Fearless The King Series Book One - By Tawdra Kandle Page 0,117
emergency.”
“Should you call the police?” Belinda’s tone was only slightly suspicious and very confused.
“I don’t have time. Or quarters. You can call them if you want. Just please get that message to them.” I hung up the phone before I could waste any more time. As I turned back toward the parking lot, I realized that I was standing right in front of Amber’s locker.
Without taking the time to reason any more, I dug into my backpack and ripped out a sheet of notebook paper and a pen. With a trembling hand, I wrote:
Nell and Ms. L have Michael at the clearing. I am going out there now—send help ASAP. Please.
I underlined the last word and scribbled the time next to my name, folded the sheet and shoved it through the vent in Amber’s locker.
I had done all that I could. I wasn’t sure what would be waiting for me there, but I knew I had to return to Nell’s forest clearing. And this time, I was going by myself.
I stumbled across the parking lot toward my mom’s car. My hands were shaking so much that I could hardly pull the keys out of my bag. My fingers had just touched the cool metal when I felt a prickle at my back, and I heard the low insanity of Nell’s mind.
Before I could take a breath, her weight was pinning me against the car. I heard the madness of her laughter, and then…
…the pain was sudden and intense. It struck at the base of my neck and I couldn’t move. Panic and terror warred for a moment and then there was nothing but darkness.
It was the muttering that called me out of the darkness. A low level of incoherent words spoken and ideas half-formed floated around. My eyes were too heavy to open, but slowly I began to pull myself out of the mire of nothingness.
As I became more aware, I realized that I was hearing thoughts, not spoken words. For a moment, I was confused. Who was I hearing? And where was I?
Groggily I tried to turn my head and pain shot through me. I remembered then that I had been in the parking lot at the school… I was looking for Michael... or for Amber. Which? Why? And somehow I had gotten hurt. Tentatively I stretched my fingers slightly, expecting to feel the stones of the gravel. Instead I felt soft grass and dirt.
I forced my eyes open, and the world was out of focus. There was light, but it was blurred and moving, and it made the pain in my head even worse. Squinting, I tried to look around without moving my head.
The blood spells… they’re the dangerous ones, but so worth it, because of the power they release… and with her abilities, who knows what her blood will hold. Might make the spell even stronger… out of my way at the very least. Didn’t belong here anyway, outsider, not one of us. Never one of us.
The words I heard finally cut through the last vestiges of fog in my mind. It was Nell. She was here, somewhere near me. I had been trying to save Michael from Nell’s latest plans of blood and mayhem. And I’d been standing by the car when she came from behind. I remembered her pushing me forward against the hood and then the blow to the back of my head.
My hands groped a bit further and encountered more grass and some pine needles. The forest, then, I decided. Would she have dragged me back to the same clearing? It was possible. She’d been livid before about Michael’s male presence sullying the place, but then today she’d thought of a cleansing spell. Maybe she had performed it—without blood. Or maybe Nell was just nuts enough to convince herself it didn’t matter after all.
I couldn’t let myself consider the other alternative. Michael wasn’t here, so I had to believe that he was alive. I didn’t hear Ms. Lacusta or sense her presence either; had she ever really been a part of this afternoon’s plans? As far as I could tell, I was alone here with Nell, which meant that it was most likely that Michael had gone to the nursery, where he would be expecting to see me later this afternoon. Relief flooded my heart; without doubt I was in a bad way, but at least I knew Michael hadn’t been sacrificed in the name of ritual cleansing.