Page 169 of Crystal Iris
“She’ll make you talk…”
Her mouth is covered with tape. Her eyes lock with mine, begging for help.
“Now…where were we?” Darion walks closer to Akira and points the gun at her. “My father told me we needed you alive, but her… I’m free to do as I please.”
“Darion, no!” I start yelling. “Fire! Fire! There was a candle.” I know that the moment I mention the blood, Akira and I will both be dead.
“Do you have a lighter?” he asks the man behind him.
“In the car,” the man replies.
“Go fucking get it,” Darion orders him.
I have to think of a way out of this. A way to keep Akira alive.
“Darion, look at me. If you touch her, I swear, I’ll die—but I won’t tell you anything about this necklace. If you want answers for your father, you leave her out of this.”
“I don’t think you’re in a position to negotiate.”
“Do you want to risk it?”
I’m not sure if he buys it, but at least he moves away from her.
The man returns with the lighter.
“Give it to me,” I tell him.
“The fuck I will.” He brings it closer to my prism, and I brace myself. As soon as the flame gets near, I have to go. I close my eyes and focus on Hoyt—on his face, on him kissing me. I black out.
I find Hoyt in his study. He’s on the phone, his hands covering his face. He’s in too much pain. Broc is there, too. I have seconds. I make myself visible to both of them. Then I move. I have no idea if this is going to work.
I get closer to the wall, to his father’s map, and try to go through it. It burns where I touch. I proceed faster and faster. I focus on being the light—my violet light. I move around the map, burning and forming the wordsDarion, HAR. I black out before I can add VARD.
When I wake up again, I see Darion staring at me.Is he frightened?My head hurts. I feel sick. How long was I gone?
“What the fuck happened?” he asks me.
I taste more blood. Akira’s eyes are on me, barely blinking. I nod at her. I want her to know that I asked for help. I’m not sure if she picks up on my message.
“I blacked out. It hurt me—the flame, the prism.”
Darion’s angry and scared. I know he’s growing desperate. Is it possible for Hoyt to find me? It’s the middle of the night. It would take days to track Darion down. We don’t have days. We have minutes. I need to do something else.
“I need to rest. I need a minute,” I tell Darion. I feel weak, but luckily, whatever that strong smell on me is keeps me from passing out.
“I don’t fucking have time for this,” he says, looking away.
“Maybe… if you told me what you know… maybe we can figure this out together. I don’t want to die, Darion. I want to give you my prism, I promise.”
“Your what?”
“My prism. That’s what I call it.”
“Huh.”
“What do you call it?”
“Amulet.”
