Read Online Scala by Christina Bauer - Free Book Online Page B

women, old, young, human, quasi. These spirits should be sleeping peacefully, but instead, they’re all meandering around, wide-eyed and agitated. Spectral whispers carry on the air.
    Where am I?
    Get me out of here.
    Help me.
    Each reedy voice sends a shudder through my stomach. I force myself not to meet their gaze, as that only freaks them out…And a freaked out ghost is a dangerous ghost.
    I pause, the full impact of our location sinking in. The Lead Warden left a cloud on the Tower floor. Most likely, that means the entire Carrier’s at risk. Long story short, we’re surrounded by a bunch of quite-possibly-homicidal ghosts. My heart kicks harder in my chest.
    I let go of Lincoln and Walker’s hands. The din around us is so loud, I have to yell every word I say. “Can you portal us out of here, Walker?”
    â€œI wouldn’t risk another one,” he replies. “The containment walls could have been weakened by my first portal. How about you use igni to lead us out?”
    I shoot Walker a thumbs-up. “Will do.”
    With all my heart, I call out to the igni, asking them to lead me to Adair. The light igni respond to my summons, their twinkling and childlike voices echoing through my mind. I open my eyes to find their tiny silver bodies diving and spinning about my palms. I lower my hands, and the igni understand my wishes. They tumble down, creating a trail of lightning bolts that flash along the floor, creating a zigzag path over the spectral fields.
    My gaze moves between Walker and Lincoln. “Okay, follow the igni. Keep staring at the ground and we’ll all be fine. And, whatever you do, don’t look in their eyes.”
    Lincoln still has to speak-shout to be heard. “What happens if we do that?”
    â€œYou’ll wake them up. Ghosts get cranky in the Carriers. They don’t like to see anything alive. If they get angry enough, they can tear you apart.”
    Lincoln lets out a high-pitched ‘harrumph’. “So, if you look in their eyes, they’ll wake up and kill you.”
    â€œYup. That’s pretty much what happens. Don’t step on them, either.”
    A snarky grin rounds Lincoln’s mouth. “Helpful safety tips. Thanks, Myla.”
    We march along, careful to keep our gazes fixed on the ground. Tension tightens up my legs and spine. One look from those ghosts and that could be it,not only for us, but for the containment wall, too. Our pace stays steady with the igni as their little bodies slowly form a winding path beneath our feet.
    The ghosts start to get anxious. Spectral hands pull at my hair. Others tap my shoulder insistently. I’ve seen how quickly they can change from a sweet grandmotherly type into a bloodthirsty banshee. My palms turn slick with sweat. Step by step, we creep across the floor.
    Although it’s only a few minutes, it feels like hours pass before we emerge from the mist into the concrete Tower itself. I exhale a long sigh.
    We made it.
    On reflex, I set my palms against my ears. If anything, the background noise is louder here than in the Cloud Carrier itself. Beneath my feet, the igni flicker and disappear, their work now done.
    I scan the containment wall behind us. It shifts oddly in some places. “Walker, can you talk to the engineers in the Control Room? Now that we moved through, they’ll need to re-calibrate the containment field. Oh, and have them go on lock-down, too. Who knows what Adair’s doing here? I don’t want any escapees.”
    â€œGot it.” Walker takes off at a run.
    Lincoln points across the Tower floor. “And there she is.”
    Adair stands at the far wall of the Tower beside her two ghouls, chatting up Frederick, our Lead Warden. Is this what Adair does when she’s not stalking me…Work over my Tower Wardens for information?
    Lincoln has to yell above the din, which is good, since we don’t want you-know-who to hear a word.