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
seconds. The edges of my vision darken, reality slipping
returning. I
my 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.
My voice comes out as a croak. Swallowing hard, I try
trying to pull it right
Yanking
thrumming in my veins
me over with a frown. "Your face went white as a sheet and your groaned like you were dying. I'm pretty sure
without air sends a shiver down my spine. "I think I
eyes meet mine in
to call it to me like Magister Orion said. And then..." I trail off, unsure how to describe the
asks, before shaking her head. "Stupid
many questions, and so
Marcus's
be careful with this. Magic books that try to yank your soul out of your body don't exactly scream
I pause, surprised by my own certainty. How can I be so sure about the intentions of an inanimate object? And yet, I
inside of me tugs again, and I
way, we can't risk you getting
scratch 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
book again. Too many weird things keep happening to me.
I have a sense of
I desperately want to
Lucas sends
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
had passed. The
24
Ava Yanking At
slipping away into that strange, mental-magical
his eyes glued to the road. "I felt a pack presence once," he admits. "But it
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
The Novel will be updated daily. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!