and racing across the roof in the direction Edith went.
The gap is disconcertingly wide, and I sling the strap over my shoulders so I can have both hands free when I jump. Steeling myself for a moment, I charge forward and leap, almost flaking out at the last moment. There’s a split-second spent in mid-air, as if suspended, what looks like all of London spread out beneath me, and then my upper body is making contact—hard—with the side of the next building over. I scrabble for a grip, settling on a chimney pipe that’s just barely within my reach, and struggle onto the roof before moving on.
For a moment I don’t see Edith anywhere, and then I catch sight of her, two rooftops away. What follows is a game of cat and mouse, the closest thing to parkour I’ve ever done in my life, and it’s only after it becomes clear that I’m not giving up that she finally turns around. Her expression twisted.
“It’s never enough for you, is it, Millie?” she demands, her hands already glowing with power. “A hybrid, four guys chasing you, the whole world wanting something to do with you-”
“It’s no cakewalk,” I shout back. “The humans are the ones that did this to me! And if they get their way, they’ll do it to you, too!”
“I’d like to see them try,” Edith shouts. “It’s about survival, Boots.” She says the word as if it’s a curse. “That’s all there is to it.”
Her hands are glowing more now, red from her transformation. She’s charging up, I realise. She stalling. Two can play at that game.
“You’re wrong,” I reply, shuffling slowly to the left. Dare I reach for the shotgun? There’s still a decent amount of space between us. It might be suicide. “The world is only like this because they made it that way. Don’t you get it? We could be free, if the humans would stop treating us like second-class citizens!”
“Oh, grow up,” Edith snaps, although I see something in her green eyes—doubt? “The humans will never respect us. Hell, we’ll be lucky if they ever even fear us. So enough with this noble bullshit. So fucking idealistic—the perfect face for a rebellion that’s going nowhere!”
The glow from her hands is nearly blinding now, but something gives me pause even as I grasp for the shotgun. “It’s not too late,” I tell her, and I mean it. At the end of the day, she’s in the same situation as the rest of us. Just because she’s on the wrong side now doesn’t mean she can’t be swayed. “You can still help us, Edith. I’ll never be as strong as you. You could be the key to defeating Hawthorne.”
“I…” She swallows hard, more conflict on her face than I’ve ever seen before. Her green eyes flicker back and forth, her mouth opening and closing as if she’s having an episode. For a brief moment, her expression softens, the light from her hand dying down…
And then flaring back up again.
“I’ll pass,” Edith says coldly, and lets her magic out in full force. I roll to the side, but don’t manage to get out of the way completely, and the burning feeling of the energy colliding with my side is excruciating. It doesn’t go away, either, and I realise on some level that she must have cast some kind of torture spell. Low, even for her.
I drop to one knee, hissing with pain, but manage to pull the shotgun off my shoulder and set my sights. Through the agony, everything is a blur, the world moving in slow motion. The agent only got one shell into the gun which means I only have one shot.
But at this distance, one shot is all I need.
I exhale like Landon told me to and pull the trigger. The majority of the shot misses, of course, but one pellet connects with her thigh, a burst of red blossoming just above her knee. Stunned, she staggers back, her concentration faltering enough for her spell to subside, and I have to sprint to make it to her before she falls off the edge of the roof. “Don’t move,” I tell her. “We can help you.”
Edith looks at me with uncertainty, but then her eyes settle on something over my shoulder. I glance in that direction to see the lift doors opening on the roof of the shifter apartment. One by one the guys emerge, coming to an abrupt stop when they see what’s happening