Rivers of Orion by Dana Kelly (a court of thorns and roses ebook free .TXT) 📕

free hook in front of the post and move the other hook around so it’s all loose like. It’ll make more sense when you’re doing it.” He gripped the tether and grinned. “Everyone ready?”

Orin, Shona, and Malmoradan clipped themselves to the guide rope and took hold. “We’re ready,” said Malmoradan.

“Let’s go!” said Xylander, and he made his way slowly along the tether. Only a few paces in, the tram station vanished from view. A few more paces, and all of Cherry Grove disappeared completely.

Through the dark, bitter cold they moved, passing several other ropes that intersected certain posts. Colorful bands marked those rods, and although Xylander tried to explain where they led, he couldn’t shout louder than the storm.

They reached a white pole with red bands, and they followed its interesting guide rope to the right. A stiff wind battered them, and Orin tripped over a patch of deep ice. He lost his footing, but the hook held fast, and he pulled himself back to the guide rope.

Chilled to the bone, they at last reached Hector’s field office. As soon as everyone was inside, Malmoradan pushed the door closed. The silence was deafening.

Lights flickered on, revealing concrete walls, a folding table, several filing cabinets, a dozen folding chairs, and a dormant space heater. To their right, plastic curtains hung from the entryway leading into Hector’s surgical theater. “Cold Storage” had been painted on the wall directly across from them, looming over a set of stairs leading down.

“Go ahead and get what you came for,” said Xylander. He walked over to the space heater and activated it. “I’ll wait here.”

Shona pointed at the stairs. “That must be the basement.”

“Looks right to me,” said Malmoradan. He led Shona and Orin downstairs, and the basement lights buzzed as they switched on. Stacked coolers and rows of refrigerators lined the walls. Across from them, a heavy steel door stood closed and latched. Dents and scratches scuffed it edges, and frost crusted over the handle.

Shona pulled it open, and clouds of chilled vapor tumbled forth. Dozens of body bags hung from the ceiling by rings and hooks, each bag marked with letters and numbers written in dayglow wax crayon. “That’s creepy as hell,” whispered Shona, and she shivered. “I don’t like this.”

“How are we supposed to approximate Mike’s height and body mass?” asked Orin. “All the bags are black, and none of this shorthand makes any sense to me. Should we call him?”

“I don’t have his number,” said Shona.

“We can call Casey,” said Malmoradan, and he tapped his commlink.

After a moment, she answered. “What’s keeping you guys? Hector says it’s going to take all day for the slug to thaw, at this rate.”

“Glad you’re okay too,” said Malmoradan, and he chuckled.

“You guys all right?” asked Casey.

“We just spent the past thirty minutes blind and frozen, but yeah… We’re fine,” said Malmoradan. “We’re in Hector’s meat locker, but we can’t make heads or tails of his markings. Can you ask him for some help?”

“Sure, hold on,” said Casey.

“I really don’t like this,” said Shona. “If one of these things moves, I’m out of here!”

“You watch too many scary movies, baby girl,” said Malmoradan.

Casey return to the conversation. “He says to look for one that starts with a four and ends in either a V or a Y, marked in pink. Does that make sense?”

“We’ll find out,” said Malmoradan, and he repeated her instructions.

Orin pushed aside several bags. “I think I found one,” he said. “4-1-L-M-V, written in pink.” He lifted it off the hook and set it down on the misty floor.

“Casey, we found one. We’re headed back,” said Malmoradan.

“Roger that,” said Casey, and she signed off.

Shona crouched and picked up the body bag. Carrying it out into the room, she set its straps over her shoulder, under her coat, and with Orin’s help she tied it in place against her back. “It’s secure,” she said, and she shivered again.

Malmoradan led them back toward the stairs. He noticed snow had gathered upon the steps, and the wind howled overhead. “Hold on,” he said, and he raised his hand. “Xylander! Xylander, are you okay up there?”

Gusts whistled shrilly, and snow tumbled down onto the landing.

Orin charged up the stairs, and the fire from his hands formed a whirlwind of icicles. With his arms at his sides, he stood at the top of the steps and surveyed the office. Frozen shards sliced against one another as they spiraled around him. All the folding furniture had been pushed away from the center of the room, and a large beast lounged, curled around the space heater. Xylander stood, his back pressed against the wall.

Graceful and sinuous in appearance, pure white fur covered the beast. Long, pointy ears protruded from its distinctly canine head, and the creature glowed just a bit brighter than the overhead lights. Its snout twitched is it inhaled deeply, and it regarded Orin warily. Quietly, it growled.

“Lantern skink,” whispered Xylander. “Biggest one I ever saw.”

“I thought skinks were reptiles,” hissed Orin. “This thing looks more like a giant fox!”

Malmoradan appeared behind Orin, claws out. “Xylander, you okay?”

“Just fine,” said Xylander. “You can put those away, both of you. She’s just trying to get warm. Didn’t realize the door was ajar, but she did.”

Slowly, Malmoradan’s claws receded, and Orin released his tiny maelstrom, causing ice to shatter in the floor. Shona made her way up the stairs, and the beast’s eyes widened as she met Shona’s gaze. The animal breathed rapidly, and her growl turned into a nervous purr. “She’s beautiful,” said Shona. “Hey there. What’s your name?” She crouched, and she carefully extended her hand.

Xylander nervously shook his head. “Don’t. Don’t do that.”

“Shh,” said Shona. The creature nudged Shona’s hand with her snout. “There you go. We’re gonna be just fine, aren’t we?” The purring grew louder, and the beast relaxed. Keeping her eyes on Shona, she rested her head in Shona’s lap. Shona scratched behind the creature’s ears, and the animal slowly closed her eyes.

“Ain’t that