The Decaying World Saga (Book 1): Tribes of Decay Read Free

strained for several years. Her mother died in a terrible attack and Arkin’s heart hardened, leaving Mia and her younger brother, Jonah, to turn elsewhere for affection and support.
    “He will—”
    A horn rang out from the corner of the roof and Mia’s head snapped around. Someone had been spotted on the streets far below. She was up and running before she finished her thought. A moment later, she had her eyes on someone racing toward the building. A chill trickled down her spine at the sight of the single figure. As far as she knew, no one had gone out alone.
    The wait was excruciating. The returner, whoever it was, took a long time to reach the tribal council building. It was even longer before he leapt out of the window in the exterior wall of the eighth story and began the long ladder climb up the remaining floors. The building was abandoned long before the Cheyenne Tribe laid its roots and the top three stories were impossible to reach from the inside.
    The edge of the roof was crowded by the time Mia recognized Rowan’s face. Smears of blood and dirt dotted his dirty blond hair. Mia was shaking and had to back away to keep from toppling over the side of the building. She was grateful to see his return, but she was terrified of the lone question in her mind.
    Where is Darian?
    Rowan reached the rooftop, but he was on shaky legs. Mia threw her arms around him in an unusual show of affection. She could hear several of the older women grunting their disapproval before she regained her bearings and quickly stepped away. Rowan smiled at her, but she could see right through it.
    “What happened?” she asked.
    Rowan opened his mouth, but couldn’t find the words. Mia was shocked when she realized he was crying. She felt punched in the stomach. She knew what happened without ever hearing his explanation. She wanted to comfort him; she wanted to say something, but the sound of her father’s voice tore through her thoughts.
    “That will be enough.”
    A number of the onlookers quickly scurried off, most of them bowing at the members of the council as they went about their business. Several of the rooftops of the surrounding buildings sprang to life as news of Rowan’s return spread like wildfire. Mia knew she had no business listening in on the coming conversation, but she fought the will to be shooed away.
    “What is this all about?” Arkin asked, looking past Rowan with little regard. “Where is Darian?”
    “We…we got surrounded,” Rowan tried to explain. “Darian…there were too many of them and…”
    Arkin shoved Rowan aside and peered over the edge of the building. He rose back up with a bewildered gaze. “You left him.” Half a dozen of the council members had joined Arkin at the roof’s edge and a number of them echoed his accusation. “You abandoned him like the coward you are.”
    Rowan stood frozen as the older man rushed toward him. The sunlight reflected off Arkin’s cleanly shaven head and revealed the loathing fury in his eyes. Arkin pushed aside the ceremonial robes wrapped around his chest and grabbed Rowan by the throat with both hands. Mia lunged forward and tried to wedge herself between them.
    “No Father, please,” she shouted.
    Several of the council members pulled at her while the others tried to hold her father back. Rowan fell to the ground as they were wrenched apart and he smacked his head on the rooftop. Arkin stood over him as he tried to get up, yelling at the top of his lungs. Mia wrapped her arms around her father’s leg as a wave of figures rushed toward the fray. Rowan tried to raise his head and a moment later, he was out.
    ♦
    A relentless pounding from Rowan’s temples highlighted a constant wave of pain. He knew he was lying down on his back, but he wasn’t sure what had happened. His eyelids fluttered then parted and the darkness remained. He tried to move his hands and found he could not. Reality slowly filtered in and the pounding in his head grew worse.