Levitating Las Vegas(52)
Author: Jennifer Echols

“Why did she let me turn their car over?”

“You were holding the SUV away from you.” Elijah held his hand out to demonstrate, and she was amazed all over again that he knew this. “That was really smart of you. You have a longer range than she does. Violet does not like you.”

“And I have the warmest regards for Violet.” Holly had never so much as pulled a girl’s hair in the middle school bathroom for stealing her boyfriend, and now she faced a grudge match against a chick with magical power.

Elijah chuckled. “She was trying to keep me in the SUV, too, but you won that fight.”

“Good to know,” Holly said. “Maybe we’re not as bad off as I thought back there. Maybe I’m stronger than anybody else with this power.”

“They want to find out,” Elijah said.

The tunnel loomed just ahead. Holly dreaded moving the car through it. She sank under the pressure, berating herself that she’d felt so cocky about her power five seconds before.

“Can you please calm down?” Elijah growled.

“Calm down!” she shouted. “Weirdos find us in the middle of nowhere and try to kidnap you, and you want me to calm down?”

He took a breath before he said, “Exactly. I’m going through my feelings plus your feelings, and it’s a little overwhelming.”

“Don’t be such a baby,” Holly snapped. “I just overturned a car with my head.”

“Fine.” He curled in the corner, as far as possible from Holly. He really did look green. He hugged himself. “Can you please calm down?” he repeated weakly.

Holly felt terrible. She’d never intended to make him sick. She tried to clear her mind—

—and then the world went black. The car had entered the tunnel. She had no idea how to turn on the headlights. The mountain overhead threatened to crush her.

“No, it won’t,” Elijah said quietly. “You can see the starlight at the end of the tunnel. Just look straight ahead.”

Holly tried to follow his advice, but the car was too heavy, her head hurt too much, the mountain was too big, the tunnel was too dark.

“Holly,” Elijah said.

She fumbled on the dashboard in front of her and turned on the windshield wipers.

“Holly,” Elijah said.

If only she could find the button for the headlights . . . but she couldn’t turn it on with her mind if she didn’t even know where it was. By the time the car emerged from the tunnel, she’d fallen so far into panic that getting out from under the mountain didn’t get her out from under the horrible crushing sensation, and Elijah was yelling, “HOLLY, YOU HAVE GOT TO PULL THE FUCK OVER.”

With a gasp she cast around for the nearest spot on the shoulder wide enough to hold the car without it tipping over the edge. She sped the car forward to the parking lot of the scenic overlook and abruptly dropped it. It bounced once on its tires, jolting them both on the seats.

Elijah escaped out the passenger door and ran up the dusty path, all the way to the overlook, as far away from her as he could get without falling into the canyon. He sat on the boulder where they’d talked before, leaning forward, elbows on his knees, hands hanging slack—but he never looked down. He didn’t seem to be watching Holly, either. He focused over her shoulder, on the tunnel, waiting for the SUV.

Holly knew how he felt. Even relief was no longer a relief. With her mind she reached into the ignition and turned off the idling engine. She cranked down the window and called, “Are you okay?”

He nodded. His voice sounded small in the vast night as he asked, “Are you?”

“Now I am.” Or was she? She should stay diligent like Elijah and turn around to face the tunnel, but she felt like she’d been steamrollered. She could hardly keep her eyes open.

“Stretch out in the backseat, and I’ll drive home,” Elijah called. “I can deal better when you’re asleep anyway. And try to have sweet dreams this time. No more zombies doing ballet.”

Holly laughed. Zombies doing ballet—she didn’t remember dreaming something so ridiculous, but it did sound vaguely familiar. Then she heard the first part of what he’d said. “Home?”

“I want to stay ahead of them,” he said. “I don’t think they’ll attack us again until they’ve regrouped, but I want to know they’re behind us, not ahead. Something tells me we should get back to Vegas before they do.”

Obediently she crawled into the backseat and stretched out. Lying down felt delicious. But she wished she were lying in the hotel bed instead, and she were not beat, and they were not pursued by mind-controlling Goths who shopped at the thrift store. She wanted the time alone with Elijah that they’d promised each other in the restaurant.

He opened the door and knelt beside her. “We’ll get it.” He kissed her forehead.

She raised her chin, wanting more. But he was looking out the back window, watching the tunnel. Then she heard him cranking down the driver’s-side window.

“It will be windy tonight with the windows down,” she protested sleepily. “Cold.”

“I need the white noise,” he said. “To drown out your thoughts.”

She snuggled against the seat back for warmth. Then he was leaning close over her, tucking warm fabric around her. His T-shirt. She inhaled the smell of him. She recognized his spicy scent from when she’d whispered with him in ninth-grade English class. His mind-reading ability had been unleashed in the past week, which made him seem sometimes like a different person. But he smelled the same as always.

Elijah took a few last slow, relaxing breaths of Las Vegas interstate air, steeling himself for what was coming. He heard Holly finally stirring in the backseat, and he felt her waking up.

Having her asleep had done wonders for his mind-set. He’d gone almost back to normal. He’d been able to have complete thoughts about their situation.

He wasn’t sure anymore what exactly had transpired between him and Holly’s dad in Mr. Diamond’s office that night so long ago. He doubted he’d really given Mr. Starr that black eye—especially if Mr. Starr was a levitator like Holly. He knew he hadn’t imagined Mr. Starr’s virtual hand around his throat. That had been too real.

Now there would be another confrontation. Holly had passed from Mr. Starr’s hands to Elijah’s. He had a responsibility to take care of her and keep her safe. He’d failed miserably at that in Icarus—she had come to his rescue. He wouldn’t fail her again.