Read Online Children of Ash: A Meridian Six Novella by Jaye Wells - Free Book Online

built near the city. As impressive as that is, those rumors started less than six months ago. Forgive me, sweetheart, but I’ve been surviving in the Badlands going on a decade. Call me a kid if you want, but I’m a kid who’s survived and managed to keep a lot of other people alive in the process. Between the two of us, I have the longer track record of success.”
    Her chin rose. “Would those two the Troika took three days ago agree with that track record?”
    Anger made the muscles in my fist contract. She was baiting me. Trying to get me to lose my cool so she’d have an excuse to cut me out of the mission. “Bait me all you want, but you need me.”
    “How you figure?”
    “I heard what the old man said yesterday. About killing Dr. Death.”
    Her right eyelid twitched. Clearly she and the others had thought I was out of earshot when they had talked about their true plans. I enjoyed surprising her, but I was looking forward to playing the ace up my sleeve. “Back before the war, my family lived in the mountains around southern Pennsylvania.”
    “So?”
    “So,” I said slowly, “my daddy was in the mining business. If the war hadn’t happened and forced us to migrate for survival, I would have been a miner too.”
    “What does that—”
    “What it means,” I spoke over her, “is I know about explosives. Your plan is to blow up Dr. Death when you light up the lab, right? Kill two birds with one stick of dynamite?”
    “Killing Dr. Death can be accomplished without explosives. As for the labs, all I need is a match.”
    “Or we could make your own explosives once we’re inside. Icarus said the main labor at the camp is mining coal. If they don’t have explosives there, they’ll for sure have the makings of them.”
    Her mask of indifference slipped a couple of inches. “You know how to make them?”
    I nodded with a smile and delivered my knockout. “Besides that, Bravo won’t follow your lead unless I’m there.”
    This was a lie. If things were as bad at the camp as I was expecting, Bravo would do just about anything to protect Mica. But I couldn’t afford to let Meridian know that. Truth was, I didn’t quite trust her. Saga seemed to think she was the great hope of humanity, but I hadn’t seen much yet to prove him right. If the choice came down between rescue or destroying the Troika power source, she’d abandon Bravo and the others in a heartbeat. I needed to be there to be sure that choice wasn’t made.
    When she finally spoke, she looked less defeated than resigned. “I’ll have to talk to the others.”
    I crossed my arms. “You have to get their permission, you mean.”
    Ever since I’d arrived, I’d heard a lot of talk about Meridian being the savior, but I’d yet to see her make a decision without Saga’s or Icarus’s go ahead. She might have what it took to lead, but I hadn’t seen evidence of that beyond propaganda. Yet another reason to ensure I went with her. Every mission needed a leader. I couldn’t chance so much on someone who was little more than a puppet for an old man and a bitter cripple.
    Her eyes narrowed and she stepped into my space. “Watch yourself. You came to us for help, remember?” She pursed her lips and looked me over, as if weighing my potential as a partner in crime. “Don’t you worry about Saga. I’ll convince him you need to come. Do not make me regret this.”
    I nodded, but I couldn’t shake the feel that I’d be the one with the regrets.

Thirteen
    B ravo

    I woke in a dark room . My eyes stung despite the deep shadows and my brain felt like it was trying to crack through my skull. A groan escaped my mouth before I could stop it. If one of those asshole vampires was watching me, I didn’t want to give them the satisfaction of hearing my pain.
    But it wasn’t a vampire who answered.
    “Didn’t I tell you not to be a hero?”
    Matri. Not happy at all.
    Luckily, I was already lying on my side, because a wave of nausea rose. I