The Blade of Shattered Hope

Another lightning strike, somewhere to his right. Another one way behind him. Each one was an explosion of light and energy and sound.

He got to his hands and knees, searching the area for his friends. He caught sight of Mothball sprawled across Rutger, scrambling to get up. No sign of her parents.

Sato stood up, lurching back and forth as the land continued to shake and tremble violently. Lightning was striking everywhere, long, crooked bolts of white fire hitting the ground in quick flashes instantaneously with the world-crushing sound. He held his hands up to his ears, wondering if he’d ever be able to see or hear again.

A brief pause in the lightning storm was as sudden as it was welcome. Sato squinted against the bright blurs of afterimages obscuring his vision as he headed toward Mothball. He had taken a few steps before he realized something very strange. The screams had stopped. So had the yelling and crying.

In disbelief, he scanned the area, shocked that he couldn’t see anyone. Nobody. Nowhere. Only Mothball and Rutger. Where had everyone else gone?

He cupped his hands around his mouth to yell something to Mothball. “What’s—”

A massive bolt of lightning shot from the sky, landing exactly on top of his two friends.

Sato threw his arm up to block the light, then looked as soon as it was gone. Barely able to see, he ran desperately toward the spot.

But even with his burned-out vision, he could tell Mothball and Rutger weren’t there. They were gone. Completely gone.

Not even charred remains or blackened, smoking skeletons were left behind. And, oddly enough, the grass wasn’t burning or even disturbed as far as he could tell. It was as if his two friends had just disappeared.

Maybe they’ve been winked away, he thought with an unexpected rise of jubilation. Maybe someone had saved them at the last second. In his present state of shock and panic, the idea didn’t seem so far-fetched. Anything was possible, right?

As if in answer to his question, the world around him suddenly turned white, a blanketing sea of complete and utter brilliance that engulfed his body even as the air singed with burning heat.

Sato felt his body erupt in flames.

Chapter 23

A Threat Reversed

Lisa’s only thought was to find Kayla and keep her safe.

The house shook and rattled around her, the echoes of wood groaning and cracking, glass breaking, and the terrible ladies screaming. Darkness pressed in, and the air filled with a choking dust. Something smelled burnt.

Lisa crawled forward on her knees, fighting to keep her balance. She didn’t understand why Kayla wasn’t crying or yelling for her. They’d been standing close together when the earthquake began, but lost each other in the first chaotic seconds.

“Kayla!” she shouted. “Kayla!”

No one answered, but Lisa heard a distinct whimper to her left, a miracle considering the sounds of destruction surrounding them. She shuffled in that direction and bumped into the small body of her sister, who was curled up into a ball, shaking with sobs.

“Kayla,” Lisa whispered. “It’s okay, sweetie, it’s okay. Come on. We need to get out of the house.”

“No, no, no,” Kayla murmured.

Scared the house might collapse on them at any second, Lisa put her arms around Kayla’s body and lifted, grunting with the effort. She staggered to the right, running into a table, then to the left, hitting a wall. Squeezing Kayla tightly to her body, she moved forward, taking heavy and careful steps so as not to fall down. The light was dim, but she could see a hallway leading to the front door, which was open and hanging crookedly on one hinge. The whole house jumped as if it had grown legs.

“Let’s get out of here!” she yelled as she decided to go for broke and sprinted for the door.

With a wobbly run, she made it to the opening and stumbled outside, falling into a clump of bushes. Tiny, sharp branches scratched her as she squeezed her arms even tighter around Kayla, trying to protect her. She kicked with her legs and used her elbows to maneuver their way out of the bushes and onto the front lawn.

The sounds of things breaking inside the house had been replaced with horrible, world-shattering cracks of thunder. Constant flashes of light illuminated their surroundings. Lisa saw people running, more people falling. The air smelled like burning plastic and tasted like . . . electricity. That was the only word she could think of.

Then, forty feet away, a bolt of lightning arrowed down from the sky and exploded around a woman in a bulb of pure incandescence. Lisa squeezed her eyes shut, though it was too late. When she opened them, she was completely blind, seeing only blurs of white in front of her.

Not knowing what else to do, she hugged Kayla and smoothed her hair, crushed by how the little girl’s body shook with sobs and terror. How could this be happening? What was happening?

The air around them exploded with heat and electricity. Pain ripped through Lisa’s body, and her arms suddenly closed on empty air.

Kayla was gone.

Tick didn’t know what he’d done.

He felt as though a chunk of his insides had somehow been squeezed through his skin and catapulted toward the black tree, engulfed by the pure darkness.

He fell from the chair, gasping for breath. His link to Chi’karda had vanished, replaced by a cold emptiness.

“Tick!” Sofia shouted, jumping out of her chair to kneel next to him. “Are you okay?”

Tick rolled over onto his back, looking up at her. “Yeah. I’m fine.”

Paul stood and reached down to grab Tick’s arm, then heaved him to his feet. “What happened?”

Tick shook his head. He couldn’t have answered even if he felt like talking. He had no idea what had happened and began to worry that he’d done something really stupid.

“Take your seats,” Master George snapped in a tight whisper. “She’s coming.”

Tick quickly sat down, as did Paul and Sofia. Sure enough, Mistress Jane was almost to them, marching with determined steps, her red mask showing an anger that made Tick’s heart want to stop.

“What did you do?” she screamed into Tick’s face. “What did you put in the Blade?”

Tick leaned back in his chair and looked up at her, embarrassed and terrified. “I don’t know,” was all he could get out.

Jane’s chest heaved up and down beneath her robe. “You . . . don’t . . . know?”

Tick shook his head, dread exploding within him. What had he done? What had he been thinking? She was going to kill his family. He knew it. She was going to kill them!