Read Online The Inner Circle: Holy Spirit by Cael McIntosh - Free Book Online

sure,’ she
replied. ‘Just hurry.’ Dogs barking echoed though the square and
bounced around the ally. El-i-miir picked up her pace to a run.
‘Down here.’ She turned abruptly.
    A window swung open above, hitting a
vase that’d been balanced precariously on the ledge outside. The
vase fell and shattered atop El-i-miir’s head. She hit the ground
and didn’t get back up. ‘El-i-miir,’ Ilgrin gasped, releasing his
cloak and gathering her into his arms.
    ‘ Demon!’ a woman
wailed from the window above, a cigarette flying from her lips and
singeing Seteal’s arm. ‘That’s a demon!’ she cried out a second
time before slamming the window so hard that the glass
shattered.
    ‘ Torrid.’ Ilgrin
turned to Seteal, his large purple eyes wide with fear. ‘What
now?’
    ‘ I don’t know.’
Seteal raised her voice as the barking grew louder. ‘Come on.’ She
sprinted along the alley in the same direction in which El-i-miir
had been leading them. Ilgrin raced along beside her, while Seeol
flittered from windowsill to windowsill. As he did, items started
falling mysteriously at the barest hint of a breeze or the smallest
bump in the night.
    A rake hit the ground not far from
Seteal’s bad foot. Ilgrin got caught in a mass of clothing when the
line unexpectedly snapped. Vases and pot plants rained down around
them to shatter and explode as projectiles of soil and shards of
ceramics.
    Seteal cast a glance at Ilgrin as he
clung to El-i-miir’s unconscious form. Their eyes connected
briefly, his reflecting the same fear that undoubtedly showed in
hers. The Ways had turned against them, but together they ran,
united in saving someone they loved. Then Seteal realised the
truth--no matter how unusual the timing might’ve been. For a long
time she’d been consumed by hatred and prejudice. She’d missed what
was right in front of her. El-i-miir’s head bounced about in
Ilgrin’s arms, blood trickling from her scalp. A lump of anxiety
formed in Seteal’s chest at the thought that the woman might
already be dead.
    ‘ Ilgrin, wait,’
Seteal grabbed the silt’s arm and they came to an abrupt
stop.
    Ahead of them, a large black dog
growled menacingly. Ilgrin took a step toward it, waiting for the
inevitability of an attack. A glance back the way they’d come
revealed at least ten more of the animals in pursuit.
    ‘ It’s no use,’ Seteal
panted.
    ‘ To torrid with it.’
Ilgrin leapt forward, picked up the black dog and threw it yelping
into some bushes. In the same streamlined motion, he leapt into the
air, snatched onto a balcony railing and lowered El-i-miir onto the
landing. ‘Seteal, take my hand!’
    Seteal’s heart rate increased.
The pack of dogs enveloped her and several began to pounce. Her
mouth was dry. The wind moved uncomfortably against her skin. Her
dress swished about her ankles. With a scream lodged firmly in her
throat, Seteal thrust out her hands. A pulse of intense heat surged
through her arms, not to be released until it burst away from her
palms. An invisible force struck the dogs and blasted them backward
through the air in a frenzy of snarls and yelps. Seteal panted
rapidly, examining her hands fearfully. ‘What was that?’
    ‘ That . . . was you.’
Ilgrin stared at her. ‘Are you ok?’
    ‘ I think so,’ Seteal
replied as she reached for Ilgrin’s hand and he lifted her onto the
balcony.
    ‘ We need to get her
inside,’ Ilgrin said, shattering a window with his elbow before
reaching in to unlock the adjacent door. An old man gasped and
without hesitation Ilgrin pounced, firmly covering his mouth with
one hand. ‘Bring her inside,’ he hissed at Seteal. ‘Quickly,’ he
urged, restraining the old man against the far wall.
    After doing as the silt had demanded,
Seteal shut the door and turned to witness a scene that she hadn’t
expected. ‘That’s him,’ Seteal stared at Gez-reil in disbelief.
‘Ilgrin, that’s him.’
    Of course, by the time Seteal had
spoken, it was