Page 70 of Circle of Death
Little kids are squealing and laughing, poking each other with their small, glowing phalanges. Anything metal is visible as a crisp white silhouette. Coins and belt buckles, jackknives and pacemakers. On some people, I can see pins and screws from orthopedic surgeries. One man has a plate in his skull. I hold up my left hand to admire the bright symmetry of my wedding band.
“Lamont, please!” says Margo, her jawbone moving up and down. “I can’t stand this!”
I do another quick scan of the crowd, looking for any form that’s abnormally large or misshapen. Does the monster even have bones? Can he mask them? All I see are fellow human beings, living images of the way we’ll all end up—just a collection of hardened proteins and minerals. Whoever thought up this display was either a voyeur or a philosopher. Maybe both.
Margo grabs my arm. “Get me the hell out of here!”
I reach for Maddy on the other side. “Okay, let’s go.”
But she’s not there.
CHAPTER 83
“MADDY!”
Margo is screaming at the top of her lungs as we push toward the exit. I’m thinking maybe Maddy turned invisible. Maybe she was embarrassed by her bones.
Maybe she’s waiting for us outside. Or maybe she went against my direct orders and set off on her own again.
“Dammit, Lamont!” Margo yells. “She promised to stay with us!”
Outside the pavilion, I turn to look in every direction. Margo is frantic, calling out Maddy’s name again and again. From across the concourse, a small girl walks toward us, staring at me as she comes. Blond hair, blue eyes. In her right hand, she’s holding a string with a black balloon attached. It bobs a few feet above her head. Margo turns around just as the girl hands me the string.
“Pop it,” the girl says. Then she walks away, melting into the crowd like she was never there. Margo yanks a clip from her hair and stabs the balloon. The rubber implodes and shrivels. A small card falls to the ground.
Margo bends over to grab it. We read the message together.
DON’T JUST STAND THERE. SHE CAN’T BE FAR.
Margo looks up at me with terror in her eyes. “The Destroyer has her.”
CHAPTER 84
MARGO AND I are running up the concourse, looking left and right, ducking into entryways, peeking into the dark alleys between the pavilions. I realize that if the Destroyer really wants to hurt Margo, this is how to do it—by taking Maddy. There’s nothing crueler. For Margo, losing that girl would be worse than dying. I think the Destroyer knows it, too.
People are staring at us. We probably look like two crazed parents with a lost baby. Which is exactly how it feels. Two undercover cops start moving toward us. I can’t tell if they want to help us or stop us. I don’t have time for this.
Time!
I pull Margo to a halt. “Lamont! What are you doing?”
“I’m not sure, but I have to try.”
I’ve never done this. I’m not even sure if it’s possible. It’s way beyond my training. Another one of the forbidden skills. But if I can stop Maddy from being taken away, I’ll try. I bend forward at the waist and press my hands against my head. It feels like I have a storm raging inside my brain. Images are whipping around like tree limbs in a tornado. I see green-painted faces. Glowing skeletons. The killer’s face.
Focus!Make it happen!
Suddenly, everything stops.
Actuallystops.
When I look up, everything is frozen in place. Rides. People. Margo. I’m the only thing moving. The only one breathing.
I’ve suspended time.
I start moving up the main thoroughfare, past people as still as statues.
Suddenly, I feel a vibration, fast and loud—pounding against the ground.
