Half Lost (The Half Bad Trilogy #3) - Sally Green Page 0,7

father’s Gifts, then I’ll be ready to go against Soul.”

“And in the meantime you practice by killing kids.”

I go invisible, take the Fairborn from its sheath, and reappear with the tip of the knife at Gabriel’s throat.

“They’re Hunters, Gabriel. They’re working with Soul to hunt and kill us, but I intend to hunt and kill them. All of them if I have to. Young or old. New recruits or hardened veterans. They joined up. They made their choice and I’m making mine.”

Gabriel swipes at my arm, knocking the Fairborn away.

“Don’t point that thing at me. I’m not your enemy, Nathan.”

I swear at him.

“Is that all you’re good for?” Gabriel takes a step back onto the pile of fifty-two stones. “Swearing and killing?” He looks down at them, saying, “How many stones do you want in that pile, Nathan? You want a mountain of them?” Gabriel kicks at the stones with the side of his foot. “Will it make you feel better? Will it help you sleep at night?”

“Knowing there are a few less Hunters makes me feel better than knowing there are a few more. And as for helping me sleep at night, let’s face it, it can’t make things any worse.” I make sure I throw in every swear word I can come up with as well.

I pick up my backpack and Gabriel reaches out to hold my arm but I shake him off and head out of the camp at a fast jog. I don’t look back.

A Basic Trap

This time while I’m running I think of Annalise. I imagine I’m chasing after her, close on her tail. I can run for hours without stopping anyway but when I’m thinking of her time passes even faster. But I can’t think of Annalise too much. I’ve got to be strict with myself: I’ve got to concentrate on hunting Hunters. Gabriel’s right about one thing: it is dangerous and however good I am they could still get lucky. To keep luck on my side I have to keep improving. I’ve got to get even better, even faster, even stronger. I’ve got to work out where I’m weak. Celia taught me that. Learn from your mistakes but expect your enemies to learn from theirs. So every time I attack a group of Hunters I’m learning, improving the control of my new Gifts.

I have to keep practicing and I do that now as I run: going invisible; sending lightning from my left hand and then from my right; sending a plume of fire from my mouth. Up to now the only Gift from my father that I’ve used in a fight with the Hunters is invisibility, but even so, last time I was grazed by a bullet—I’ve not told Gabriel that. It took a few hours for me to drive the poison out where the bullet broke my skin. But I learned from the experience so Celia would be pleased. I was too slow. I stayed in the same place half a second too long. That won’t happen again. And now I’m ready to try using lightning while I’m invisible so I don’t have to get in close. It will give my position away so I must shoot it out and keep moving. I send out a flash from my left hand, then dive and roll to the right, sending out another flash from my right hand as I go.

Then I do it again. Faster and stronger.

And again.

I keep moving until it’s dark and then I camp by a stream, which means I stop and lie down. I’m hungry. I puked up the soup and cheese from last night and haven’t had anything else since. But before I can think about food I need to do one more thing: try stopping time again. I go over it in my head, remembering Marcus and how he moved his hands in a circle, rubbing his palms together. I try the same technique and I think of slowing things around me, think of everything coming to a stop. The forest is still and I hold my breath, wondering if I’ve done it. But I know I haven’t; the quality of stillness when time stops is different. I wish I could ask my father how to access this Gift. I wish I could ask him so many things. More than anything I wish we’d had more time together.

The gold ring my father gave me is on my finger and I put it to my lips and kiss