The Whispers of the Fallen Read Free Page B

box inside the old leather pack on his hip and opened the door. I caught sight of a white horse standing outside, immobile under the violent storm. It was my dad’s horse, Crystal.
    “Let’s go then,” he said with a soft grin on his face.
    “How did—” I mumbled. “That’s my father’s horse! She ran away last week…”
    “Where is the carriage at?” he asked, without taking his eyes off the horse.
    “Inside the old barn,” I remarked, dumbfounded as to how Crystal had gotten here.
    I tried to place Demetre on my shoulder, but he was extremely heavy. I was struggling when Devin pushed me aside and threw Demetre over his shoulder.
    “I saw you struggling there…thought you needed a hand,” he alleged. “Can we go through the back door?”
    I shivered as we once again stepped out into the storm. My clothes were soaking wet and mud permeated my boots.
    “Is the horse not going to flee if we just leave her there? She’s always been afraid of storms,” I asked curiously.
    “She won’t leave unless I tell her to,” he responded as his eyes avoided any contact with mine.
    “So you control animals?” I anxiously waited for his reply.
    “Some.” He nodded his head as he tapped his fingers on his right thigh. “Can we please talk about this later?” Devin raised his voice.
    I sealed my lips and swallowed my strongly worded response to his lack of understanding, but he was right. We had greater matters to tend to. The town looked deserted. All the neighbors were probably inside their homes sitting by the fire with their families, unaware of the mysterious events of the day.
    The door of the stable creaked as I opened it. I shivered as my eyes roamed around the place. Even though everything looked exactly as it always had, the barn felt oddly eerie.
    “There is the carriage.” I pointed to my left where Dad kept it. Our carriage was a beautiful, elegant four-wheeler.
    “Let us hope this does not draw too much attention,” he said as he checked the inside of the vehicle.
    As Devin laid Demetre inside, I caught sight of my dad’s smoke pipe sitting near the window. Then it struck me. I was so caught up with everything that I forgot our parents could be dead.
    “Where are we going, Devin?” I said, closing the door.
    To my surprise, Crystal walked inside the barn and smoothly walked to the front of the carriage. Her white coat was stained with mud and small cuts.
    “I want to know where we are going,” I insisted.
    He ignored me.
    I was growing tired of this guessing game. “If you expect me to get on that carriage you better start to give me answers, otherwise neither Demetre nor I will be going with you.”
    “Then you die,” he replied, climbing atop the carriage.
    “What do you mean die? What is this box? Who are you? Who was Cyro? I think I deserve to know, don’t you think?” I was irritated and frightened. If I was going to get in a carriage with a complete stranger and venture into the unknown, I deserved to know the truth.
    “All ready. Let’s go,” he said.
    I stood motionless, fixing my eyes on him, waiting.
    “All right…Cyro was after you and Demetre because of this box. Inside it contains a book. Many think this book does not exist and is merely a legend. The fact is it has been hidden away from the Kingdoms of Elysium for thousands of years.”
    His answers stirred up new questions.
    “How did this book end up in my house and how did you know it was there?” I asked; my eyes quickly surveyed the barn for any signs of potential danger.
    “Listen,” Devin snapped. “We can stay here and chat about these things and then be caught by one of those Fallen Stars or we can be on our way and I’ll explain everything to you. Now which one do you want?”
    “How can I trust you, Devin? You showed up suddenly, broke down my door, tore up my house, and you happened to know that a mysterious book was inside…”
    He sighed.
    “Diane and Dustin Khan are your parents. You were born