Read Online Veiled by Silvina Niccum - Free Book Online

Nancy, Katie, and Richard.
    They took us out of the
city, but there was no time to go all the way out of the planet, so
we landed on a skyscraper that was partially destroyed.
    “ Thank you,” Celeste said
after she was hugged by all with the exception of Richard, whom she
warned off with a stern look.
    “ Two down, one more to
go,” Russell sounded invigorated. “Who’s ready to go back down with
me?”
    “ I’ll go!” Celeste said
firmly.
    “ No, I don’t think so,”
Russell put his hand out, blocking her way. “You have
almost…”
    “ I’m fine! Don’t tell me
what to do! I need to go down. Max…needs me.”
    “ Any of us can get him
just as well,” Alex said.
    “ No! You can’t. You don’t
understand! It has to be me.”
    We all stared at her—all, I
should say, with the exception of Richard who sheepishly looked to
a spot on the broken down wall.
    “ Why?” Nancy and I asked
at once.
    Celeste started pacing and
moving her fingers nervously. Then she explained in a low voice, so
as to not be overheard by Richard—who was presently slinking away
from us.
    Celeste talked so fast, it
was hard to keep up with her. But from what I could surmise,
Richard had turned out to be a total disappointment to Celeste. Big
surprise!
    She said that she would
fill us in on the details of that adventure at another time, but
for the time being all we needed to know was that Max had
sacrificed himself for her.
    I was startled by this. It
reminded me of Agatha’s proposal right before the guys burst into
the scene and broke up the torturing party.
    “ You mean to say that he
willingly joined the rebels to let you go free?” I asked, and
Celeste nodded solemnly.
    “ But as you just found out
it was all a lie, because they didn’t let me go, and they wanted to
get you to do the same for me! Oh, if you guys hadn’t come when you
did…” Celeste looked at me with a pained look in her
eyes.
    “ Listen, I am very
interested in the whole story, but if Max has agreed to join the
rebellion, then the aura that is going out must be his.” Valerie
looked grave and anxious.
    Celeste’s eyes grew big and
shocked as she looked from face to face.
    “ How could you know that
his aura is going out?” she asked.
    “ Tess can see auras,” Alex
said proudly.
    “ Since when?” Celeste
asked.
    “ Since we came here,” I
answered and Valerie gestured anxiously for us to get on with
it.
    “ Look we need a plan,
unless it’s too late,” Valerie said.
    Celeste looked appalled.
“It’s not!”
    “ Then I suggest we do what
we just did, and get those spirits off of him,” Russell
decreed.
    “ No, it won’t work twice,”
Celeste said. “Look, he volunteered to join them to save me. He
will not leave unless I get him out.”
    “ But, Celeste, you just
came out of there and barely at that,” Dorian pointed
out.
    She ignored him and
continued. “I just need a way to get right next to him.”
    “ Impossible. They know we
are coming back and they are waiting for us.” Valerie came forward
and stood tall and magnificent looking. She always did when she
foretold.
    “ How do you know?” Russell
said with a wry smile.
    Valerie rolled her
eyes.
    “ OK, so they know we are
coming. Does anyone know where this ambush is to happen and how?”
Russell looked around at the group sarcastically, knowing that only
Dorian or Valerie could answer that question.
    No answer.
    “ OK, then I say we go with
all we’ve got,” Russell finished.
    “ That’s what they are
hoping we do,” Valerie said in a low voice.
    “ I don’t hear any other
ideas, so…” Russell was interrupted by Henry’s voice over the
caller.
    “ Not now Henry, we have a
serious problem here,” Russell answered irritably.
    “ Wait!” Dorian came
forward with a weird look on his face. “Henry has the
answer.”
     
    * * * * *
     

Chapter 6
     
    We all looked at Dorian
like he had just lost his mind.
    “ Henry, we are on Ishtar
on a sky scraper that