Finding The Soul Bridge (The Soul Fire Saga Book 1) Read Free

his own, and started off. Thist followed suit, but had to hurry, as Jem had picked up his pace.
    “What’s the hurry?”
    “Look,” said Jem as he pointed to the sky. “Clouds are moving toward the sun. In half an hour and we might have to ditch our sacks and run for it. The sun is low, and clouds make the sunset orange a lot sooner.”
    “Well, let's pace up. We can jog for about ten minutes, and walk five minutes, and we’ll get back in no time.”
    They started to jog steadily.
    “When do we leave for Fineburg?” panted Thist, as he slowed to a fast walk.
    “I think we should sneak out,” said Jem, “leaving a note that sends them on the wrong trail or something, so that no one follows us.”
    “You know, if we go to Fineburg, we’ll be gone for at least two months. Someone is going to suspect something. Not to speak of the worry it will cause, and your mother’s eventual scolding. Oh no, Jem, I wouldn’t want to be in your shoes when we get back.”
    “If we get back,” mumbled Jem.
    “We have to come back, the treasure is here.”
    “I mean if we stay alive and uncaught by bandits on our way. It might be an art worth learning. Hey, here’s an idea!” said Jem, quickly adding “Wait! I’ll tell you later!”
    “You mean you don’t know yet?”
    “No.”
    “You are predictable in that you are unpredictable. How’s the light?”
    “Fine for now, how’s your load?”
    “I’m considering dumping the lot.”
    “Then I will have more than you by the time we get back, if I keep mine.”
    “You can dump them all. I don’t care. Just don’t lose the ‘pebble’.”
    As if he had walked square into a tree Jem suddenly stopped in his tracks, dropping his sack. Frantically searching his pockets, he pulled out the shiny stone with a grin of delight and mischief.
    “I had forgotten about it. I thought I might have lost it from all our jumping over debris and stuff!”
    “How could you forget about something like that? Here let me carry it,” said Thist.
    Taking the stone from Jem, Thist looked deeply into it, as if mesmerized.
    “There is something strange about this thing, some energy or something, I can feel it.”
    Jem frowned, “Whatever, let’s get going.”
    “No seriously!” said Thist. “I think it has some kind of light in it.”
    “No, you idiot, I’m sure it’s just a diamond.” said Jem. “They shine more than other things.”
    Thist pocketed the diamond. Ignoring the spilled mushrooms, Jem picked up his half-filled sack and walked on.
    “What were you thinking about then, if you weren’t thinking about the ‘pebble’, Jem?”
    “Strangely, I was thinking about Kaylah.”
    “What? That girl has been after you ever since I can remember, and you’ve never spared a thought for her. What kind of thoughts anyway? Do you want to get under her skirt or something?”
    “That’s for me to know, and for you … to never find out.”
    “Ha! You swine!” said Thist, “I know you well enough to know that if the answer was ‘No’, you would have said ‘No’, but if the answer was ‘Yes’, you would have said anything but.”
    Looking his friend in the eye, Jem said, “Please don’t tell her? Not anyone!”
    “Sure Jem. You can trust me. You know me, but why the sudden lust for a girl you’ve never liked?”
    “I don’t know. I really don’t. It’s just that since we left the waterfall I’ve had this picture in my mind of us together. I tried thinking about something else, but then I was thinking about not thinking about her, like when a song is stuck in your head and you can’t think of a different song. I just don’t know.”
    “You think too much. Besides, it isn't a disease to think about girls.”
    “No, but it was an overwhelming thought,” said Jem.
    “Whatever. We’ve got more important problems just now, there is a bear behind you!” exclaimed Thist.
    Jem knew his friend was not joking. In their town, to cry “bear” was regarded as