Read Online The Oracle's Secret (The Oracle Saga Book 1) by Amber Darke - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Amber Darke
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yell to the others. ‘But I’m not sure how much you’ll enjoy it. Cover your mouths and noses.’
‘What are you doing?’ Steele asks.
I ignore him. I’m concentrating on the incantation. It’s been so long since I last did this spell, in Brendan’s bedroom... Cherry and I got in so much trouble, but it was worth it. I finish the incantation, feeling the power build in the space between my fingers. I hurl the spell at the wolves below and pull my scarf up over my nose.
Even with that, the smell is overpowering. It’s like dead things mixed with drains and sprinkled with rotting vegetables. I want to throw up, and I knew it was coming. I can’t imagine how it must be for the wolves, who are right down there in the middle of it.
I peer down to see them running away, whining and pawing at their noses. Victory! Of course this means that now we have to go down into it to carry on heading towards the Lightstone, but hopefully the range of it isn’t that wide, and luckily it looks like the wolves are running in the opposite direction to where we’re headed.
I give them another minute to get far away and then start to climb down. The rough bark scrapes my palms but I don’t care, I’m just elated that I saved us from the wolves. Me! The me from six months ago would never have believed this if she’d seen it in a vision. Back then I wasn’t even sure that running away would last more than a day. I thought they’d find me straight away and I’d be dragged back before anyone had really even noticed I was gone. The only thing that kept me from heading straight back myself and turning myself in with my tail between my legs was a vision I had of myself topping up the prepaid electricity meter in my flat. Just knowing that I’d find somewhere to live and a source of income, however small, gave me the courage to stick to my plan.
This time I’d had no vision, nothing to spur me on, but I’d come up with a plan and done it anyway. I climb down the tree feeling smug, even if the smugness does recede a bit as I get into the centre of the smell. It’s so disgusting I think for a second that maybe it would have been better to take our chances with the wolves. I feel like I’m about to faint as my feet touch the ground. Every step I take stirs up the leaves and moves the air around, making the smell ten times worse. I hold my breath while Tarian and Steele finish climbing down. I wait until I’m dizzy to take another breath. Maybe this one will last me until we can get away.
It doesn’t. The spell is just as powerful as I remembered, and in this open space it follows us for a few minutes, putrid and thick. I can almost feel it in the air, like a wall of pure gross. I keep thinking maybe with the next breath I’ll be used to it a bit more and it won’t be so awful, but I’m proved wrong over and over again. I keep my nose inside my scarf, my mouth shut, and my eyes on Tarian ahead of me, leading the way out of this nightmare that I’ve created. But at least we’re on the way again.
The sun has mostly risen by the time we escape the smell. I hardly dare to believe it at first. I take a breath and it doesn’t make me want to heave, but I’m convinced it must be a fluke until I see Tarian roll down the neck of his shirt and cautiously sniff the air.
‘It’s still there, but fainter,’ he says. ‘Just a minute or two more.’
We start to run, pathetically excited by the thought of escaping the smell. It feels incredibly unheroic but I don’t care. When we come out of the trees and find ourselves on a little cliff overlooking a canyon, I breathe deep lungfuls of sweet-smelling air. I fall on my back on the grass, not even caring that it’s still wet with dew - what the heck, I’m still covered in leaf mulch and tree damp anyway - and close my eyes to feel the sun on my face.
‘That was the worst thing that has ever happened,’ I say. ‘I’m sorry guys... it was the only thing I could think of to get
‘What are you doing?’ Steele asks.
I ignore him. I’m concentrating on the incantation. It’s been so long since I last did this spell, in Brendan’s bedroom... Cherry and I got in so much trouble, but it was worth it. I finish the incantation, feeling the power build in the space between my fingers. I hurl the spell at the wolves below and pull my scarf up over my nose.
Even with that, the smell is overpowering. It’s like dead things mixed with drains and sprinkled with rotting vegetables. I want to throw up, and I knew it was coming. I can’t imagine how it must be for the wolves, who are right down there in the middle of it.
I peer down to see them running away, whining and pawing at their noses. Victory! Of course this means that now we have to go down into it to carry on heading towards the Lightstone, but hopefully the range of it isn’t that wide, and luckily it looks like the wolves are running in the opposite direction to where we’re headed.
I give them another minute to get far away and then start to climb down. The rough bark scrapes my palms but I don’t care, I’m just elated that I saved us from the wolves. Me! The me from six months ago would never have believed this if she’d seen it in a vision. Back then I wasn’t even sure that running away would last more than a day. I thought they’d find me straight away and I’d be dragged back before anyone had really even noticed I was gone. The only thing that kept me from heading straight back myself and turning myself in with my tail between my legs was a vision I had of myself topping up the prepaid electricity meter in my flat. Just knowing that I’d find somewhere to live and a source of income, however small, gave me the courage to stick to my plan.
This time I’d had no vision, nothing to spur me on, but I’d come up with a plan and done it anyway. I climb down the tree feeling smug, even if the smugness does recede a bit as I get into the centre of the smell. It’s so disgusting I think for a second that maybe it would have been better to take our chances with the wolves. I feel like I’m about to faint as my feet touch the ground. Every step I take stirs up the leaves and moves the air around, making the smell ten times worse. I hold my breath while Tarian and Steele finish climbing down. I wait until I’m dizzy to take another breath. Maybe this one will last me until we can get away.
It doesn’t. The spell is just as powerful as I remembered, and in this open space it follows us for a few minutes, putrid and thick. I can almost feel it in the air, like a wall of pure gross. I keep thinking maybe with the next breath I’ll be used to it a bit more and it won’t be so awful, but I’m proved wrong over and over again. I keep my nose inside my scarf, my mouth shut, and my eyes on Tarian ahead of me, leading the way out of this nightmare that I’ve created. But at least we’re on the way again.
The sun has mostly risen by the time we escape the smell. I hardly dare to believe it at first. I take a breath and it doesn’t make me want to heave, but I’m convinced it must be a fluke until I see Tarian roll down the neck of his shirt and cautiously sniff the air.
‘It’s still there, but fainter,’ he says. ‘Just a minute or two more.’
We start to run, pathetically excited by the thought of escaping the smell. It feels incredibly unheroic but I don’t care. When we come out of the trees and find ourselves on a little cliff overlooking a canyon, I breathe deep lungfuls of sweet-smelling air. I fall on my back on the grass, not even caring that it’s still wet with dew - what the heck, I’m still covered in leaf mulch and tree damp anyway - and close my eyes to feel the sun on my face.
‘That was the worst thing that has ever happened,’ I say. ‘I’m sorry guys... it was the only thing I could think of to get
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