Page 68 of Of Poison & Pumpkins
I spin, fist raised to throw a punch.
“Haha. Funny. Like my own son would ever hit me,” Noah says, face animated and lively. “Put those down.” He lowers my fists with one hand.
“What are you still doing here?”
“My fierce Brooke hasn’t finished her plan yet.”
I follow his gaze to the check-out register, where Brooke is climbing atop the counter. A necklace swings around her neck with a vial of bright purple liquid swirling like it’s alive. I need to find Rynn. Now.
I’m prepared to leave without exchanging another word with Noah, but he stops me with a firm grip on my shoulder.
“Where you going? The good part’s coming up, son.”
“I’m not your son. Where’s Kurt?”
“You mean that moron who sacrificed himself so his giant of an offspring boy wouldn’t get poisoned?” He points to Kurt, staring absentmindedly at Brooke like she’s the puppet master.
I scan the crowd, quick as darts. If Zanther is still safe, where is he?
“No, Kurt is a lame-ass-excuse of a father. I’m the one who gets the credit. I’m the one who called your principal to get you into that advanced chemistry class to raise your GPA. I’m the one who forged your recommendation letter to State. So, your marketing degree is all thanks to me.” Noah pats my back, a proud gesture I yearned for in my youth.
Not anymore.
I shake off his touch and force myself not to raise my voice. “Whatever the fuck you two are doing. Stop. Leave these people alone and get out of here.”
“No,” he says, grin widening.
“Why? What could you possibly want?”
“Revenge.” Noah’s look could challenge the Joker. “Her necklace holds the passion of these people. I helped her with the potions, but my girl is a genius. The next step is what I’ve been waiting for. I hope you’re not afraid of needles.”
His attention returns to the stage, where Brooke waves to Noah. He blows a kiss, then closes his eyes and mumbles a spell under his breath. My entire body tenses. What magic does he have this month? Something large moves above. At first glance, I can’t see what it is, since so many heads block my view. As I shift angles, the floating form of my brother appears, staring at the ceiling. His eyes are wild yet in control, conscious of his situation.
“Zee!” I yell, and his eyes snatch to mine.
Aggressively, he struggles against the magic. It’s useless. I shove forward, pushing through the crowd as he’s positioned in front of Brooke.
“Zee! I’m coming!”
His mouth opens in a shout but no sound comes out, as if he’s suffocating on his own scream. My pulse races and adrenaline pumps through my body, surging me ahead.
Brooke dumps the purple liquid of her necklace vial into the syringe. Before I can reach the front, she raises the syringe above Zanther.
“No!” I holler, barging through. “Stop!”
She starts to lower the needle. But I’m faster. Its sharp bite pierces my forearm and sinks in deep. A dizzying sensation consumes me, making the room of gray spin.
“You look familiar,” Brooke says with a smirk. “Oh, wait! Are you my sister’s boy toy?! Well, shit, Noah will either love or hate me for this. Not that it matters. I’m done using him.”
I try to speak, to grab her, to warn Zanther to run, but I’m stuck. Frozen. Whatever poison she infected me with is instantly working. I can viscerally feel it swirl into my blood and move from my arm to my shoulder, expanding to every part of my body, lastly my brain. Hot and thick and heavy like a weighted blanket meant only for suffocation.
“Eli!”
Zanther? I can barely keep my eyes open. He needs to run. Needs to find Rynn. Leave with Rynn. Keep my Sunflower safe.
“… safe …”
“Eli, don’t worry, I’ll fix you. I’ll get you safe.”
