Burn With Me (Legend of the Sun Whisperers)

Evernight Publishing

www.evernightpublishing.com

Copyright© 2013 Christle Gray

ISBN:
978-1-77130-333-0

Cover Artist: Sour Cherry Designs

Editor: JS Cook

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal.  No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

DEDICATION

To my husband, Ken. For so many reasons.

Legend of the Sun Whisperers, 1

Christle Gray

Copyright © 2013

Chapter One

“
But Maddie, I’m not ready to go back inside yet! Can’t we stay just a little bit longer?  Please?” Serra Sowers stuck out her bottom lip in a pout, her blond locks swirling about her round face as they danced with the wind.

“
Oh, all right. Five more minutes. But you know how unsafe it can be outside at night.”  Maddelyn Sowers gave in with a sigh. It was useless to argue. Besides, Serra’s cherubic face was difficult to resist.

The little girl smiled and continued puttering about, stopping occasionally to peer at the sky. Maddelyn
’s gaze followed. The once star-filled expanse had been reduced to a murky haze.  Only sparse dots of light now dared show their brightness through the inky depths. Even the moon, that used to sit high in the sky as a beacon, had become swallowed up in the hungry mouths of the lurking clouds.

Serra hummed as she kicked a rock lightly with her worn and tattered shoe. Such a small joy, standing outside for a few moments, one that had been taken for granted one too many times over the years. Maddelyn frequently marveled at how Serra kept her childlike wonder, with everything that had happened to them. War. Disease. Death. A child should never have to know such pain and loss. No one should, really.

Maddelyn silently studied the desolate landscape around her. Years of war and devastation had taken its toll on her once beautiful home. The lush gardens and green fields of her childhood were now piles of ash and rubble. Charon, the quaint town Maddelyn had grown up in, was now no more than a collection of barely standing structures, crowded together in some small attempt at survival. Gone were the brightly painted buildings that had lined Main Street, the shops filled to bursting with items waiting to be bought. No more smiles as friends passed each other on the sidewalk. Hell—no more sidewalk, even. Only endless vistas of dust covered rock and contaminated air made up her world, now. Maddelyn’s chest twisted with grief at how much had been lost.

The wind picked up and whispered through the thin fabric of Maddelyn
’s clothes, stirring a cloud of dirt so that it swirled in a spastic dance. Serra coughed, and the sound echoed through the quiet night, shooting straight through to Maddelyn’s heart. Ripples of alarm rocketed through her body as Maddelyn’s attention snapped back to where Serra stood. The child’s chest wracked with heaving breaths as the coughs grew stronger, instead of fainter. Maddelyn rushed over to Serra and took the child’s frail form in her arms.

“
There, there. See? I should have taken you home already. All this dust in the air isn’t good for you.” Maddelyn stroked Serra’s back, gentle fingertips trying to soothe away the pain.  Clamping her eyes shut, Maddelyn willed the spasms to cease with every fiber in her body. But deep down, she realized it would be entirely in vain. Serra’s fate was as sealed as all the others' had been. A lump of dread lodged itself in her throat.

Serra trembled in Maddelyn
’s arms as she struggled for breath. Maddelyn’s grip on the child tightened as she continued to stroke the shuddering girl’s back in a soothing motion. Though Serra’s struggle lasted only an instant, the seconds seemed an eternity to Maddelyn’s ears. 

Serra coughed once more, then grew blissfully quiet with a raspy breath. The sound of the child
’s even, smooth breathing was the most joyous thing Maddelyn ever heard. For that meant Serra was still alive, and Maddelyn would not be alone.

Maddelyn released Serra and held the little girl at arm
’s length, staring into the pale blue eyes that dimmed more each passing day. “Let’s go home so you can rest.”

Serra nodded weakly, giving in to the tiredness that gripped her young body so frequently these days. Maddelyn gently tucked the girl
’s small hand into her own and turned in the direction of their own modest shack, their little piece of home amidst all this desolation.

A low rumble suddenly vibrated the ground beneath Maddelyn
’s feet. The waves seeped into her legs and traveled up her body, steadily growing stronger, as if the earth growled a warning to anyone listening.

“Maddie, what is that?” Serra’
s eyes widened in apparent alarm, her little hand fisting in Maddelyn’s grip.

