Read The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf (The Tribe) for Free Online Page A

for himself alone, unable to resist the irrepressible, brightly burning ball of energy that was Jaz. He’d come creeping into my heart, filling part of the void Cassie had left. Now he was in terrible trouble, because he’d broken the pact with the saurs. It was the thing that kept us all safe, and not just because it meant that the lizards let us live here. The saurs were our protection against the government. Their presence alone was a deterrent to enforcers ever seriously trying to cross the grasslands, even if anyone did figure out a way to find us in the vast forest that we knew better than anybody.
    Unfortunately, the threat of being eaten by saurs hadn’t quite been enough to prevent two idiot enforcers from wandering onto the grasslands with those new energy weapons that everyone was calling streakers. They must’ve been crazy to take such a risk. But they’d gotten away with it, and Jaz was going to pay for their actions. Because he’d been the one who’d found the rabbit they killed, and he’d eaten it.
How could he have been so stupid?
Only I knew it wasn’t stupidity. It was sheer thoughtlessness, and a reckless disregard for consequences was so much a part of Jaz’s nature that it was hard to be mad at him for it. Anyway, I didn’t have time to be angry. There was no time left for anything anymore. Except for this journey that ended in death.
    Jaz’s cheerful voice interrupted my grim thoughts. “Ash, how about here?” He’d stopped a few paces in front of me and was pointing to a small patch of ground that ran beside a stream. “I think this is an excellent place for me to practice. There’s water and everything!”
    I considered it. There didn’t seem to be anyone else around, and we were near the fringes of the Firstwood, too, which was good. I could do what had to be done here and then go to the grasslands, where the saurs would be waiting.
    “Okay, Jaz, let’s practice,” I said in a bright tone that I hoped didn’t sound too fake. “Remember the rules, though. You need to sit down and focus.”
    He dropped to the ground next to the stream, and I sat opposite him. After a moment, a tiny flame flickered into being between us. Then another, and another. I held my breath, hoping he wouldn’t lose control as he had so often before.
Let him have a good day. Please, let him have a good day.
    And he did. The flames continued to appear until they’d built themselves into a small fire that burned steady and perfect.
    “Jaz!” I exclaimed. “You did it.”
    He grinned in delight. “I didn’t set your boots on fire or anything!”
    “Great job, Jaz.” I reached around the fire to ruffle his spiky hair. “Tell you what: let’s have a toast to celebrate.”
    He watched me as I pulled out my water bottle, his small face uncharacteristically serious. For an anxious second, I thought he’d realized what I was doing. Until he said, “Ash? I want you to know I’m sorry. About the rabbit, I mean.”
    I shrugged. “Don’t worry about it.”
    “I just thought,
someone
should eat it since it was already dead. Those stupid enforcers didn’t even want it. They were only seeing how far their streakers would shoot.”
    “I know, Jaz. Like I said, it’s okay.” I held up my flask, watching as he pulled out his. “A toast, yes? To the fire!”
    “The fire!”
    We clinked our bottles together and drank. I made sure I took a long, deep draft to encourage him to do the same. Although he probably wouldn’t need to drink much. The herb that Ember had mixed into his water was strong. I used it myself when I wanted a proper heavy slumber without dreams or Sleepwalking. It should make Jaz sleep for hours, certainly long enough for me to carry out my plan.
    The two of us sat in silence for a while, sipping our water and watching the fire die. I noticed that he didn’t seem very tired.
Maybe I should have used more of the herb.
I went to lift my flask to propose yet another toast, but found my arm