Page 120 of Wings of Ebony
The flames from the car wreck…
Pinker.
Squeeeeze.
He falls with a thud and I step over him.
With a flick of the wrist, the thread of energy fizzles out. I shove his gun in my waistband.
Three left.
“Get that stuff, too, over there. The old radio.” A guy who held me at gunpoint after the coffee shop turns a drawer of Ms. Davis’s things upside down. A porcelain doll that used to sit in her kitchen window smashes the ground.She loved that piece.
“You shouldn’t be here,” I say.
They flip around, shock on their faces. No weapons in their hands because they’re neck deep in robbing sweet ole Ms. Davis.
“Oh yeah, says who?” The bigger one kicks a stack of what lookslike leather-bound photo albums. He steps on them, walking toward me, and they rip apart.
“Pretty price on your head, little girl.”
“You’re not leaving here with legs,” I say.
He charges at me, but I’m ready. A rush of energy rips from me, slamming into his chest. He flies backward and thuds against the wall. His head flops—his eyes go woozy. I pin him there. My magic spews against his chest like a hydrant, the room glowing blue from the light.
“Ahhh, this shit burns. This stupid girl is crazy. She crazy! L-let me go!”
I push harder and he squirms, his skin growing redder. My arms ache and his cries quiet. I pull back and the stream of magic evaporates as quickly as it came. He plops on the ground, his shirt in shreds. His chest is sunburn-red as he curls in a ball, wincing in pain.
His friend is pale and he falls to his knees. “P-please don’t hurt me. I got a family, kids.”
“Oh, kids matter to you all of a sudden… when they not brown-skinned?”
Tears pour down his face and the crotch of his pants is wet. “Whatever you want. I-I’ll do whatever you want.”
Coffee shop dude lifts his face, red and blotchy. “Just wait until Litto gets his hands on her. He’ll handle her.” He tries to get up, but collapses. I ignore him, turning to the scared dude, his pissy scent wafting to my face.
“What’s your name?”
“B-Billy.”
“Billy, your friend there isn’t very smart. The more he talks, the shorter his life gets.” Billy’s eyes fall to my cuffs and his mouth opens wider.
“But you’re not like him, are you, Billy? You’re smarter than he is.”
His head’s nodding, but he won’t look away from my wrists. A coiled snake with bared fangs marks his neck. “I just wanted to get some stuff and get out of here.”
“I’m going to tell you to do some things and you’re going to do them. You understand that, Billy?”
Dude in the corner tries to speak. “Don’t listen to—”
I fire an arrow of light and it flies with a swish, slamming into his mouth, clamping it shut. He squirms, and his screams disappear.
Two left.
I turn back to Billy. “First, call your crew, every single one, to Dezignz.”
“A meetup like that only comes down from Litto himself. I-I can’t do that.”
