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 compressed into

edges of my vision darken, reality slipping away like sand through an

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. "Ava? Ava! Are

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

mirror.

voice comes out as a croak. Swallowing hard, I

vise, like something was trying to pull it right out of my chest. And that string, that connection to the

Ava Yanking

a thrumming in my veins

white as a sheet and your groaned like

of those endless seconds without air sends a shiver down my

meet mine in the mirror.

it, trying to call it to me like Magister Orion said. And then..." I trail off, unsure

normal?" Vanessa asks, before shaking her head. "Stupid question. How would we

many questions, and so

Marcus's

"We need to be careful with this. Magic books that try to

"No, it wasn't malicious. Just desperate." I pause, surprised by my own certainty. How can I be so sure

of me tugs again, and I swear it's a friendly

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

my veins. It's like my

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 risk dying before we

I have a sense of self-preservation in me

I desperately want to

sends a pang through my

between 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

passed. The realization is chilling. How much time am

24

Ava Yanking

away into that strange, mental-magical

he admits. "But it was brief. Flectr before I could really grasp

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