“I don’
t know, Serra.” Maddelyn tugged the child close and wrapped her in a secure embrace. The vibrations shook the ground harder as a wind whipped the dust into a cyclone that tore at their clothes.

Serra whimpered, and Maddelyn tightened her arms around the child. A screeching noise filled the air around them as the wind continued its assault. Maddelyn could scarcely keep her eyes open against the onslaught, but was able to barely glimpse a blurry shape as it soared overhead, then disappeared in the distance. The high-pitched noise turned metallic, scraping the sky like a scream.

Then, it stopped.

The dust settled once again into a brown blanket at her feet as Maddelyn glanced around.  No one usually came out at night anymore, so she was pretty sure there were no other witnesses to whatever had just happened. But, she didn
’t have the luxury of being careless these days, so her gaze searched the landscape around them. Even though she had to squint her eyes to focus in the darkness, Maddelyn still came to the conclusion that she and Serra were still the lone observers of this anomaly.

Maddelyn hugged Serra tighter, struggling for her own breath this time. Her pulse pounded in her ears at the adrenaline rush, panic and curiosity flooding her senses in a tsunami of sharp sensation. She stared into the direction where the blurry shape had vanished. A faint glow appeared in the distance.

She released a shaking Serra from her arms. The child’s eyes were wide and panicked.  “What just happened, Maddie?” Her tiny voice was infused with fear.

Maddelyn shook her head and tucked her wind-tossed hair behind her ears.
“I’m not sure, sweetie. But whatever it was, I think it might have landed over there.” Maddelyn pointed in the direction where the faint glow reached gingerly toward the sky with thin fingers.

“Should we go see what it is?” Serra’
s voice was still somewhat shaky, but Maddelyn could hear the mild curiosity behind the fear.

Maddelyn squatted to her haunches and clutched Serra
’s shoulders gently. “
I’m
going to see what it is. You go back home and wait for me, where it’s safe.”

Serra
’s head bobbed back and forth, her blond curls swinging as her mouth turned down in a frown. “I want to go with you!” She stomped her foot, and a small cloud of dust issued forth accordingly.

Maddelyn sighed, torn at what to do. Her own curiosity was piqued, but she wanted Serra to be safe. She chewed briefly on her bottom lip as her thoughts seesawed in her head. Serra
would
be safest where Maddelyn could see her, honestly. What harm could come of checking it out together? Besides, it would only take a few minutes, right?

Maddelyn cupped the child
’s face gently in her hands. “You stay behind me, then, all right? No arguing. No wandering off. Understand?”

Serra nodded, the panic in her eyes changing to excitement at their adventure.

She grasped Serra’s hand, and set off toward the distant glow. Rocks and dirt crunched under her feet, the sound mixing with the ragged breaths Serra took as they walked.  Ragged breaths that grew more apparent with each step.
What the heck am I thinking?

Maddelyn stopped and glanced down at Serra, whose blue eyes peered up questioningly.  Serra
’s chest rose and fell rapidly, even those few small steps a true exertion for her failing lungs. Maddelyn stooped and hefted the child onto her hip. Serra weighed so little, her frame diminished by the illness that stole her life with each moment. The girl laid her head on Maddelyn’s shoulder and they trudged along once more. As she walked, Maddelyn’s eyes searched the sky. The distant glow grew fainter with each step, so she quickened her pace, hoping the light wouldn’t disappear altogether by the time she reached its landing place.

A large mass of rocks loomed ahead, and Maddelyn altered course around the jutting pile. The glow appeared to originate immediately behind the shadowy silhouette the rocks made against the sky. She adjusted Serra on her hip. The trek was taking a bit longer than she first estimated. She quickened her pace.

Her heart rate began an uphill climb as Maddelyn rounded the rocks, her breath catching in her chest in expectation. Her arms flexed around Serra, the girl’s tiny bit of warmth a huge comfort. Serra raised her head, sensing the nearness of what they had been searching for.

And she saw
…
nothing
.

Maddelyn squinted in confusion as Serra slid down her hip and landed softly on her feet.  Traces of the ethereal light still infused the sky, like bony hands searching for purchase, but its origins could not be identified. The familiar murky night was the only thing that greeted them.