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.
An eternity compressed into
vision darken, reality slipping away like
into focus, colors sharpening and sounds returning. I gasp, drawing in
insistently. I blink, trying to orient myself. We're still in the truck. Marcus is at the wheel, his knuckles white as
mirror.
comes out as a croak. Swallowing hard, I try again. "I'm
heart was being squeezed in a vise, like something was trying to
Yanking
thrumming in my veins
frown. "Your face went white as a sheet and your
air sends a shiver down my
mine in the mirror. "What
to me like Magister Orion said. And then..." I trail off,
normal?" Vanessa asks, before shaking her
many questions, and
Marcus's
Magic books that try to yank your soul out of your
the idea. "No, it wasn't malicious. Just desperate." I pause, surprised by my own certainty. How can I be
again, and I swear it's
mine, squeezing gently. "Either way, we can't risk you getting hurt. Maybe we should wait until
trying to soothe the strange thrumming in my veins. It's like my body is vibrating from the inside out, a constant reminder of the magic pulsing
Vanessa. "We should wait until we're somewhere safe before I try contacting the book again. Too many weird things keep happening to me. I'd rather not
sense of
I desperately want to
Lucas sends a
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
felt like mere minutes had passed. The realization is chilling.
24
Ava Yanking
away into
with his eyes glued to the road. "I felt a pack presence once," he admits. "But it
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