Infinity Reaper (Infinity Cycle #2) - Adam Silvera Page 0,1
the oblivion dagger, the one that’s made of bone and can vanquish ghosts, and chases the young assassin around the garden.
Back home when I told Maribelle my plan to steal the Reaper’s Blood away from Luna, she didn’t question it. She wants Luna to die powerless, and I don’t want to die at all; we’re both coming out winners. Except it’s all pointless for me if Emil doesn’t live too. I have to get him out of here. I try lifting him, but it’s a struggle; it’s like he has rocks hidden in his power-proof vest. It’s a shame that none of my new abilities is powerhouse strength, but I still manage to muscle up and get Emil on his feet, and he wraps his arm around my shoulders.
An acolyte runs at us with an ax, hopping over the hydra beheaded for the potion, his feet now slick with yellow blood. I’m counting on him slipping on the grass, but he stays upright. Emil can’t protect us, but it’s okay. I’m going to be his hero the way he’s been mine the past month. I take a deep breath and extend my hand, visualizing phoenix fire blasting from my palm. The acolyte keeps pursuing us. I keep my hand ready, concentrating on how badly I want to take him out, and he’s suddenly wrenched backward as if flicked away by some invisible hand.
How did I do that? Is this a ghost blood power?
I realize it wasn’t me when Prudencia appears at our side with her eyes glowing like skipping stars. The eyes that look like doorways into different corners of the universe are how you can identify anyone as a celestial, but that’s only if the celestial activates their powers around you. Prudencia has only ever shown us her beautiful brown eyes since we met her in high school, and now here she is saving our backs and fighting this war with us. Her forehead is split open, and her glistening celestial blood is running down the side of her face.
“What happened? Who hurt you?” I ask.
Prudencia waves the question away as she observes Emil’s wound. “We have to get him medical attention.”
It was only hours ago when Prudencia and I last saw each other at Nova, the elementary school for celestials that was being used as a haven. Iris was forbidding me from going on any more missions, and even though Prudencia told me to stop risking my life, to stay with my family, to stay with her, I followed Maribelle like a true hero.
From the ground, Luna groans.
“Whoa,” Prudencia says. “So we stopped her?”
She must’ve missed everything while fighting for her life. My grand entrance, blasting Luna with the last spell in my wand, saving Emil, and drinking the Reaper’s Blood. Even the glowing. Those moments were historic, and she missed them; I should’ve set up a camera to upload everything online later for everyone to see.
“I took her down,” I say, pointing at the steel wand on the ground.
She doesn’t call me a hero or tell me I did a great job.
Iris shouts as she barrels through acolytes like a quarterback, laying out six before she reaches us. There’s blood setting into her dyed-green buzz cut and even more across her knuckles. She clearly bested every idiot who thought they could take on one of the city’s strongest celestials. “Enforcers are storming in,” she says, panting. “I counted a dozen, but more will be on the way. Time to retreat.”
Enforcers file through the church’s garden door, protected in their sea-green armor as they aim their wands at every single one of us—celestials, specters, the human acolytes who want to become more—and bombard us with spellwork of all colors. Now would be a spectacular time for my ghostly abilities to kick in so I can phase through the solid wall behind us, maybe even teleport us over, but when all I feel is some painful nausea and dizziness, I drop with Emil to the ground and spells fly over our heads. Iris leaps forward and shields us, her arms crossed over her chest; her dark brown skin is resistant to this spellwork. Prudencia uses her power to sweep other spells away, but she’s careful not to fire them back at the enforcers.
This past January, a terrorist attack known as the Blackout was blamed on the last four original Spell Walkers, but we all know now that the Blood Casters were actually responsible. Except the enforcers have never gotten