Repairer of the Breach (Stones of Fire Book 4) by Sarah Ashwood (reading eggs books .TXT) 📗

What if it wasn’t an angel, though? What if it was a shapeshifter deceiving me, sending me into danger?

Oh my goodness…

I stopped, pivoting on the step, to look back the way I’d come. Below me stretched the forest. Beyond that, I could see a shining ribbon of water. I couldn’t see the beach or Carter at all. Dread filled me.

What if I’d played right into their hands? What if they wanted Carter alone, helpless, defenseless? And I’d taken the bait and left him there? Should I go back?

I’d actually half-turned to retrace my steps, when the opposing arguments hit.

You’re being an idiot. If someone wanted to get at Carter, you’re not much of a hindrance. They’d have just killed or kidnapped you first. Carter’s fine. Well, not fine, but I doubt somebody tricked you and sent you away so they could have access to him. It’s not logical. It’s more logical that this is playing out exactly as the visitor said. He strengthened you and is sending you to find help for Carter.

Why didn’t he help Carter himself, though? If he really is an angel?

Frustrated, I sighed, shoving my disheveled hair out of my face.

“Who knows why?” I snapped, speaking aloud. “Maybe Carter needs the kind of help he can’t give, and maybe it wasn’t an angel anyway. You don’t have any choice, Ellie. Quit trying to backtrack. You sent him here. You made the decision to follow him. Now you’ve got to find out where here is, and you’ve got to help him like he was willing to die for you.”

That, finally, quieted the arguments. No matter if I was walking into a trap; Carter had willingly walked into a trap for me. He’d willingly killed himself—or tried to—for me. I owed it to him to see where this led in an effort to save his life.

Chapter Four

My decision sealed, I finished the ascent. As I got closer to the towering city walls, finally passing from the weak sunlight into their shadow, I noticed that I didn’t hear any noises like I might have expected to hear from a hustling, bustling city of this size. I didn’t smell any scents of food or humans or life. The only signs of anything living were the black birds wheeling above on the updrafts. That sent a curdling of dread through my stomach.

I shaded my eyes with my hand, tracing their patterns.

Are those buzzards?

I sure hoped not. Buzzards—vultures—most likely meant death. I didn’t want to walk into a city full of dead people.

On the other hand, I didn’t smell death, like I didn’t smell life. Somewhat encouraged, I pressed on until I was at the gates. They were massive, more than twice as tall as me. Their blue paint had faded over time, and was peeling and chipping away. Nobody had touched them up in years. They were cracked open enough that I was able to wriggle through without much effort.

I was inside the city.

My initial thought was, Wow. I’ve gone back in time.

Indeed, standing there inside the walls was like having stepped back into time or having meandered into a colossal, historically accurate movie set. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Stone houses rose from the ground, stone streets winding their way between them. Colorful awnings shivered in the slight breeze, shading nothing. Empty carts squatted, carts meant to be pushed by humans or drawn by animals. Before me spread an entire city, but a city devoid of occupants. I did see a mouse scuttle out from under a nearby barrel and race towards a new hidey-hole. A soft crash made me start and gasp, but my nerves calmed when I saw it was simply a stray cat who’d been perched on a windowsill and jumped off, taking the clay flower pot with him.

This is confusing.

There weren’t any people that I could see, and no domesticated animals, but there were the birds soaring overhead, the mouse, and the feral cat. So there was life, if not the kind of life I’d expected.

Where’s the help?

Doubt created fissures in my earlier confidence. How was I supposed to get assistance for Carter in an empty city? What had happened to the people here?

Summoning up what courage remained after last night and today, I approached the nearest buildings to peek inside. I spied a rough wooden table and stools. Dishes on the table. A woven basket overflowing with clothing, as if someone had been intending to fold laundry or possibly catch up on mending. All of the signs of life where there, except for the people themselves. I moved on to the next building—a shop of some sort. Inside, the plank shelves were lined with all kinds of things for sale, some whose purpose I could guess at and some that weren’t familiar at all. There was what I assumed to be a counter, for the store owner to complete purchases, but no proprietor. No customers.

I ventured inside another couple of buildings. No thick layers of dust lined shelves. The food inside cabinets, baskets, and jars was fresh. I found a jug of water and cautiously sampled it. Not brackish or stale. As my courage grew and I ventured further, I found a home with a barn out back that looked big enough to house a couple of animals. Judging by the crude equipment laying around, I supposed someone had owned a few cows. Inside some jugs, I found milk, which I smelled first and then cautiously tasted. Also fresh.

The puzzle surrounding this world and city grew. I came out of a house into the daylight and stood there, hands on hips, scanning the scene, trying to figure it out. I might’ve guessed an invading army had threatened, sending everyone fleeing to the hills, but I would’ve expected signs of chaos if that were the case. Furniture knocked over, food spilled, belongings hastily gathered up. There was nothing like that.

“Okay.” I blew out a breath. “Doesn’t seem to