Read Online Fracture (The Machinists) by Craig Andrews - Free Book Online
Authors: Craig Andrews
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Families. We’ll find out where you came from.”
By the time Allyn turned in, the morning sun had crept over the horizon. He’d been given the same room as before, only it had been furnished more comfortably. Chocolate-colored drapes covered the floor-to-ceiling windows, and a small seating area had been added in the corner. Looking at it now, Allyn wondered how he had ever mistaken it for a hospital room.
He’d done as Graeme asked and traced back his lineage as far as he could. The first couple generations had been simple, but after that, it became a struggle. Growing up, it had just been him and his sister, and his dad—whom Allyn hadn’t spoken to since he was a child—only had a brother. But his mother’s side was far more complicated. She was one of five children—one of six if he included Thomas, whom Allyn’s grandmother had raised without formally adopting. And her mother had been one of eight kids.
Eight kids , Allyn thought. His sister was enough to contend with. He couldn’t imagine having seven other siblings.
Then there were the family secrets or the little-talked-about truths. His grandmother on his mother’s side had two kids and then remarried, but refused to talk about her first husband. Then Aunt Becky was really his great-aunt, which means his cousins Jason and Jeremiah were… what? It made his head numb. But he had it on paper, and that was a start. It was also the best he could do running on twenty-four hours without sleep.
The feather mattress enveloped him when he finally lay down. The drapes blocked the light everywhere except for the edges, though, as tired as he was, he probably could have slept in direct sunlight.
Chapter 6
J arrell Hartline hid from the woman’s screams. Helpless and frantic, they pierced the walls like an alarm in the early morning. He heard them, which meant everyone else heard them, too—and nobody was helping. They accepted it. He paced along the far wall of his room, as far from the door as he could get. The concrete floor was rough against his bare feet. He knew he should be doing something to help the poor woman. She was a silent and was being tortured in ways that probably confused her as much as they hurt.
He didn’t know what Lukas wanted with her. Rumor had it that she was the sister of the man they had tried to kidnap the week before. What was his name? Allyn. There would only be one reason Lukas was going after siblings. He had found an ancient line. The implications were profound. A newly discovered line would bring a significant number of new magi into the fray and could tip the number in Lukas’s favor, or at least even the odds a bit.
He’s building an army , Jarrell thought.
Jarrell couldn’t let that happen. He’d saved the boy by tipping off Graeme to Lukas’s intentions, but he hadn’t been able to do the same for the girl. And now she was here. That was his fault, and he had to do something about that.
He stopped pacing. The screams had subsided—he wasn’t sure when—and silence hung in the air, thick and eerie. It wasn’t the kind of silence that meant the session was over. She would be crying and pleading for help if that was the case. No, she was unconscious—or worse. And that meant they would come for him next. Jarrell grabbed his book and sat down on his bare mattress to read. The fluorescent bulb hanging from the middle of the ceiling cast a harsh light, creating long shadows and insufficient light to read comfortably, but he had an image to uphold.
The door opened without a knock, and Kaleb stepped into the room, a frown on his face. Jarrell looked up from his book in feigned surprise, sliding his glasses back to the bridge of his nose.
“Lukas requests your presence,” Kaleb said.
Jarrell nodded and marked his place with a bookmark, then slowly climbed to his feet with a groan, holding his lower back.
Kaleb shifted impatiently. Lukas’s movement had no true command structure, but Kaleb and those who felt
By the time Allyn turned in, the morning sun had crept over the horizon. He’d been given the same room as before, only it had been furnished more comfortably. Chocolate-colored drapes covered the floor-to-ceiling windows, and a small seating area had been added in the corner. Looking at it now, Allyn wondered how he had ever mistaken it for a hospital room.
He’d done as Graeme asked and traced back his lineage as far as he could. The first couple generations had been simple, but after that, it became a struggle. Growing up, it had just been him and his sister, and his dad—whom Allyn hadn’t spoken to since he was a child—only had a brother. But his mother’s side was far more complicated. She was one of five children—one of six if he included Thomas, whom Allyn’s grandmother had raised without formally adopting. And her mother had been one of eight kids.
Eight kids , Allyn thought. His sister was enough to contend with. He couldn’t imagine having seven other siblings.
Then there were the family secrets or the little-talked-about truths. His grandmother on his mother’s side had two kids and then remarried, but refused to talk about her first husband. Then Aunt Becky was really his great-aunt, which means his cousins Jason and Jeremiah were… what? It made his head numb. But he had it on paper, and that was a start. It was also the best he could do running on twenty-four hours without sleep.
The feather mattress enveloped him when he finally lay down. The drapes blocked the light everywhere except for the edges, though, as tired as he was, he probably could have slept in direct sunlight.
Chapter 6
J arrell Hartline hid from the woman’s screams. Helpless and frantic, they pierced the walls like an alarm in the early morning. He heard them, which meant everyone else heard them, too—and nobody was helping. They accepted it. He paced along the far wall of his room, as far from the door as he could get. The concrete floor was rough against his bare feet. He knew he should be doing something to help the poor woman. She was a silent and was being tortured in ways that probably confused her as much as they hurt.
He didn’t know what Lukas wanted with her. Rumor had it that she was the sister of the man they had tried to kidnap the week before. What was his name? Allyn. There would only be one reason Lukas was going after siblings. He had found an ancient line. The implications were profound. A newly discovered line would bring a significant number of new magi into the fray and could tip the number in Lukas’s favor, or at least even the odds a bit.
He’s building an army , Jarrell thought.
Jarrell couldn’t let that happen. He’d saved the boy by tipping off Graeme to Lukas’s intentions, but he hadn’t been able to do the same for the girl. And now she was here. That was his fault, and he had to do something about that.
He stopped pacing. The screams had subsided—he wasn’t sure when—and silence hung in the air, thick and eerie. It wasn’t the kind of silence that meant the session was over. She would be crying and pleading for help if that was the case. No, she was unconscious—or worse. And that meant they would come for him next. Jarrell grabbed his book and sat down on his bare mattress to read. The fluorescent bulb hanging from the middle of the ceiling cast a harsh light, creating long shadows and insufficient light to read comfortably, but he had an image to uphold.
The door opened without a knock, and Kaleb stepped into the room, a frown on his face. Jarrell looked up from his book in feigned surprise, sliding his glasses back to the bridge of his nose.
“Lukas requests your presence,” Kaleb said.
Jarrell nodded and marked his place with a bookmark, then slowly climbed to his feet with a groan, holding his lower back.
Kaleb shifted impatiently. Lukas’s movement had no true command structure, but Kaleb and those who felt
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