Read Online Saffron by Taige Crenshaw and Aliyah Burke - Free Book Online Page A

in, and somehow you convinced that asshole Kenric to change path from what was on the maps. You’ve forced me to come back to this godforsaken country. For that alone, I will kill you. And then, when this place blows, the company and all Kade built, as a supposedly ethical and environmentally aware man, will go with it. And Kenric will either be dead or blamed along with him. There is nothing you can do.” Frank sneered. “Get her out of my sight.”
    The men closed in on her. Saffron didn’t move. Her voice lashed out.
    “I sentence all of you for atrocities against the earth. I banish you to its depths.”
    One moment the men were there then they started to fade. Kenric stood up, shocked at what he could not possibly be seeing.
    “What is happening?” Frank roared.
    “Justice,” Saffron stated coldly.
    He disappeared from view. Kenric strode towards Saffron. Once he was close to her he spoke.
    “What—”
    “Hang on.” Saffron reached out and touched him.
    A sense of displacement filled him and his ears rang. In a moment it passed. He staggered then the sounds around him registered. Kenric glanced up, recognising that they were at a different site. Men were running from the site they were working at. The lift arrived and men poured off to get away. Flare and Shade were last off, running and shouting at the others to clear out. A loud boom shook the ground. Kenric took a step forward, his legs like lead. Flames licked up out of the hole and spurted at them. Flare and Shade screamed as they were engulfed. The fire rushed to the other men. Time seemed to slow then everything before him went still. Kenric shook, his eyes wide. A sensation travelled up along his back. Turning he stumbled away. A massive, translucent lion stared at him with unblinking green eyes. It opened its mouth and roared. The sound rattled his bones. It lowered itself and lay, legs crossed, on the ground.
    “Helis!” Saffron yelled.
    Kenric glanced higher. Saffron was standing on its back, her hands widespread. A light spread out of her right hand, curling around her wrist then flowing outward. It slithered and hissed as it came towards him. It paused a second, looking at him with eyes the same colour as the lion’s. A serpentine tongue licked his cheek, then the luminous snake flowed past him, rippling. Saffron’s left palm seemed to glow and a lotus flower bloomed. Its stem wrapped around her wrist and it extended. The soft petals brushed his cheek, seeming to caress him as it went beyond him.
    Kenric stepped back slowly then shifted to the side. He hissed as he moved through the stream of light for the flower stem. The seemingly electric current made goose bumps break out all over his body. He turned, following where the snake and lotus flower went. He shaded his eyes against the incandescence. Once his eyes had adjusted, he lowered his hand. The snake slithered around the ground, all over the camp. Wherever it touched, the area seemed to repair. As it plunged down the shaft, the flames lowered then diffused.
    Shade and Flare still smouldered with fire. The smell of burnt flesh reached his nose. The lotus surrounded the men then slid under them, lifting them up. It closed over them, enfolding them within its petals, and glowed bright violet. It slowly lowered back to the ground and opened. Flare and Shade strode off. The lotus disappeared. The snake came out of the shaft, rising high in the air. It nodded its head at him then it faded. Flare and Shade spotted him and came over. Time started moving again and the site was busy as people hurried around working. Kenric stumbled back, shaking his head. A hand between his shoulders stopped him.
    They don’t know what has happened. None of them do.
    Her voice sounded in his mind. Intimate and personal. Kenric glanced at Saffron, sharply stepping away from her touch. She raised her chin.
    “Good call, Boss. We finally hit the natural gas. Kade will be pleased,” Shade said cheerfully.
    “And