Rivers of Fire (Atherton, Book 2) Read Free Page B

you."
    "Emerik!"
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    The howling voice roared again, and this time Sir Emerik didn't hesitate. The anger was growing in the lord of the House of Power, and it would not do to keep him waiting a second longer than he had to. He took one more look at the hedge, cursed the boy who hid there, and moved off toward the main chamber.
    When Samuel felt sure he was alone, he crept out and removed the square slab of rock that covered the drain. He couldn't see very far down, so he whispered Isabel's name and waited. Nothing.
    The House of Power was stirring from the sound of Lord Phineus's voice, and soon people would be everywhere. Just when Samuel felt ready to jump into the hole and search for Isabel, he heard her moving around. Once his eyes adjusted to the dim light, he could see her head poking out from farther back in the drain where it curved and narrowed.
    "I am 50 ready to get out of here," said Isabel. Her face was smeared with dirt and dead leaves hung in her tangled black hair. Her dark, thick brows lay heavy over her eyes as she looked up at Samuel.
    "Better hurry," whispered Samuel, glancing between the drain and the courtyard. "We've almost missed our chance."
    Either Isabel was heavier than he'd expected or he was weaker than he'd hoped; regardless, it was a mighty struggle pulling Isabel out of the drain and into the courtyard. She slid back down more than once before she was finally able to get her elbows over the edge and hoist herself the rest of the way out.
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    Samuel quickly moved the stepping stone back over the passage and grabbed Isabel's hand. "He knows we're here," he said, pulling her along the vine-covered wall. "But he'll be gone awhile."
    "I hope he didn't send a guard to do his looking for him," said Isabel.
    "He wouldn't do that," said Samuel. "Sir Emerik wants me dead, and none of the guards would kill me if they found me. They'd take me straight to Lord Phineus, which is just what Sir Emerik is afraid of."
    Isabel started to ask him why Sir Emerik wanted him dead, but Samuel silenced her with a raised hand. Then he was running, waving to Isabel to follow. They swished past winding hedges, slithered under vines, and crawled beneath low, rounded walls until they reached the other side of the courtyard. Samuel heard the sound of boots on stone coming near and seized Isabel's hand once more, pulling her down into a sea of thick ivy that lay before a bone white wall dancing with shadows.
    When the guard had passed, they made their way up a set of darkened stairs to a narrow hall with a rail of grey stone that ran the length of one wall. At the very end of the hall was one of Samuel's favorite hiding places, an alcove buried in thick ivy. The ivy crept down the side of the wall like dark green water, filling the space as high as their heads with waves of tiny leaves. It felt to Isabel as if a thousand tiny green hands were pulling her inside as she crept forward into the alcove.
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    "I wish Edgar was here," said Isabel, feeling the itchy touch of leaves against her face.
    Samuel peered out from their hiding place, which had a commanding view of the whole courtyard and the guard towers at the gate. He was thinking of the place they would soon be going, to a set of stairs leading up to the main chamber, in which Mead's Head could be found.
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    *** CHAPTER 3 MYSTERIOUS COMPANIONS
    Edgar walked quietly along the unlit path that snaked between the houses of the village. The hour had turned very late but only a few from the grove had settled in for a fragment of much-needed sleep before dawn. Some were scattered through the trees trying their best to keep a watchful eye on the sprawling grove, a nearly impossible task since it offered a thousand points of entry. The rest were hastily making plans, fashioning weapons, or piecing together places to hide.
    Edgar did none of these things. He had said all that he'd been instructed to about how Tabletop had collapsed into the Flatlands. He'd told them about the