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.

passes. An eternity

seconds. The edges of my vision darken, reality slipping away like

and sounds returning. I gasp, drawing in a ragged breath that feels like sandpaper in my throat. "Ava?

mind. Her hand grips my shoulder, shaking me gently but insistently. I blink, trying to orient myself. We're still in the truck. Marcus

mirror.

croak. Swallowing hard, I

something was trying to pull it right out of my chest. And that string, that connection to the book-it's

Ava Yanking At

thrumming in my

me over with a frown. "Your face went white as a sheet and your

The memory of those endless seconds without air sends a shiver down

in the

was reaching out to it, trying to call it to me like Magister Orion said. And then..." I trail off, unsure how to describe

her head. "Stupid

questions, and so few

Marcus's

careful with this. Magic books that try to yank your

wasn't malicious. Just desperate." I pause, surprised by my own certainty. How can I be so sure

string inside of me tugs again,

mine, squeezing gently. "Either way, we can't risk you getting hurt. Maybe we should wait

at my arms, trying to soothe the strange thrumming in my veins. It's like my body is vibrating from the inside out, a constant reminder of

say to Vanessa. "We should wait until we're somewhere safe before I try contacting the book again. Too many weird things keep happening to

I have a sense of

if I desperately want to try

Lucas sends a pang through

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

It felt like mere minutes had passed. The realization is

24

Yanking

into that strange, mental-magical

once," he admits. "But it was brief. Flectr before I could really grasp it." "It's

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