Shadow Fire Read Free

Shall we?"
    Grabbing the bloody sheet from the ground, I wad it up and stick it in my navy pack relieved I don't have to drag the heavy leopard any farther.
    "Yeah, thanks for everything, Zane," I murmur, glancing at him from beneath my fall of red bangs.
    "You're welcome, Ashlyn," he says with a rakish grin, making my heart flutter in my chest. "Come, let's go before we lose the remaining daylight. "
    He takes off at a brisk pace forcing me to jog to keep up with him. I've spent so many sleepless nights the last three weeks wishing to the Goddess I hadn't been chosen by the town to recover the stolen Goddess Statue. Now as I gaze at the handsome man walking ahead of me, I lament my Chosen status once more.
    Too bad I can't stay in town to get to know this gorgeous, enigmatic mercenary better .
     

Chapter Two
    Home
     
    Mom's gray eyes widen when she opens the black velvet pouch I dropped in her hands. Inside six gold coins shimmer and wink in the candlelit room. Dad gasps, staring over her shoulder at the unexpected bounty.
    "Ashlyn, how?" he asks, his finger tracing the image of the Goddess Reiki embossed across the surface of one of the coins.
    "I was attacked by a rather large forest leopard right after I found a hidden bed of nightshade," I reply, plastering a big grin on my face, despite the feeling my chest is being crushed in a vise, inch by slow inch. "Kinda feels like maybe my luck is changing."
    Dad's bright blue eyes meet mine; hope shining within their depths. Though my Chosen status has been difficult for me, I think it's hardest for my parents. Whenever they gaze at me their eyes are so desolate, like they already view me as dead and are steeling themselves for the inevitable announcement of my unavoidable demise. The last four Chosen met hideous deaths at the hands of bandits or the claws of monsters.
    How can my parents expect me to survive such a dangerous quest when the others met such gruesome ends?
    Yet I can't help but feel I'll be different, that I'll succeed where others have failed. Though it's buried deep, raw hope still glimmers from within. Without hope I doubt I would've survived these last three weeks. Every waking moment was a constant reminder of my fate, from the whispered murmurs on the street to the exhaustive sword training with the blacksmith's son, Seth. Worst of all, the forlorn expression in my parents' eyes when they thought I wasn't watching. The only escape I had were the hunting trips into the peaceful forest, which became far too infrequent due to my new responsibilities.
    "Sweetie, what happened to your wrists?" Mom asks, capturing one of my hands in hers.
    "Oh, just a reaction from the nightshade," I say, ashamed at just how easy the lie rolls off my tongue.
    Nothing good would come from her knowing about Cory's attack. Though she doesn't appear to believe me, she still releases my wrist and takes a step back, her lips set in a grim line.
    "You should get ready for your party. Brinda and Celeste are waiting u-upstairs." Her voice breaks a bit on the last word betraying the calm exterior she tries to project.
    Though I feel the need to say something reassuring, my mouth is dry and I can't seem to form any words. I turn and run up the wooden stairs, taking them two at a time, desperate to escape her sorrowful eyes. When I reach the top of the staircase I pause, glancing over my shoulder at the flickering candlelight down below. My heart constricts in my chest, and I race back down, almost falling in my haste. Without slowing, I throw myself into my mother's arms.
    "I love you, Mama," I whisper into her shoulder, clinging to her like an anchor amid my sea of emotions. "I'll come home, I-I promise. Don't worry… I'll make you proud."
    "Oh, baby, we're already proud of you," Dad says from behind me. "You are strong, of body and soul. Deep inside I know you'll succeed." Releasing my mother, I face my father, my pillar of strength.
    "Do you really believe that?" I ask, my golden eyes