Resonance Book One: Birds Of Passage by BEN WHITE

Author:BEN WHITE [WHITE, BEN]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fantasy & Magic
Publisher: Clover Island Publishing
Published: 2011-02-13T08:00:00+00:00

This time it wasn't morning that Fin came to collect the girls. It was the dead of night, the time caught between 'late' and 'early', the air outside icy cold and the sky above dull black.

"Come along now, no time for dallying," Fin said, as Maya guided Lina towards the carriage—everyone else was already inside. "There'll be time to sleep again once we're away."

"Are we leaving?" Maya asked, as she ushered Lina up and in.

"Yes, as quickly as possible. Our next destination is clear; we must travel to Pyre."

Ashley laughed, from inside the carriage. "Yeah, good one."

"For now, however ..."

Fin trailed off, and frowned.

"Into the carriage and shut the door, quickly now, there's a good girl," he said to Maya, already moving to jump up into the driver's seat. "Perhaps one final stop," he muttered. Only Selene heard.

The streets of Unity were almost empty at this hour, those still upon them mostly groups of noisy drunks or lone figures wrapped in cloaks, moving swiftly through the night.

"Reckon the sooner we're outta this damn place the better," Ashley said. "Right, kid?"

"Um. Right," Maya said. She was watching Lina, who looked pale and sick.

"It's so different from the daytime," Ada said. She was staring out the window, excitement overcoming her sleepiness. "It's hard to believe it's the same place."

"It ain't," said Ashley, her tone sharp. Ada glanced at her, eyes wide, before turning to look out the window again.

"I think Mr Fin's found another person like us," Maya said. "He got that look on his face like when he found Ada and Lina."

"What? Aw, great, another stray," Ashley muttered. She glanced up at Lina. "No offence."

Ada half-turned to look at Ashley.

"I think we're all 'strays', of a kind," she said. "It seems ungracious to—"

"Yeah, I know what you're gonna say," Ashley interrupted. "I don't need to hear it. Just getting sick of this, yeah? Chasing this bloody statue all over the damn place, it's a damn waste of time if you ask me."

"At least we're doing something," Maya said. "Not just running away. I like Mr Fin's dream."

Ashley grunted, annoyed, and looked away.

"What dream?"

The voice was Lina's, small and sad. Maya tried to smile at her.

"Mr Fin is going to take us all to a 'home', like a safe place where we can live and no one can try to hurt us because of what we can do."

Lina appeared to think about this for a moment. Then she lowered her head again, once more staring at her hands.

"Yeah, that's pretty much what I think of it too," Ashley said. She looked at Maya. "Nothing BUT a dream."

Ada could see that Maya wanted to say something more, but the girl remained silent, her hands crossed in her lap.

For several minutes nobody said anything, then Ashley looked up and glanced out the window.

"This ain't a good part of town," she said. "Not the worst, but definitely not the best." She turned and thumped her fist against the hatch, which opened. "Oi, Finny. What's the deal here? This ain't a place we should be taking a fancy carriage like this through.

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