Page 59 of Ramshackle
Gordon drags me across the floor, and knocking into the debris is enough to snap me out of my stupor. I’m able to twist to see that there’s another portal in my room that he’s bringing me to.
NO!
I kick and scream, flailing in his grip.
I’m not going back!
I claw at his arm over my head and fall through it where he’s made himself intangible. Gritting my teeth, I seek out his hand at my scalp and have the disorienting feeling of my hand passing through my own head. He’s spread his gift onto me from his touch.
Knives fly through him above me. Jackson climbs through the window and holds out his hand, then fists it.
Gordon chokes, and his hand loosens in my hair. I tear free, ignoring the pain of hair snapping, as I rush toward Jack.
“Not so fast!” Gordon bellows.
Another cry rips from my throat as I’m wrenched backward by a section of hair and pulled to the floor.How?My hands fly instinctively to the hair that’s being pulled to try to win it back. I search for Jackson.
Jack straightens from a crouch to standing on the windowsill, his blue eyes burning into Gordon behind me. He’s holding knives in each hand like a spread of cards, and just as he looks ready to leap at Gordon, something small bursts through his thigh. The end of it snaps out like a diamond blade and then jerks back just as quickly as it appeared.
“Jack!”
Glass sprays the room as he crashes rearward through the window.
My arms fly up to cover my face. “Jack!”
“Time to go, pet.”
“Fuck you!” Yanking a shard of glass from my leg, I throw it at him for whatever time that distraction will give me. I call on my gift, and it answers me without hesitation. The burning heat doesn’t even hurt while it consumes my hand, and I slam it to the ground.
I clench my teeth together and focus on it, steering my gift through the debris to aim it at Gordon and nothing else. A crack of destruction snakes in his direction.
It stops under him.
“You know you can’t hurt me,” Gordon taunts.
No. There has to be a way.
I push up on my feet to run at him, and he releases my hair and jumps out of the way.
Gordon’s face darkens. “I understand now.” His voice is threateningly calm. “Your friends gave you false hope. You think you can fight me now, but you can’t.” His lips peel back in a sickening smile. “I’ll use this as another lesson for you. I already promised you that I would kill your friends if you left me. It’s time I followed through on it.”
My breathing shallows.
“I will send hunters to kill every last one of them. And only when they’re gone, and you’ve realized your mistake, will I come for you.”
He laughs and steps back into the open portal until it begins to swallow him. A blade flies at him, and the portal consumes the rest of Gordon and the blade before disappearing.
Arms wrap around me from behind, tugging me back into the smell of leaves and crisp autumn air. “You’re safe, little one. I’m here.”
I turn in his arms, my hands sliding up to his shoulders and around his neck. “Jackson! Thank fuck you’re okay. We need to get Aiden and get out of here.” Pulling back, I turn to the door to search for him.
Jack swings the door back and steps in front of me to check the hallway first.
“Where is she?!” Aiden demands when he sees Jackson. I push under Jack’s arm to see where he is, but he doesn’t let me squeeze any further than that.
“I’m here! Jack, move out of the way so we can help him!”
Aiden dodges an attack and swings his whip sword at three of the opponents trying to sneak up behind him. He’s surrounded on all sides by gifted GE agents. “Get her out of here,” he calls to Jack.
