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Cou Rouge shrugged "Suit yourself" His finger tightened on the trigger
Oh dear God, he was about to shoot, and Jackson couldn’t stop it, I couldn’t do anything--
The
Eun, then at Jackson, at the chilling expression on the boy’s face
The sa pain; now it see how much Jackson was about to savor the pain he proed forward, one of his brutal fists connecting with the le hit, li irl?" Another blow shattered the soldier’s nose "Worst thing you could ever have said!"
"Jackson!" I cried "Please, let’s go!"
The nizable, shapeless, and still Jackson beat hi punishment
A sentence
When Matthew casually trotted back forht behind"
"Come with us, please!" I screarab him!"
Matthew chuckled at that, then shovedainst his chest--just as a bullet whizzed past,us by inches A few seconds later, he pal me to my knees, and I heard some kind of shrapnel whistle directly abovea maze of present and future, a web of occurrences visible only to hied hi us
By the tie of the charred woods, dozens offor their coirl!"
Selena intercepted theainst her sides She blasted away at the Matthew and me to dive into a nearby ditch for cover
A handful of shots sang over our heads, then stopped abruptly From their shouts, it seemed our pursuers had realized Selena was a she, and ordered a cease-fire
Selena didn’t follow that order When they took up positions in a gully opposite us, she euns at them Then she dropped into the ditch with us
As the soldiers decided what to do--they couldn’t risk two fe us--Selena snapped, "Where the hell is JD? Damn it, there was one person I wanted to see come out of the camp Not you two"
I cried, "He wouldn’t come with us!"
"And you took no for an answer? I would’ve h" She trailed off, her attention seized by so beyond ourpast the rednecks to hop doith us "Yo"
I found ht by them?"
With a cocky air, he brushed off one shoulder, then the other "Told you I was ayou back to ets old, because I can seriously change this channel"
Selena didn’t seem nearly as shocked as I was She merely patted her bow and said, "As can I"
"You think you can take out more than I can?" Finn scoffed "You’re on"
Should I point out the obvious? "Kid, you don’t have a weapon"
He chucked ot this"
With a roll of her eyes, Selena charged up the rise, her bowstring singing
Finn followed, and began towhisper to the rednecks?
The sound of Selena’s archery was uncanny In the se and saw her shooting arroith an iloith that blood-tinged hue--like a hunter’sin a language I’d never heard His breaths see the air with heat I perceived power, and he was directing it at our attackers
The shooters he addressed stu as dumbfounded as I felt, because the soldiers beside the their own co these men look like their ene in the world I needed to witness this, needed to reach the
As Selena picked off stragglers, she winked at Finn; he grinned back They accepted their powers, readily accepted such abilities in others
"Arcana," Matthew murmured at my ear
"Yes," I breathed "This is real? Not another vision?"
"Real"
I possessed abilities These three kids did as well Matthew had his live-streaoddess of the hunt, Finneas could create illusions
Andthe air--so lovely, allanced down to find my claws had flared
Matthew cast ht with him!"
He shook his head firmly "You don’t attack You await, you beckon"
Beckon?
Come, touch, but you’ll pay a price I remembered the witch’s besotted admirer She’d beckoned him
The aduilesnap behind us and whirled around
Mattheas staring at the end of a rifle, the barrel just inches fro soldier who brandished it I didn’t dare think he would run out of bullets too He would capture me and kill Matthew I had to stop him!
"Beckon, Empress," Matthehispered
And thenI did
I raised a treile lotus blooaze I blew him a kiss across its petals--and the rifle dropped, abandoned
Because the soldier was cla his throat and robbing his lungs of air
As he thrashed on the ground, helpless, the lotus disappeared;like hypoderaped Ten thorns working like ten needles?
"Pierce hiood to plunge them into flesh
No! "I-I can’t! Matthew, I can never be like her"