Read Breeze Corinth (Book 1): Sky Shatter for Free Online Page B

over the tree tops next to the lake. He willed himself forward and floated upright across the lake. He looked at his nav-compass and carefully shifted his direction until he was on a westerly course. He reached the opposite shore, and in the brilliant moonlight saw a road cutting through the forest like a winding ribbon. He followed the road, daring himself to tilt forward to fly parallel to the ground below, mindful about how this position made him accelerate without warning.
    He flew this way for hours, even though he was overwhelmed by his desire to land and get some rest. He could barely contain his shivering, but was determined to put as much distance between himself and the creature by the lake.
    The moonlight ebbed as it sunk slowly to the horizon. The sky was at its equilibrium between the advancing sun and retreating moon.
    Breeze’s eyes fluttered as fatigue drained him. He looked down and saw the forest gradually thinning out into open fields. He spotted homes and farms dotting the landscape. The road he was following split into a fork, and he followed the one that lead to a cluster of lights on the horizon. Lights meant civilization. Civilization meant a land port where he could find out not only where he was, but what transport he would need to take to get home. This wasn’t the first time he had flown far away from home; he had always been able to fly back, or hitch a ride if he felt too tired to try. But he had never flown so far and so fast as he had after the air show, and he had never flown out of his territory and into the forest lands.
    He spotted a barn next to a field and could smell the freshly turned earth as he approached. It was the same smell from the trench he plowed several days before.
    Not far from the barn was a farmhouse that sat on the edge of the field, its sole porch light was like a landing beacon for him. He knew he needed to rest, and this would be a good place to do so. He didn’t want to land in the town for fear he might be seen. He didn’t know how people would react if they saw him dropping from the sky and landing in the streets.
    I’ll just touch down in the field, then sneak into that barn for a few hours of rest,
he thought to himself,
then come morning, head into town.
    He felt his heart race in nervous anticipation of his landing. He willed himself down until he touched the ground, then stumbled and fell face first into the dirt.
    He rolled over and looked up at the sky as the stars began their retreat from the sun’s rays.
Time to hide,
he thought.
    He trudged across the field and slipped between the partially opened doors of the barn where the smell of manure hit him hard. He covered his nose with his jacket in a futile attempt to block it. He couldn’t tell what was worse, the odor from the hairy creature or the smell of the barn.
    He pulled his sleeve back to expose the nav-compass. Its faint glow weakly illuminated the interior of the barn when he spotted a ladder leaning against a railing. He walked over to it and looked up, and was relieved to see it led to a loft full of hay. He climbed up the creaky ladder and gratefully laid down in a fetal position as he buried himself with hay to acquire some warmth. He took one last look around, and then closed his eyes. He fell asleep immediately.
    “Get up son.”
    Breeze groaned.
    “Son, you have to get up.”
    “I will Dad,” Breeze grumbled, and rolled over.
    “Barn is no place to be sleeping off whatever the previous night’s adventure brought you. Now get up.”
    Breeze mumbled. “How do you know I flew last night?”
    “You’re not making any sense now. I suggest you get up.”
    Breeze sat up and rubbed his eyes as hay fell off him, then recoiled at the sight of an old man staring at him. He had piercing blue eyes and splotchy skin from long days in the field under the sun. His hair was gray with streaks of white slashing through it. His large hands gripped the top of the wooden ladder and never blinked as