Untouched The Girl in the Box - By Robert J. Crane Page 0,71
and he crumpled forward, slumping against the dashboard as the car pulled away, slinging snow and mud.
“They left you behind.” His words were calm, icy even, as his burning eyes continued to stare at me.
“Yeah,” I said. “They didn’t try to shoot you, either. I’m guessing they took your threat seriously.”
“They should.” The flames around his hand died, revealing his fingers, then his arm. He took hold of my hand, and I let him. “These are men who understand nothing but force. They are weapons, turned loose when necessary, meant only for destruction.” He sounded weary, bitter even. “I know these men. I was one of them, but on a grander scale.”
“Should I be afraid?” I said it without fear, but I had the beginnings deep inside, the smallest well of concern.
“You have nothing to fear from me; you are not one of them.” He pulled the glove from my hand as he said it, twisting the leather in his grasp. The cold in my hand didn’t bother me. “There is only one thing that matters to me now. I want her; she is my penance. Freeing her is all I have left. Everything else...” He grasped the glove and it burned in his hand, turning to cinders and slipping from his fingers into the wind. “...is ashes. Those who stand between us have everything to fear.”
He stepped closer and I blanched. “Not to worry, little matryushka. You could not run fast enough to escape what is coming to this town if you had to.” His hands, now flesh, reached out and enfolded me and I felt the ground lift away under my feet. “I will help you.” I was flying, the wind whipping my hair, the freezing cold streaking in my eyes, drawing tears and an exclamation of joy from me. The fresh, cold air hurt my nose and lungs as I breathed it in. He held me tight, carrying me through the night, his flames gone and his body pressed against me.
I felt us slow as the ground approached, and my feet touched solid pavement. I felt his arms let loose of me and his face drifted away. My teeth chattered involuntarily, and I looked behind him to see the town of Glencoe, the faint city lights glowing against the clouds above. “Remember my words,” he said, hovering in front of me. “Six in the morning—less than twelve hours, on top of the IDS Center in downtown Minneapolis. Otherwise...” He burst into flames again and streaked into the sky, headed back toward the town.
Headlights on the highway raced at me, slowing at the last possible second. A van rolled up and the passenger window came down. “Girl!” Clary opened the door before the car even came to a stop. “Get in here! Old Man Winter will have all our asses if you get left behind.”
My eyes were transfixed on the distance. Glencoe sat, still shining into the winter sky, a little beacon of light in the middle of the nothingness of snowy fields. “Hey!” Clary reached out and started to grab my arm, then must have thought better of it, because he waved his hand in front of my face. “We gotta go!”
“We’re fine,” I said. “Just wait.” The second car full of agents came to a skidding stop behind the van and Kurt popped his head out, eyes bulging in shock at the sight of me.
I couldn’t take my eyes off the town. I knew there were people there; there had to be. It wasn’t just some ghost town, some empty place...
A light glowed in the middle of town like a cigarette lighter sparking, then there was a flash that blotted out my vision. A wave of force came rushing toward us and the only thing that kept me on my feet was that I reached out and grabbed Clary’s arm as he turned to steel, anchoring me in place as the shockwave hit. I turned my eyes back to Glencoe as a mushroom cloud of fire and smoke blossomed into the sky.
The smell was what hit me first, the awful smell of something burning. I could hear the rumble still in the distance as the cloud drifted up into the sky, mingling with those already hanging above Glencoe. Little pieces of ash began to rain down around me like a falling snow and my hands were numb, along with my nose, followed by the rest of me.
Zack opened the door to his car and staggered out,