Read Rise of the Sparrows (Relics of Ar'Zac #1) for Free Online

her control, but involving her nonetheless. That she couldn't figure out the details was as frustrating as her situation in the nightmare had been.
    Tired, Rachael took a look around, squinting in the weak light as her eyes adjusted. It was still dark outside. The blanket, which she had wrapped around herself in a hopeless attempt to stay warm, was covered in a thin layer of fresh snow.
    Her eyes moved across from her to the spot Cephy had claimed as hers, but it was empty. Her side of the blanket had been slept in, Rachael could tell as much, but the girl was nowhere to be seen.
    Confused, Rachael got up. Unlike her, Cephy didn't wake easily. She didn't startle at the slightest sound, like Rachael did. There was no reason for her to be up at this hour. It was unlike her to stray far from Rachael even during the day. In the short amount of time they had spent together, Rachael had figured out that Cephy didn't like the dark. Odd sounds didn't scare her as much as the shadows between buildings, which the faint moonlight always seemed to breathe life into.
    The sound of her bare feet in the snow seemed unnaturally loud. Something was wrong, but Rachael couldn't figure out what. She felt sick and her stomach was twisting into knots, but she did her best to focus.
    A week had passed since Rachael had found Cephy sobbing and bruised. Since then Rachael had insisted that Cephy recover from the shock and her injuries, while Rachael herself went out to find food. It had been obvious how shaken the girl was, and since Rachael was faster on her own Cephy hadn't objected. She was young and not yet used to her new life, but she was clever. She knew it made more sense this way and had agreed after having given it a moment of thought.
    Maybe Cephy had decided that she had recovered enough, after all. Maybe she had gone out to find food, to make up for staying behind while Rachael was out searching for anything edible.
    Rachael wanted to go back to her blanket, but something moved her away from it. Blackrock wasn't safe at night, especially for someone as fragile and trusting as Cephy.
    “Cephy?” The darkness seemed to swallow her voice whole. When no one answered, Rachael got worried. 
    She moved around another corner. No wonder something had felt off. The smell hit her nose hard, and even though she hadn't witnessed one often she knew what this was.
    There was a fire. Her eyes shot up between the buildings. Thick, grey clouds smothered the night sky, lit by the pale orange glow of the nearby  flames. The fire was close.
    Her body froze solid, her blood turned to ice as realisation hit. It hadn't been a dream. It had been a vision. A real-time vision.
    And Cephy had been in the middle of it.
    Rachael began to run. She knew roughly where Cephy's old home was, but even if she hadn't the flames would have shown her the way. The closer she got, the bigger the mocking play of light and shadows that danced on the walls around her was.
    And then she reached the square. The whole house was engulfed in flames. A choking, oppressive smell filled the air, and a crowd had gathered to watch their neighbours burn to ashes. In the middle of all that, sitting on the floor with her face buried in her hands, was Cephy.
    As quickly as she could manage, Rachael forced her way through the onlookers who soon gave way once they realised who she was. 
    “Cephy. It's me. Rachael.” Cephy didn't look up. Her body had gone rigid, incapable of movement. “Can you hear me?”
    Three people in suits carrying buckets full of water rushed past her, anxious to get to the people trapped inside. Rachael thought that she could hear screaming but wasn't sure whether it was coming from inside the house or from the crowd.
    “I only wanted to see my mother.” Rachael had to strain her ears to hear the tiny sound coming from Cephy, but didn't want to ask her to repeat anything. This wasn't something she should have to relive if it wasn't necessary.
    “Come on. I'll get