AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She wants me to turn on the projector, even though it could mean the end of her life. Tears fill my eyes as I move closer to the toggles. I don’t even know which switch will turn it on; I could end up killing her for nothing.
“Amelia, think about it. Could you really live with her death on your conscience? Her blood on your hands?” He moves from her hair and instead cups the sides of her head in both hands.
He’s going to kill her. Oh god, I can’t do this. I can’t lose her. I’m sorry, Arman, I can’t—
Olivia tries to talk through her gag and my eyes fly back to her.
It’s still there, that determination. But underneath it, there is a sense of…peace. Olivia, the girl who has always been by my side, has lived her own story as well.
“I understand what it feels like to live a lie.”
Her words from the other night play in my head. If I give in and they let her go, she will need to continue surviving in a community that only promises an empty life. A lie. She wants me to turn it on because for her, there’s no other way. She’d rather die.
A sense of resolve settles deep inside me. The tears finally spill over as I take her in and pray to whatever god is out there that she makes it through, and that I flip the correct switch.
As soon as I touch the machine, he snaps her neck.
My ears ring as I watch the life leave Olivia’s eyes. I feel bile rise in my throat as I attempt to keep myself from falling to the floor.
After that, everything is a blur. I think that I scream, I know that I lunge for Jedaya.
Before I make it to him, the door behind me slams open. I turn and prepare to defend myself, but there’s no need.
The barriers are down, and Arman is standing at the door.
Chapter 23
He doesn’t look toward me, his gaze fastened on Jedaya. “She’s coming with me, Jedaya.”
Jedaya sneers at him, eyes filled with disgust. “One of our most infamous failures, at my door. What a pleasure.”
Arman opens his mouth to respond, but then notices Olivia. His expression turns to one of sadness as his eyes slide over to me.
I can’t handle his compassion right now; if I think too much about it, I’ll break. That won’t do anyone any good, except for Jedaya. I take a deep, shaky breath and avoid his gaze. I will mourn later.
Arman turns back to Jedaya, eyes burning with anger. “You take an innocent girl’s life and callmethe failure.” He takes adaunting step forward. “Amelia. Comes. With. Me.” Suddenly, he raises a hand and Jedaya is flying across the room.
I gasp and crouch down, heart pounding. It’s startling to see Elder magic in action, as it’s normally kept so close to the chest. I frantically turn back to the projector. The light is still red, but if I can get this display to everyone’s screens it could change the course of history.
Jedaya stands quickly and marches toward Arman with his hand raised, an invisible force causing Arman to fall to his knee.
Arman grunts as he pushes against the energy, and with a growl forces himself back onto his feet.
I start flipping every switch that I can, hoping the light turns green. It never does. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” I glance over my shoulder at Arman and Jedaya.
Arman forms a ball of dark matter between cupped hands and throws it at Jedaya, but Jedaya blocks it with a burst of white light.
They are both focused on each other, but I catch Arman taking quick glances in my direction every now and again, making sure I’m okay.
After another attempt to hit Jedaya with the black matter, Arman inches closer to me, flexing his hands while simultaneously putting himself between me and Jedaya. “This ends now.” Forsaking his supernatural abilities, he rushes at Jedaya and throws a punch.
Despite Jedaya’s appearance, he is extremely agile. He blocks the punch and throws one of his own, again blocked by Arman. This continues for a while, a mixture of punches, kicks, and magic. Watching them fight is like a strangely choreographed dance, equally matched.
I still can’t get the projector to turn on, so I go to the back of the machine to try and troubleshoot. If I can get it on, Arman just needs to get Jedaya talking.
“Weak morals lead to weak moves, clearly,” Jedaya spits at Arman.
“Morals, by what standard? One that abhors free thinking but turns a blind eye to the murder of innocents?” When Arman’s magic hits Jedaya this time, he stumbles back and takes more time to recover. Both are tiring, and at this point it is a battle of whoever loses one’s strength first.
