Read Online Blind the Stars (Rose of the Dawn Series Book 3) by Ily Maguire - Free Book Online Page A

regrouping at the safe house. It’s not safe here and we’ve got
to be on someone’s watch list by now. The Hollow has to know you’re back here.
We can’t stay here much longer.”
    “If
Evie escaped by herself, where could she go? How far could she get from the
Imperial Hospital on her own?” My mind races, but I’ve got no real concept of
how far a child could get on her own.
    “If
your sister got out of the hospital alone, she could probably go anywhere. It
wouldn’t be possible for anyone to get out unless they had a little help. Or-”
    I
can’t look at him. She’s not dead. That’s not what he meant.
    Pike
continues, “Once she was out of the hospital, she would be in the heart of the
microcity. As long as someone took her in, she would be hidden. Until someone
started to look for her and then they would just have to turn on the mandatory
cameras in each of the rooms in every building. It would take some time, but
the Beadledom would find her.” I can’t tell if he thinks that’s what’s happened
or not. “When we have a plan together, once we’re in the safe house, we’ll
worry about where she could’ve gone.”
    I
watch as his eyes shift to the screens projecting outside. It’s dusk and there
is less light. The lawn is littered with those crows again. I see another
shadow and then it’s gone.
    “We
should leave in the morning. We’ll have a better chance. We’ll have to be extra
careful to keep you and Dory out of site, but we’ll have a better chance of
knowing if we’re being followed in the daylight.” Pike walks to the edge of the
kitchen.
    In
my head I can hear the madness that has terrorized my sister. I can’t think
straight. I’m melting down, but no one seems to notice.
    “They’re
always watching, Rose.” Dory is sitting up on the couch. Everything other than
her is blurry in my vision. She is clear. I can see her clearly and her grin is
thin. Her eyes are wide.
    “The
Imperial Bead,” I state. I’m hyperventilating.
    “Or
worse,” Ezekiel mutters.

8
    Pike
and I don’t say much. I’ve pulled anything and everything out of the kitchen for
him to eat and have placed it on the counter. Marinated vegetables, preserved
fruit and vacuum sealed crackers litter the table. I should call people in to
eat, but Dory lies on the couch beside Ezekiel. He reads to her from a book. It
is almost eleven in the evening and I’m tired.
    “I
think I might get some rest,” I say, yawning. Dory looks at me over the pages.
    “The
bedrooms are back there,” Pike says. I know . I smile gratitude. He’s
tired, too. His eyes are bloodshot and red. “I know you don’t want to think the
worst,” he says moving closer to me. He puts his hand on mine and then helps me
move the food back into the fridge.
    “But?”
I ask, not knowing what’s next.
    “But,
just be prepared.”
    “Prepared,”
I state. “You don’t think we’re going to find her? Or you don’t think we’re
going to find her alive? Which is it?”
    I’ve
made Pike uncomfortable. He closes the fridge and runs his hands over his head.
    “Both,”
he says. “Neither. Let’s just stay positive, and –”
    “Hope
for the best, expect the worst. I know.” What could be worse? I should’ve known
Evie. She’s my sister.
    I
look over at Pike. His face is twisted and he’s in pain. He winces.
    “Listen
Rose, I wanted to –” he takes the last jar from my hands and puts it on the
counter. He rubs his hands on his pants and then takes mine.
    “What?”
I ask.
    “About
what happened out in the woods,” again he pauses.
    “You
mean the –”
    “The
kiss,” he finishes.
    “That
was a week ago.”
    “Yes,”
he pauses and I think back to the most blissful, exciting moment I’ve ever
experienced. He kissed me like that was the only thing he was put on this earth
to do. He let me kiss him back and I loved every minute of it. “I don’t want
you to think I was using you, Rose.”
    “Using
me for what?” I