“So?” I ask.I don’t need his analysis.
“This is extraordinary. We could experiment. We could?—”
“No.” Sisk stops him again. “We are leaving.”
“Sisk,” I say quietly. “I can’t.”
“Why the fuck not?”
“Every time I left the city to see you,” I say, “I could feel it pulling me back, like a fucking leash. The Pit told me you would be punished if I didn’t return.”
“But Jax?—”
“I’ll take her.”
We all turn to Matt.
“I’ll take you,” he says, looking right at her. “Far away. Until Jax figures out… whatever the hell this is.”
The arguing starts up again. Everyone talking over each other, a useless cacophony of plans and panic.
My throat tightens and the words force their way out before I can stop them, a deep, raspy sound that grates in my own ears.
“Theeee heeeeiiirrrr.”
Everyone stops breathing.
Lou's head whips toward me. His eyes are wide, locked on mine for a full, agonizing second. “Nope.” He's out of his chair so fast it topples backward with a crash.
“Absolutely not.” He takes another stumbling step away, putting distance between himself and the source of the sound. “Why am I the only one terrified right now?” He looks between Viper and Matt, his voice cracking with panic. “Did you hear that? Please tell me you heard that.”
His gaze snaps back to me, desperate and wild. “That sounded like it crawled out of a?—”
He doesn't finish. He can't. The tar surges violently out of my palm, shooting toward Sisk like a black whip. The anger inside me rises instantly while a protective rage boils over. “No!” I yank my hand back, fighting my own fucking body. The force of itknocks me to the floor as the tar slams back into me in a cold heavy wave.
“If you can manipulate that amount, perhaps…” Murtaugh mutters, his mind still on his fucking science project.
“Perhaps what?” I snap, my own voice, my own rage, finally back under my own control.
He swallows, looking from me to Sisk and back again. “Perhaps you can manipulate all of it.”
“You mean…” Matt starts, his voice trailing off.
Murtaugh breathes. “The Pit.” He looks straight at me, his eyes gleaming with that fucking scientist’s excitement. “Perhaps it’s possible for you to manipulate the entire pit.” He takes a seat, leaning forward like he’s about to share a secret. “I don’t know,” he continues quickly, “but you’re only getting stronger. Your human cells may be deteriorating, but the power is growing.”
“I’m not getting stronger, I’m getting more out of control.”
“You’re saying he could do what exactly?” Lou asks, his voice trembling.
Murtaugh exhales slowly. “Close it.”
Everyone stares.
“Close the pit,” he repeats, enunciating each word. “Force it back underground, sealing it. Back to how it was before the city dug it up.”
Sisk slowly sits down, one hand resting protectively over her stomach. “You think Jax can do that?”
“I can’t,” I say immediately, the words a reflex. “You all need to stop looking at me like I’m some kind of fucking god. I can’t control it.”
