Page 124 of Wings of Ebony
I rush toward her. Everything’s woozy, but I fling myself forward toward the blurry image of them. I throw a dart of fire in his direction, groaning in pain, still dizzy from slamming the concrete. My shot blows right past him. Before I can fire another, his magic wraps around her like a lasso.
“Let her gooooo!” The words come out like nails clawing a chalkboard. He’s marching toward me, dragging her. “Now you’ll cooperate, won’t you?” he says, tugging at Tasha’s scalp.
He’s gonna take me back—back to Ghizon.
The recorder. I need the recorder.
Up. I have to get up.
Before it’s too late.
Before he zaps us out of here and the only bit of evidence I have stays here.
I stumble up to my feet, but the world is spinning.
“It’s too late, Rue,” he cackles. “Just quit.”
Quitting isn’t in my vocabulary.
He shoots and my skin burns like fire’s split it open. I force myself to ignore the throbbing and run back toward Moms’s stoop where I activated the recorder. My feet are clumsy over each other, but I reach Moms’s stair rail and grip it to steady myself.
Panting, I reach for the spot where the recorder vanished, hands swatting the air.It was here. Somewhere.I reach higher, grabbing, grasping at nothing.Shit! WHERE IS IT?
Fire slams into my reaching fingers.“Ah!”Another strike pounds my back and I fall to my knees. Everything hurts.
The recorder, get the recorder.
I strain, reaching around in the air. It was just here. I activated it sittingrighthere. I touch the tip of something cold and stretch my fingers, reaching.So close. I-I’m so cl—
Metal handcuffs close around my wrists, subduing my magic.
“No!”I’m going to Ghizon with no proof of who he is, what he’s done.
He gestures at Tasha. “I’ll be keeping her alivefor now, so you behave.” He snatches me up by the wrists and the metal cuffs bite into my skin.
“But, you… oh, you will die slowly for being a pain in my ass.” He smooths a speck of blood from a gash in his cheek. “But first, the Chancellor intends to have those cuffs, even if he has to cut them off.”
He mumbles the transport spell and everything goes black.
CHAPTER 36
IBLINK AND GHIZON SURROUNDSme.
Angry stares cling to my skin like sweat on a humid day. It’s like déjà vu except this time how do I get away? And now Tasha is a hostage, too.
The sun scorches my head and thoughts rattle in my brain. I’m screaming inside. The Justice Compound—where they keep prisoners—is up ahead, a short walk through Central District. The General touched up his makeup, then called for backup as soon as we arrived, so Patrol surrounds me on either side.
For two “little girls,” they sure act scared.
If we make it to that detainment room, we won’t make it out alive. Guaranteed.
The General tugs at my wrists to make me walk. It’s probably a hundred steps. A hundred steps before they tuck me away and I never see the sun’s light again. I pull harder, but I can’t get my hands free.
“I’m going to get us out of this,” I whisper to Tasha.
“I-I’m sorry,” she says, sniffling. “I just saw him trying to hurt you—” Her face is stained and tears mixed with blood slip down her face.
“No talking.” Patrol butts the back of her head with a gun and she whimpers. I’m going to hurt him for that. For a second he meets my glare and doesn’t look away. I hope he feels my hate, my anger.
