Page 98 of Ghosts of the Dead

I nod. “We really should get back to our search.” I step sideways and inch back toward the car.

The sandy-haired dreg crosses his arms with a knowing smirk. “You never described your girl you were looking for. Physically, I mean.”

I grind my teeth. “Not the same. Ours doesn’t have purple hair. That sounds like an insane color to have rightnow, and I’m not sure I believe it.” I continue to edge back toward the car, my muscles coiling tighter with each step.

Almost there.

The one with the gum speaks again, and I want to shove that gum down his throat with my fist. “Hey Richy, I think he’s lying.”

“Deal with it, then,” Richy says in a bored tone.

I don’t realize anyone has moved until the whoosh hits me. Gasoline fire blooms too fast, too hot. The sandy-haired dreg drops the match and steps back, casually setting my entire world ablaze when flames burst from the undercarriage of our car.

Autumn’s head pops up behind the window. Her eyes widen with fear and shock as heat curls around her. Luna’s frantic barking echoes from inside the car and her paws scratch desperately at the window.

“No.” That’s the only word I can say as my throat chokes up.

A cold barrel presses to my temple and the gum-chewing dreg leans in close. “You lied to us.”

Mars and Caspian are already pinned to the ground with guns aimed at their heads, but my world narrows to the fire and to Autumn.

“That’s Summer’s sister, Winter or whatever. The Labs requested her for the replacement,” the dreg says. His gun vibrates against my temple when he laughs. His words barely register, because all I see is fire.

The flames dance higher, crackling into the air, and then I’m thrown back there again.

The shed. The smoke. The screaming. The tears glistening on his cheeks before evaporating in the heat. Watching Malcolm burn alive while I’m helpless to save him because I’m weakened by hunger and being held back by a maniac with a psychotic laugh. All to learn a lesson no one should ever learn.

I can’t move. my lungs won’t work. My knees threaten to buckle.

Not again. Not her.

The dreg shoves the barrel harder against my skull. “Guess we found what we came for. It’s a shame she’s going to be dead by the time we get to her. Maybe the lab will still want her body.”

Behind the glass, Autumn fumbles at the door handle, but then jerks back with a hiss. The metal is already glowing red.

Something breaks inside me, and a dam bursts, washing away the paralysis. “Shoot me,” I rasp. “That’s the only way you’ll stop me from getting to her.”

The dreg’s laugh comes out low and cruel. I slam my elbow into the driver’s side window. Glass shatters. I clear the glass away from the frame of the window, ignoring the tiny cut marks in my palms. The flames lift higher, biting at my skin, but I hardly feel it. I claw at the door, ignoring the fire searing my hands, and rip it open.

Autumn coughs. Smoke curls around her. Her eyes lock with mine. They’re hazel, alive, and terrified.

I haul her out and shield my body with mine. Luna jumps out with a whine. My arms scream in pain as the flames bite deeper, but I clutch Autumn to my chest, refusing to let go. We hit the ground hard when I finally collapse, and I cover her body with my own, holding her close as the heat roars behind us and the explosion goes off.

“Jace,” she gasps, her eyes wide.

The dreg stands over me with his gun raised and the barrel pressing against the back of my head. “Thank you for saving what’s ours. There’s a nice little reward for her alive.”

“Move,” Autumn cries out. She tries to shove me off, but I don’t budge. My body only stiffens, becoming a human shield.

“If I move, you’ll be exposed,” I whisper, staring downinto her bright hazel eyes. What a beautiful color. “I already thought I lost you once. I can’t lose you again.”

The heat, the smoke, the gun at my head, it all blurs. I tighten my arms around Autumn and stare into her panicked eyes while I wait for the shot.

A flash of motion.

Gunfire.

Ringing in my ears.

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