Read Online Shadow City by Diana Pharaoh Francis - Free Book Online Page A

ravine. Alexander looked up at the angels. They circled above and slightly behind, with Giselle cradled against Tutresiel’s chest.
    He led the way up to the top of the ridge above the ravine directly overlooking the column of smoke. Oz and Niko crouched on either side of him.
    “Shit. What is that?” Oz asked, his attention riveting on the column, his anger turning into cold focus.
    The smoke had grown more turbulent since they’d left. But Alexander’s gaze went instantly to Tyler, who was lying unmoving on the hillside. Around him and on top of him sprawled enormous dogs. They must have weighed two hundred and fifty pounds apiece and stood three feet or more at the shoulder. They were blue-black, with thick ruffs of fur that ran around their necks and down their backs like a lion’s mane. The rest of their heavy-boned bodies were covered in bearlike fur, and their heads were broad and square, with luminescent green eyes. Their long tails curled over their backs like feather plumes.
    The entire pack turned in unison to look up the slope at the watching men.
    “I count thirteen,” Niko whispered.
    “They are not alone,” Alexander said, jerking his chin toward an outcropping on the other side of the ravine. A woman sat cross-legged on top, gazing at the column with rapt attention. Her short hair was vibrant red, her body comfortably curved. She was dressed in loose green pants and a matching tunic. Her feet were bare. She looked almost ordinary. But her eyes glowed the same green as the dogs’, and there was no doubt that she was the powerful presence they had all been sensing. That made her anything but ordinary.
    “Tyler’s alive,” Niko said tightly. “His chest is moving. I don’t know for how much longer. We have to get him out of there.”
    Before Alexander could agree, the sound of wings whistling through the air close overhead made him spin around. Tutresiel settled on the ground with Giselle, and Xaphan dropped just beyond him.
    “What the hell?” Oz’s words were as sharp and hard as bullets. “Get Giselle out of here.”
    For once, Alexander agreed with Oz. He stalked forward and stopped in front of Tutresiel, seething. But the angel did not even look at him. His gaze was fixed on the scene beyond, and he looked . . . scared. There was no other word for it. That caught Alexander up short, his fury cooling instantly. Tutresiel was afraid of nothing.
    “Explain,” Alexander ordered, wasting no words.
    Giselle started to push away so that she could get closer, and Oz slid an unyielding arm around her waist. “Hush,” he said, hardly looking at her when she started to protest. Like Alexander, he fixed his attention on Tutresiel.
    As if aware he had given away too much, an expressionless mask slid over the angel’s features, but he could not tear his attention away from the woman and her dogs.
    “Who are they?” Alexander prodded impatiently.
    Tutresiel jerked his head side to side. “I don’t know. No one knows exactly.”
    “Why don’t you tell us what you
do
know?” Oz suggested.
    The angel flicked a bloody look at the Sunspear and then back. “There are five of them. If you see one, it can be a blessing or a curse. If you see all five, it is conflagration.”
    “That is gibberish,” Alexander snapped. “Speak plainly. What is she doing here? How do we neutralize her?”
    Tutresiel snorted. “Neutralize? You can’t. She’s . . . Shit.” He swallowed hard, and his body went rigid. His silver wings clashed together as they compressed tightly against his back.
    Alexander whirled. Two of the dogs had wandered closer. The woman’s attention had left the column of smoke and was now centered on their small group. The weight of her stare was like a mountain sitting on his shoulders. His legs shook and started to buckle. He firmed them, sweat springing up over his body. His skin heated, and in a moment, he was blistering hot. The sweat dried, and his skin felt dry and crisp. He stared