Sacrificed (The Ignited Series) Read Free Page A

I clambered to my feet quickly. “Nathan, I’m here,” I called as I rounded the boulder.
    His shoulders heaved in visible relief. A reassuring smile started to form on my lips, but the flash of metal to my left pulled it up short. I froze as the two guns pointed at Nathan turned to me.  
    Even more shocking than having two guns pulled on me one second was having someone throw themself in front of me the next. The only thing more shocking was who .
    “No!” The Boy-in-White shouted as he moved to shield me.
    Fortunately, no one had fired, so neither of us were shot. Not yet. It wasn’t looking good for me as the two Kala shifted to get an angle around the boy.
    “Gabby,” the boy said sharply, “we talked about this. She’s off limits. Richie?”
    Gabby and Richie, was it? I supposed it was nice to know the names of the people about to kill me. And from the hateful scowls on both of their faces, they were dead-set on ensuring it.
    When they didn’t lower their weapons, the boy pulled me snugly behind him, guarding me fully with his body. “Stay behind me,” he whispered to me, then he raised his voice to the Kala, “Put the guns down, guys, or so help me, I will do nothing to help you assholes.”
    Risking a peek over the kid’s shoulder, I watched as the girl—Gabby—swatted a strand of curly brown hair out of her eyes, which remained coolly fixed on me, along with her gun. Though his gun also remained trained on me, the guy named Richie slanted his eyes uneasily to Nathan.
    And for good reason. A confident and pissed off Nathan could intimidate anyone. Only I saw the glimmer of fear in his eyes when they met mine. I desperately wanted to run to his side, but the kid was holding me back. I figured that sticking by him was probably best for me at the moment anyway, as far as expanding my life expectancy was concerned.
    “Put the guns down,” the boy pleaded with them again. “It’s alright. Look at her. Does she look dangerous to you?”
    They glanced at each other, but neither looked ready to waver.
    Suddenly, I heard the cocking of a gun beside me, close to my ear, but it wasn’t my head it was pressed to.
    “Do as he says, or I’ll blow his brains out,” Alec announced his stealthy return. He stepped beside me, his eyes trained on the two Kala, and gun pressed to the Boy-In-White’s head. Though he never looked directly at me, I swore I saw a faint glow in his eyes. A flash of gold.
    That wasn’t good.
    Maybe the Kala saw the glint in his eyes, or maybe it was the tone of his voice that told them he wasn’t bluffing. Whatever it was, it worked. They lowered their weapons, reluctantly.
    “Throw them on the ground,” Nathan ordered.
    They did as they were told, and only then did Alec turn to me. His eyes weren’t glowing gold anymore, and I wondered if I had really seen it at all, or if I had imagined it.
    “Go to Nathan,” Alec told me. Shocked to hear those words come out of his mouth, I faltered. He lifted an amused eyebrow. “Go on.”
    Nathan watched me carefully as I scurried toward him. Satisfied that I was in one piece, he returned his attention to the Boy-in-White, who he still had his gun trained on. As did Alec.
    I wanted to tell them both to ease up. I knew the boy wasn’t a danger. Hell, he had nearly taken a bullet for me. I didn’t know why he’d done it, but his actions alone spoke volumes.
    That and I knew he could be trusted. From the dreams. But because I couldn’t tell Nathan and Alec what I knew without telling them about the dreams, I bit my tongue and let them go about their own way of developing trust.
    “Who are you?” Nathan asked the boy, and my ears perked up. I desperately needed a name, other than Boy-in-White.
    His eyes fixated on me, as if I were the one who had asked him the question. “Micah,” he said evenly despite having a gun pressed behind his ear. He nodded his head in the direction of the other two Kala. “That’s Gabby and Richie.”
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