The Whispers of the Fallen Read Free Page A

body trembling.
    He apprehensively paced around the house. His breathing was heavy. It was the rider that fought against Cyro in the forest. He was drenched from the rain but he showed no signs of weakness in any way. He immediately walked to the settee to see Demetre.
    “What are you doing? Why are you not getting ready? Do you understand how serious of a situation we have here right now?” he exclaimed. I could sense agitation in his voice.
    “As far as I remember I barely know who you are,” I said.
    “Right now the only thing you need to be concerned about is gathering food and supplies. We are going on a journey and trust me—we have no idea when we will be coming back.”
    I bowed my head and took in a deep breath.
    “Is he dead?” I asked him.
    “ Dead? Those things cannot die, Isaac. They are Fallen Stars. They may vanish when touched by a blade but die, that’s impossible for their kind. They quickly come back and that is why we must go.”
    Suddenly the horse outside neighed loudly.
    “Whose horse is that?” he inquired.
    “It was Cyro’s. I snatched him so Demetre and I could…” Before I could finish my sentence, the rider had gone outside with his blade and decapitated the horse. To my surprise the horse did not bleed, nor did it fall to the ground, but it disintegrated into ashes, slowly taken by the wind.
    “Are you ready to pack up now?” he asked me.
    In fear, I trembled as I made my way to the kitchen. I grabbed one of our old bags that Dad used to bring crops in, and filled it with bread and fruits. Then I heard a loud banging noise coming from the living room. Quickly I ran to see what was going on. I found Devin breaking up the floor with his bare hands.
    I gasped.
    “What are you doing?” I questioned him, looking around to see a whole section of the wooden floor broken apart into pieces.
    “Looking for the thing that Cyro wanted so badly. Are you done packing?”
    I nodded.
    “Good—do you have any spare horses?” he asked.
    “I’m afraid I don’t. The ones we were riding were Demetre’s.”
    He kept on breaking everything, his eyes relentlessly looking everywhere at a rapid speed. I did not know if I should fear him or trust him.
    “You…you are not human, are you?” I asked reluctantly.
    He chuckled.
    “How did you guess?” he said without taking his eyes off the floor, his hands briskly tearing it apart. “Am I giving that away so easily?”
    “What are you? Should I fear you?” I asked. He came to a complete stop.
    “Yes…you are supposed to fear me but you don’t have to. Trust me, I am on your side. Now to tell you what I am…I just don’t have enough time right now.”
    I looked at Demetre. His face was pale and his lips colorless.
    “Will he be alright?” I asked.
    “He will be if we keep our…” He stopped speaking and hastily reached inside the gigantic hole he had made in our floor.
    “Here it is,” he whispered, pulling out a golden box from the debris. The box was covered with a thick coat of dust. Strange patterns were engraved into the gold and I could make out designs of some sort. Devin used his hands to wipe away the dust. From a few steps away, I could make out a symbol etched on top of the box: a circle with a straight line in the middle. An old, rusty lock was placed on the right side of this ancient-looking object. I could tell this was no ordinary trinket.
    “And what exactly is that?” I asked as my heart pounded just by the sight of this amazing object.
    “Get Demetre, we are leaving now,” he said, pacing around the hole in the floor.
    “Leaving? Remember I told you about the horses? Are we supposed to walk under the rain until we find some sort of transportation?” His apparent lack of understanding enraged me.
    “Please,” he whispered as he closed his eyes. “Do you have any carriages outside?” he asked, wrapping the box with a couple of old rags he had with him.
    “My dad has one out back but…”
    He placed the