Read Sunbolt (The Sunbolt Chronicles) for Free Online Page A

crack the whip—or try to. I’ve never used one before. Cursing, I swing it again, and manage to flick the lazy bay’s hindquarters with the tip. He jumps forward, breaking into a gallop and the carriage sways one way and then the other as the horses panic, too confused to match their strides.  
    We burst from the back road. I haul on the reins, realizing belatedly that we have to turn or we’ll run into the opposite building. The horses’ hooves skid on the cobbles, and the back of the carriage bounces off the corner of the wall. I grab the driver’s bench, nearly losing the reins as the carriage skips sideways across the stones.  
    And then the bay’s hoof catches in a hole where a cobble should have been.  
    He screams, twisting and falling, and the carriage swings around again, slamming against the building opposite as the chestnut staggers to keep his balance. I drop the reins altogether, hanging onto the bench as the carriage tilts crazily, a wheel smashed. The carriage shudders on another pace before grinding to a halt.
    I clamber down on shaky legs and circle the horses. If there’s anything I can do to help—but my hopes stutter to a stop with a sickening lurch: the bay’s leg is broken. He pants, his eyes wide and ringed with white, as he tries again and again to stand. The reins are tangled, and the angle of the shaft won’t let him get his balance well enough to stand. Beside him, the chestnut has just managed to keep his feet. He tosses his head, stamping and snorting, the muscles of his neck straining.  
    “Stop him!”  
    The shout pierces the quiet that has wrapped around me. I bolt, darting through the gathering crowd. One man tries to grab my arm as I pass him, but I twist and kick and he releases me with a cry. But now more people are taking up the chase, and I don’t blame them. It’s one thing to make off with a frybread, and a whole other to destroy a carriage and break a horse’s legs.  
    Fear lends me speed for the second time today. I race down another alley, turn and sprint through the open door of a building. I run up the stairs, ignoring the surprised faces of two women chatting before a door, and burst onto the rooftop. Below, I can hear shouts and cries, as well as the thud of feet on the stairs. Someone saw me enter.  
    I take two deep breaths, surveying the surrounding rooftops, and then I begin to run. It’s one jump up to the short wall at the edge of the roof and then— leap . I come down on the next building, staggering forward, already searching for the next rooftop. Run, run, leap.
    I’ve done this before, but never in a part of town I don’t know, and never actually running from someone. The third rooftop lines an alley. I take the alley with a flying leap, grateful the next building is somewhat shorter, and come down with enough force to jar my bones in their sockets.  
    I pause to look back. I’ve left my pursuers behind. All except one, a young man who comes to a stop at the edge I just leapt from, gauging the distance. He’s not going to jump.  
    A quick glance to the alley below tells me that the people on the ground haven’t managed to catch up with me yet.  
    “Listen,” I say, meeting the man’s eyes. His gaze narrows. He opens his mouth but I cut him off before he can speak. “I’m sorry about what happened, okay? This is for the horse. Get someone to set its leg properly.”  
    “You’re sorry?” he says, taken aback.
    “Catch.” I toss the money pouch the Ghost had given me across the space between us. The man just manages to catch it. He looks down at it, heavy in his palm, then back up at me.  
    “It’s for the horse,” I repeat.  
    Then I turn and run. I put two more roofs between myself and the chase, then swing down to a balcony, using the wooden lattice as a makeshift ladder. I drop the last few feet to the ground, brush off my clothes, and begin walking.  

I glance skyward. Between the buildings, the strip of bright blue