Читать книгу Scarred - Erica Hayes - Страница 14

"Verity."

I didn't listen. Didn't want to hear their accusations. The wet ground had soaked into my trousers. My ears rang. Had I been slumped here a minute? An hour?

"Verity." Insistent, a bloodstained hand on my shoulder. "Gotta go."

Dully, I shrugged Glimmer off. "How did she even do that? The lightning, I mean. I've never seen anyone but Mike do that. And the other one can smash concrete. Brilliant."

Acid guilt bubbled and smoked inside my chest. Vincent said he didn't know them. He said so. So what did I do? Did I argue, keep it above the waist, think for myself for a change?

No, I went right ahead and believed him. Christ on a cheesy cracker, I'm so fucking stupid. And now Mike's dead.

"An electric bad guy." Numbly, I giggled, salt and bubbles. "Awesome. Razorfire will be so pleased. Because, y'know, I would be, if I was a lying archvillain son of a bitch."

"Keep it quiet," Glimmer hissed. He pulled me to my feet, shook my shoulders. "Get it together. They're back. Can't you hear?"

"Wha…?" The crush of concrete filtered in, dragging me back to my senses. The ground vibrated. Sophron and Flash were pummeling our building again. Crash! Another wall fell, coughing up a dust cloud. "Shit. More?"

Adonis strode over. "C'mon, ladies. We can't stay here."

He'd handed Harriet over to Ebenezer, who held his twin's hand, bafflement blanking his pimply face. Eb was wet, I noticed dimly, his clothes stained like he'd sweated a river or tripped over into a puddle. He looked green. Perhaps he'd been sick. Harriet's chin trembled, her eyes dark pools of despair and disbelief. My heart ached, and I wanted to hug her. Cactus. FREE HUGS. Damn it.

Together, we stumbled for cover, one fewer than we'd been when we came out.

We halted at the asylum's far end, beneath low-hanging branches that hid us from view, at least for now. Harriet and Eb leaned on each other, foreheads and fingertips touching, lank dark hair mingling with blond. A single tear shone on Eb's cheek. The twins weren't close. Didn't seem to matter right now.

Behind us, thunder rolled, and another wall exploded, a rain of rubble. Hot metal stink assaulted me, and Sophron's monstrous laughter slithered through the trees, a venomous asp aiming to kill us all.

They weren't gone. Just hiding.

I pulled my hungry mindmuscle taut and ready. "What now, Ad?"

My brother yanked his hair with both hands, smearing it with black dust. "We'll find Peg and the others."

"But this is our home," I argued. I'd been eager for battle before. Now, I thirsted for it. My flesh itched uncontrollably. I wanted to rake my face, scratch my skin raw, let my talent explode. "We can't just let that vicious cow—"