke, “at least we know the fire doesn’t last long, even if it burns hotter.”

Dayne lets out a bark of laughter. “That isn’t very comforting.”

“Come on,” I say. “We’d better go talk to the other Banished leaders. If the threat of burning the black logs at our doorstep doesn’t motivate them to speed up our attack, nothing will.”

I herd Wokee back toward the settlement.

“Dayne?” I ask, when he doesn’t move to follow us.

He doesn’t look at me. He’s staring up at the black cloud of smoke still hovering overhead.

“I’ve never seen smoke do that.” He looks back at Wokee and me. “Have you?”

When I look up at the smoke, I can’t see anything through the haze. Not even the orange of the sun is visible through the dense black fog.

“Well, no,” Wokee says, “but who cares about smoke? Fire is the dangerous part.”

Shaking his head, Dayne follows Wokee and me until we’re free of the smoke’s shadow. I take a deep breath of hot, clean air.

“So, what do you think?” I ask Wokee as we make our way back to the settlement. “About Jadem’s seed being connected to the black trees?”

“I don’t think the seed grows the black trees.” Wokee coughs again. “But we won’t know for sure until it sprouts.”

“You’re growing it?”

“Well it’s no good sitting around in a little box, now, is it?” he retorts.

“How long until it’s grown?” I press.

“How should I know?” Wokee replies. “These things take time.”

I bite back my response, that time is a luxury we don’t have, and just nod.

“I’ll know more in a few days,” Wokee says. “By the time we leave for Malarusk, I might be able to tell you what it is I’m growing.

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