Shadow And Bone Age Rating Novels & Stories

Anna remained perched on the stone altar, the white shroud clinging to her skin, but her gaze was fixed on the space between the boiling iron pot and the old woman. Standing there was a shadow that didn't belong to the dead or the living. It was a young woman, translucent and radiant, her hair the color of midnight and her eyes the same electric blue that had defined Anna’s life. She looked so much like Elara, but the age was wrong,she was a snapshot of a girl who had never been allowed to grow old. The shadow girl pointed a delicate finger at the Crone, then at herself, and finally at Anna.

Cassian staggered backward with the blade buried to the hilt below his ribs. Blood poured down his body. Black shadow burst from the wound like smoke escaping a cracked furnace. The thing inside him shrieked. Not human. Not Cassian. The street shook. Windows shattered. People dropped to their knees covering their ears. Cassian fell into the flooded street. Convulsing. Shadow ripped from his body in ragged waves. Clawing. Screaming. Trying to stay anchored inside him. The Bone Crown ignited. Lyra ran to him and dropped into the water.

Without thinking, he let it rise. His shadow beneath him shifted—lengthened—until it flared outward like a living thing. Dark tendrils lashed from it, striking at the shapes around him. Each one it touched burst apart, scattering like smoke in wind. When the last dissolved, the circle dimmed. The silver threads cooled. The silent figure stepped forward. They regarded him for a long moment before speaking. “So. The blood still runs true.” Eolan caught his breath, his ribs aching where the shadow’s strike had landed. “What was that?”

CHAPTER SIX : THE FIRST DEATH Lyra woke up cold. Not regular cold. Not the kind of cold that came from winter weather or a lack of blankets. The kind of cold that came from lying on frozen ground with no pack bond to keep you warm. The kind of cold that sank into bones and stayed there. The kind of cold that could kill. She opened her eyes slowly. Everything hurt. Her head pounded. Her chest ached like someone had carved out her heart with a dull knife.