Read Halo (Blood and Fire Series (A Young Adult Dystopian Series)) for Free Online Page B

from real brick and mortar, but there are only so many of them. Most of the houses in the Sanctuary are made from reclaimed wood, but they’re put together pretty well. Each small community generally sees to the upkeep of all the houses, lending the labour of their Therin whenever something new needs building, in an attempt to lift the social standing of the area. The Trues, no matter where they live, all have one thing in common: they want to be better than each other. This competitive betterment seems like a futile pastime to me now, as I drag myself, numb, through the winding passageways of an area of lower caste housing commonly known as the Narrows.
    Caius and I used to train here when we were smaller. The houses are pressed so close together, and the roofs almost touch in places. This was our favourite location to come and practice rolls, leaping from one building to the next and tumbling across the uneven wooden shingles or jumbled, mismatched slate tiles. Often we would earn ourselves a cuff on the ear for disrupting the peace, but even back then people were lenient with us. It was like they understood what we would one day become: poster children for the amphi-matches, a common bet, role models for a whole generation of Falin.
    People recognise me here as I try to slip unnoticed through the crowds. It’s incredibly rare for Trues and Elin to be out walking the streets unless they’re visiting friends or travelling to the education compounds, so I don’t need to worry about their inquisitive questioning. The people out on the streets today are mainly Therin, carrying water and groceries, sweeping and hawking goods. Some of them nod to me as I pass them by, but mostly they just stare.
    These people don’t bother me ― they know not to talk to me for the most part. It’s other Falin I’m worried about seeing. They’re the ones who usually stop me, want to know my latest training techniques, what foreign blades I’ve been gifted by the city for my latest win. It seems to me that every Falin I see will want to talk to me today, because I can guarantee that half the Houses in the Sanctuary have been discussing me. Who is going to replace Cai as my training partner? Which House will have the honour? The Falin won’t care themselves, of course, but they will approach me to appease their Trues, and I can’t handle that right now.
    I keep my head down, the sun warming the back of my head until it feels like my hair is on fire. I duck under the covered walkway out of the glare and shove my hands in my pockets. This pulls my trousers taut and reminds me that I have Caius’ holostick on me. Its corners dig into my lower back. I take my hands back out of my pockets, wishing I’d worn my knife belt. Hooking our thumbs through the webbing where it loops around the hips is a habitual trait of nearly all Falin, and I’ve never found anything better to do with my hands than this. But today I didn’t wear my belt. It didn’t feel right, and for the very first time I was apprehensive when I looked at it. It is all the blood. I know the blades are sterile because I cleaned them myself, over and over, but I still can’t seem to shake the feeling that the metal is tainted, and no amount of scrubbing is ever going to fix that. Maybe I need new knives.
    It’s a while before I realise I’ve left the Narrows and hit the poorest parts of the Sanctuary. Here the children walk in the streets wearing nothing but ragged pants and their halos. They’re covered in dirt and their eyes have a hungry, hollow look to them as they pass me by. I see two tiny girls, both with pink halos and sticks in their hands, lunging and striking at each other, playing at a real fight. These kids will never make it to the Colosseum, though. Their Houses are too poor to stump up the buy-in for their Falin to compete, and it’s more likely these kids will die in a pit fight somewhere out here, in the stinking backstreets where a Falin’s life is worth