Sinth Salvation - Pearl Tate Page 0,57

firing on them. Smart.

The officers are staring out with horror at the destruction around them. As if they can tell there are living and normal beings inside the vehicle, the Wen-infected mob surrounds the car, pressing against it and banging and climbing over it, almost obscuring the Humans’ petrified faces from view.

“What’re you looking at?” The little boy next to me climbs up onto the desk chair and lifts the blind a few slats lower. “What’s going on out there?”

“That’s a very good question,” I mumble just as a bright light surrounds us and a strong pulse waves through the air, paralyzing me for a moment as I’m blinded by the light. As soon as I accept I can’t see anything, I notice I’ve phased.

Dammit! That’s not good! I’m not sure if I’m still touching the little boy. I feel as if I’m floating weightlessly until I see familiar colorful rainbows of light begin to form, and I’m back in the principal’s office, controlling my phase.

The first thing I notice as I blink furiously is that it’s quiet. Extremely quiet. Too quiet.

No gunshots or groans or wails. But as the realization settles over me … that something monumental has happened, I notice for the first time—I’m alone.

Horror shoots through me at the thought that whatever kind of weapon was used outside, I lost control and phased instinctively to protect myself … killing Árni. Looking down at myself, I can’t differentiate between his ashes and the infected I killed earlier, and my heart sinks.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

- Lilibeth

Time shifts uncertainly around us. I’ve no idea how long we’ve been huddled on the bathroom floor like this. It can’t be that long.

Everything’s quiet outside the door, but I’m not taking any chances. I’m confident Nikon will come back for me. There’s no way he’d let anything happen to him—or us. I wouldn’t be surprised if he hasn’t even gone very far, guarding us until the worst has passed.

My ears pop as an intense pressure builds up in the air around us. Even though we’re in a tiny bathroom by ourselves with only a small, dull light above the mirror illuminating the space, the air around us begins to brighten. Is this just my imagination?

Shaking my head slightly, I blink, and Eva pats on my arm. “Ow! It’s too bright! What’s that light?”

By the time she’s finished asking, it’s so brilliant around us that everything has become pure white. The pressure on my skin ramps up, and I open my mouth, yawning instinctively to release it.

The girls start whimpering in my arms, and one of them turns to clamp her arms around my waist while the other keeps herself stiff against my thigh as I tighten my limbs around them all. “It’s okay. It’s okay.” I croon over and over. I’m not sure who I’m trying to reassure more, but it feels like we’re vibrating in place as the light finally begins to dim.

Sparkles of light shift around us, and I’m reminded of phasing. Every time Nikon and I phase from one dimension to the next, there’s always the flicker of rainbows dancing in the air around us. What’s going on?

“Whoa,” Eva announces. “Lilja, Jóhanna, look!”

I can finally start to focus on the girls in my lap, still piled on top of each other between my legs. The one gripping my waist like I’m her last lifeline on Earth looks up at Eva before shifting her eyes to the side. Her mouth gapes open. Sure enough, they see the same flickering lights floating around us that I do.

As they dance and fade like fireworks, I blink slowly, shocked and amazed by where we are. Instead of sitting on the hard bathroom floor, we’re now sitting up on the bed in Nikon’s Sinth dimension. My heart speeds up as I realize what I’ve done!

I’ve phased! With the children! I didn’t even mean to. I wasn’t thinking about it …

Letting out a sigh of relief, I reassure myself that all is well as we sit on the bed in Nikon’s and my dimension, trying to smile even though I feel like vomiting. “Is everyone okay?” I ask lightly.

“Where are we?” Jóhanna, the girl who’s been clutching my waist leans back to look up at me.

“Árni! What’re you doing here?” Eva pops up to her knees, looking past me to the floor on the side of the bed. My mouth falls open when I see a red-headed boy crouched down next to the bed. I almost fall off