attitude. Creepy swords and weird noises were enough for me. I was leaving. Now.
I broke free of the stacks and rounded the end of the aisle. I was halfway back toward the counter when I saw something move out of the corner of my eye. I glanced over to my left.
And thatâs when I saw her.
Jasmine Ashton.
The blond Valkyrie lay on her back in front of the case that Nickamedes had shown me earlier tonight, the one with Lokiâs supposed Bowl of Tears in it.
Except all the glass on the case had been shattered and there was no Bowl inside of it anymore.
And someone or something had slit Jasmineâs throat from ear to ear.
I froze, not sure what was going on. I blinked a few times, but the scene didnât change. Broken case. Stolen Bowl. A girl with a big, bloody slash across her pale throat.
I stood there another moment, shocked and dumbstruck, before my brain kicked in and started working once more. I pushed the cart out of the way and ran over to Jasmine. My foot slipped out from under me, and I put my hand down to brace myself. Something wet and cold and sticky covered my fingers, making me flinch. I raised up my hand to find it coated with bloodâJasmineâs blood.
It was everywhere. Under the smashed case. Beside it. Splashed up onto the wooden tables. Puddles of the Valkyrieâs blood covered the floor like crimson water that hadnât been mopped up.
âOh, shit!â
I was almost hyperventilating, so I made myself take deep breaths the way that my mom had always told me to whenever I got panicked. Whenever I was in a bad, bad situation. After several seconds, I felt better. At least, good enough to pick my way through the pools of blood over to where Jasmine lay.
Strawberry-blond hair. Blue eyes. Beautiful face. Designer clothes. The Valkyrie looked the same as she always didâexcept for the slash in her throat and the knife on the floor next to her. A long curved gold dagger with an enormous ruby set into the hilt. The lights made the gem glint and gleam, like a giant red eye watching me. For some reason, the dagger was the only thing here that wasnât covered with blood. Bizarre.
I crouched down beside Jasmine, trying not to stare at the horrible wound on her throat. I couldnât tell if she was still breathing or not, and there was only one way to find out.
I had to touch her.
And I really, really didnât want to.
As much as I liked learning peopleâs secrets, I knew that my Gypsy gift would kick in the second that I put my fingers on the Valkyrieâs skin. Then, I would see and feel and experience exactly what Jasmine had when her throat had been cut. It would be horrible, just as horrible as seeing all the awful things that Paigeâs stepdad had been doing to her. Maybe even worse.
But there was no getting around it. I had to find out if Jasmine was still alive. Iâd taken CPR in health class at my old school last year, so maybe I could help herâor at least run and find someone who could. I had to try, anyway. I just couldnât stand here and do nothing, not when Jasmine looked soâso broken.
So I crouched down and stretched out my trembling hand toward her neck. My fingers loomed closer to her pale skin, before finally jerking forward and making contact.
I closed my eyes and bit my lip, expecting to be overwhelmed with emotions and feelings. Expecting to feel all the pain and terror and fear that Jasmine just had. Expecting to be overcome with all those horrible emotions and just start screamingâ
I felt nothing.
Not fear, not terror, and especially not pain. Nothing. I didnât even get the faintest flicker of feeling off Jasmineâs body. No vibes, no flashes, nothing. I frowned and pushed my fingers deeper into her neck, placing my whole hand on her skin just above the cut on her throat.
Still nothing.
Weird. Really weird. I always saw something, always felt something, especially when I was actually touching
I broke free of the stacks and rounded the end of the aisle. I was halfway back toward the counter when I saw something move out of the corner of my eye. I glanced over to my left.
And thatâs when I saw her.
Jasmine Ashton.
The blond Valkyrie lay on her back in front of the case that Nickamedes had shown me earlier tonight, the one with Lokiâs supposed Bowl of Tears in it.
Except all the glass on the case had been shattered and there was no Bowl inside of it anymore.
And someone or something had slit Jasmineâs throat from ear to ear.
I froze, not sure what was going on. I blinked a few times, but the scene didnât change. Broken case. Stolen Bowl. A girl with a big, bloody slash across her pale throat.
I stood there another moment, shocked and dumbstruck, before my brain kicked in and started working once more. I pushed the cart out of the way and ran over to Jasmine. My foot slipped out from under me, and I put my hand down to brace myself. Something wet and cold and sticky covered my fingers, making me flinch. I raised up my hand to find it coated with bloodâJasmineâs blood.
It was everywhere. Under the smashed case. Beside it. Splashed up onto the wooden tables. Puddles of the Valkyrieâs blood covered the floor like crimson water that hadnât been mopped up.
âOh, shit!â
I was almost hyperventilating, so I made myself take deep breaths the way that my mom had always told me to whenever I got panicked. Whenever I was in a bad, bad situation. After several seconds, I felt better. At least, good enough to pick my way through the pools of blood over to where Jasmine lay.
Strawberry-blond hair. Blue eyes. Beautiful face. Designer clothes. The Valkyrie looked the same as she always didâexcept for the slash in her throat and the knife on the floor next to her. A long curved gold dagger with an enormous ruby set into the hilt. The lights made the gem glint and gleam, like a giant red eye watching me. For some reason, the dagger was the only thing here that wasnât covered with blood. Bizarre.
I crouched down beside Jasmine, trying not to stare at the horrible wound on her throat. I couldnât tell if she was still breathing or not, and there was only one way to find out.
I had to touch her.
And I really, really didnât want to.
As much as I liked learning peopleâs secrets, I knew that my Gypsy gift would kick in the second that I put my fingers on the Valkyrieâs skin. Then, I would see and feel and experience exactly what Jasmine had when her throat had been cut. It would be horrible, just as horrible as seeing all the awful things that Paigeâs stepdad had been doing to her. Maybe even worse.
But there was no getting around it. I had to find out if Jasmine was still alive. Iâd taken CPR in health class at my old school last year, so maybe I could help herâor at least run and find someone who could. I had to try, anyway. I just couldnât stand here and do nothing, not when Jasmine looked soâso broken.
So I crouched down and stretched out my trembling hand toward her neck. My fingers loomed closer to her pale skin, before finally jerking forward and making contact.
I closed my eyes and bit my lip, expecting to be overwhelmed with emotions and feelings. Expecting to feel all the pain and terror and fear that Jasmine just had. Expecting to be overcome with all those horrible emotions and just start screamingâ
I felt nothing.
Not fear, not terror, and especially not pain. Nothing. I didnât even get the faintest flicker of feeling off Jasmineâs body. No vibes, no flashes, nothing. I frowned and pushed my fingers deeper into her neck, placing my whole hand on her skin just above the cut on her throat.
Still nothing.
Weird. Really weird. I always saw something, always felt something, especially when I was actually touching
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