Page 127 of Wings of Ebony
Now they see him as an other.
Chaos erupts in motion. The General runs, shooting at me. He jets off through the crowd, half cursing him and the other half moving out of his way. Screams ricochet off the glass walls around theDistrict’s buildings. Everyone flees in every direction, people pushing and stumbling over one another. Bodies bump into me, shoving. I shove back, fighting to keep Tasha close to me. Patrol tries to keep order, but one gets knocked over and stampeded.
Shouts buzz in my ear. The General’s getting away. But Tasha, I can’t just leave her right here. I pull her toward me, shielding her under my arm.
Something sounds like glass shattering and I spot giant masses flinging through the air. Shop windows and the Binding Ward’s glass walls burst into a million pieces.
Oh my god, this place is falling apart.
Fire erupts from inside the building and in minutes smoke’s scratching my throat.
The General—I’m losing sight of the General.
I step up on someone or something for a view above the crowd. As far as I can see, people are destroying buildings, ripping one another apart with magic. Amid the chaos, I spot a spark of light up ahead and a scraggly, almost bald head behind it.There he is.
A warm hand wraps around mine and my heart skips a beat. Jhamal. His costume has worn off and his side’s sticky with blood.
“Are you okay?”
“I will be fine.” He winces when he speaks. “What can I do?”
I place Tasha’s hand in his. “Get her out of here. Protect her with whatever you have.”
I kiss her forehead. “He’ll keep you safe until I get back, I promise.” She nods, her everything trembling.
Jhamal darts off as something booms and the tallest residence hall tips over, creaking its way to the ground with acrash. The skiesrain steel and glass and dust clouds make it hard to see. I hunch down, darting through the crowd in the General’s direction.
He’snotgetting away. I refuse to let him.
I push faster, coughing my way through the smoky air. Something stings my side, then feels wet, but I keep pushing. People scream profanities at me or one another, I don’t know. I only have eyes on the General.
He turns toward the fallen debris of the residence halls and I pound the ground harder. He glances back at me and darts of magic fly like bullets my way. I dodge left, and the shots whip by. He hops over another chunk of fallen rubble and I follow him inside the crumbled structure that was our old dorm.
Metal groans, then clanks, and the ground shifts.Bang.A pile of rubble slams to the ground, blocking his path. He has nowhere to turn but back—to face me.
He’s trapped.
We’re trapped.
But only one of us is making it out of here.
“So, this is it then, huh?” His eyes are wild, bulging out of his head.
“For you, yeah.” I shoot first and our streams of energy meet, crackling like electricity. He groans and presses.
The Ancestors’ magic buzzes with my own in some deep crevice inside me.This. This is what they called me for.
“Let it go, Rue,” he says, groaning to keep his defense up. “You’re a forgotten detail of a story that’s never been written. This isn’t a fight you can win.”
“Watch me.” I dig, every inch of me aching. Fire pulses through my every limb. Deep inside my magic churns, searing my insides like a violent force trying to rip its way out of me.
I let it.
And I aim for his wrists.
“Ahhh!”Air buckles and cracks, rippling like waves. The General flies backward and slams into a piece of steel. His onyx pops from his wrists and hits the ground, rolling to my feet. I scoop them up and put them in my pocket.
“You lose.” I heave a wad of spit at his face. “Wewin.”
