Tangled

Chapter 261

Unshift 261

Unshift 261

261 Ava: Yanking At Her

It's almost like a presence saying hello.

Thinking of that little string, I tug back. Twice.

An answering jerk. One. Two. Three

The words I just spoke drift into my head: It's like the book is alive.

it crazy to talk into this void in my head, in the general direction I hope the book is in?

Sure. But at least no one can see or hear me doing it.

Hello? I call out, trying to

there?

Use the same mental channel I use to speak with Selene. Are you

Another tug on that string.

I really, really need you to come to where I am. It's safer here. Or something. How do you explain. to a book that the world has gone to shit and you want to keep it from being used to create further catastrophe?

Please.

Being polite never hurts.

This time, that string-y feeling yanks, and it feels like my heart is constricted, interfering in its ability to beat.

I can't breathe. Pain explodes in my chest, radiating outward like a supernova. My lungs burn, desperate for air that won't come. The world around me blurs, sounds fading into a high-pitched buzz that fills my

cars.

second passes. An eternity compressed into

darken, reality

suddenly as it began, the pain recedes. The world snaps back into focus, colors sharpening and sounds returning. I gasp, drawing in a ragged breath that feels like sandpaper in my throat.

shoulder, shaking me gently but insistently. I blink, trying to orient myself. We're still in the truck. Marcus is at the wheel, his knuckles white as he grips

mirror.

comes out as a croak. Swallowing

I? What the hell just happened? It felt like my heart was being squeezed in a vise, like something was trying to pull it

Ava Yanking At

in my veins

white as

hadn't I? The memory of those endless seconds without air sends a shiver down my spine. "I think I made

meet mine in the mirror. "What

sure. I was reaching out to it, trying to call it to me like Magister Orion said. And

shaking her head.

many questions, and

Marcus's

be careful with this. Magic books that try to yank your soul

me rebels against the idea. "No, it wasn't malicious. Just desperate." I pause, surprised by my own certainty. How can I be so sure about the intentions of an inanimate object? And yet,

inside of me tugs again, and I swear

"Either way, we can't risk you getting hurt. Maybe we should wait until we reach Lucas

thrumming in my veins. It's like my body is vibrating from the inside out, a constant

until we're somewhere safe before I try contacting the book again. Too

I have a sense of self-preservation in

desperately want

sends a pang through

Vanessa and Marcus. Hope flutters in my chest, fragile and desperate. Vanessa shakes her head, a worried frown creasing her brow. "No, nothing yet. Vester should be able to reach me by now. It's strange." "How long has it been since you could sense him?" Surprised, I peer out the window, but there's nothing to see in the darkness. Vanessa's frown deepens. "Well, you've been focusing' in the back for about an

felt like mere minutes had passed. The realization is chilling. How

24

Yanking

away into that strange, mental-magical

a pack presence once," he admits. "But

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