small side window and saw Madame Blackbird fighting with Slammy. A white robe chained her up. Slammy turned and grinned at Theo. They were trapped.
We should turn ourselves in , Valera said.
We can’t. You heard Dr. Lawless, they’re going to kill us, Julia spat.
Theo racked her brain to formulate a plan. We don’t have much choice. We can’t let him hurt Madame Blackbird.
“Fine, we can go outside and face Slammy. But I won’t go down without a fight,” Julia said aloud.
“What do you mean? You aren’t going out there,” Dr. Lawless fumed.
Theo pushed a chair away from the door and unlocked it. “We don’t have a choice. We’ll try to talk to him. If that doesn’t work, we’ll… use a different method.”
Eli grabbed Julia’s forearm. “Don’t do this.”
“We have to do something. I’ll be okay,” she said, gently removing his hand.
“Then let me go first,” Dr. Lawless said. “I’ll act like I’m turning you over. Maybe you can make a run for it.”
Theo nodded, and Dr. Lawless slipped onto the porch with his hands in the air. The white robes came for him and dragged him down to Slammy. Theo heard him muttering, and then the guards backed off. Theo took the cue to step onto the walkway with the bag of relics held tight against her body. Julia and Valera followed close behind. Slammy’s smile grew. He dropped the blow horn. The men behind him inched forward. He shot his hand in the air and the men paused.
“You’ve seen reason… excellent. I need you girls to come down slowly.”
“I’m sorry, but we can’t do that. We’re not going to let you sacrifice us, Slammy,” Julia yelled.
“We’ll find a different way to do what you want, but we need assurances,” Theo added.
The man shook in anger. “Do you think you can dupe me? There will be no assurances or sacrifices. No one makes a fool of me.”
Theo frowned. He was crazy. He fumbled for something at his belt, pulled a pistol, and aimed it at the girls. Without another word, he pulled the trigger. He didn’t anticipate the ricochet from the gun and was thrown to the ground. The rogue bullet missed the girls and flew off the protective dome above. A loud ping echoed through Pacifica as the bullet hit the glass. The sound of cracks forming along the worn barrier intermingled with the screams of people. The pressure of the Pacific Ocean pushed against the dome and water sprayed into the city. Slammy stared at the hole in shock. The gun fell on the ground beside him, and the mass of white robes stood in stunned silence.
More fissures formed every second, and the water flowed inside faster and faster. Slammy’s men fled in fear. Slammy sat on his haunches, looking between the girls and the gun sitting on the sand.
“What have you done?” He muttered.
A wave of people stampeded down the streets in order to escape the rising water in the Lows. A woman stumbled over Slammy, knocking him on his back. She got up and kept running. Slammy struggled to get up, but the stampeding herd didn’t stop to help. Dr. Lawless grabbed Theo’s arm.
“We have to get to the docks. It’s the only way out of the city,” he shouted over the screams.
“What about the people?”
“We don’t have time to worry about them,” Dr. Lawless hissed.
Theo knew there wouldn’t be time to get everyone out of Pacifica. The dome was failing. The city was flooding. People were dying. She wouldn’t stand by and watch another part of Aether crumble. She searched the bag for Maera’s Scepter. Holding it out, she slammed it on the ground and channeled aether through it. Valera and Julia both gripped the staff, and Theo felt a surge of power flowing through all three of them. In waves of radiant light, the power of the scepter struck out over the city.
Theo felt as if her spirit left her body, and she flew over the city. She was a soaring bird. Below her the cracks in the dome sealed closed. People swept up by the flood were lifted free, and the
We should turn ourselves in , Valera said.
We can’t. You heard Dr. Lawless, they’re going to kill us, Julia spat.
Theo racked her brain to formulate a plan. We don’t have much choice. We can’t let him hurt Madame Blackbird.
“Fine, we can go outside and face Slammy. But I won’t go down without a fight,” Julia said aloud.
“What do you mean? You aren’t going out there,” Dr. Lawless fumed.
Theo pushed a chair away from the door and unlocked it. “We don’t have a choice. We’ll try to talk to him. If that doesn’t work, we’ll… use a different method.”
Eli grabbed Julia’s forearm. “Don’t do this.”
“We have to do something. I’ll be okay,” she said, gently removing his hand.
“Then let me go first,” Dr. Lawless said. “I’ll act like I’m turning you over. Maybe you can make a run for it.”
Theo nodded, and Dr. Lawless slipped onto the porch with his hands in the air. The white robes came for him and dragged him down to Slammy. Theo heard him muttering, and then the guards backed off. Theo took the cue to step onto the walkway with the bag of relics held tight against her body. Julia and Valera followed close behind. Slammy’s smile grew. He dropped the blow horn. The men behind him inched forward. He shot his hand in the air and the men paused.
“You’ve seen reason… excellent. I need you girls to come down slowly.”
“I’m sorry, but we can’t do that. We’re not going to let you sacrifice us, Slammy,” Julia yelled.
“We’ll find a different way to do what you want, but we need assurances,” Theo added.
The man shook in anger. “Do you think you can dupe me? There will be no assurances or sacrifices. No one makes a fool of me.”
Theo frowned. He was crazy. He fumbled for something at his belt, pulled a pistol, and aimed it at the girls. Without another word, he pulled the trigger. He didn’t anticipate the ricochet from the gun and was thrown to the ground. The rogue bullet missed the girls and flew off the protective dome above. A loud ping echoed through Pacifica as the bullet hit the glass. The sound of cracks forming along the worn barrier intermingled with the screams of people. The pressure of the Pacific Ocean pushed against the dome and water sprayed into the city. Slammy stared at the hole in shock. The gun fell on the ground beside him, and the mass of white robes stood in stunned silence.
More fissures formed every second, and the water flowed inside faster and faster. Slammy’s men fled in fear. Slammy sat on his haunches, looking between the girls and the gun sitting on the sand.
“What have you done?” He muttered.
A wave of people stampeded down the streets in order to escape the rising water in the Lows. A woman stumbled over Slammy, knocking him on his back. She got up and kept running. Slammy struggled to get up, but the stampeding herd didn’t stop to help. Dr. Lawless grabbed Theo’s arm.
“We have to get to the docks. It’s the only way out of the city,” he shouted over the screams.
“What about the people?”
“We don’t have time to worry about them,” Dr. Lawless hissed.
Theo knew there wouldn’t be time to get everyone out of Pacifica. The dome was failing. The city was flooding. People were dying. She wouldn’t stand by and watch another part of Aether crumble. She searched the bag for Maera’s Scepter. Holding it out, she slammed it on the ground and channeled aether through it. Valera and Julia both gripped the staff, and Theo felt a surge of power flowing through all three of them. In waves of radiant light, the power of the scepter struck out over the city.
Theo felt as if her spirit left her body, and she flew over the city. She was a soaring bird. Below her the cracks in the dome sealed closed. People swept up by the flood were lifted free, and the
Similar Books
