weren’t completely wasted.”
I adjusted my stance, wiping blood from my nose with the back of my hand.
“Of course, we don’t die so easily. Unfortunately, you’re not fast or strong enough to actually kill an elite, and you never will be. I think it’s about time you learned your place. The king will reward me handsomely when I return with your head on a stake. I wonder if I should skewer your skull through the mouth or the windpipe. It’s all about presentation really. I can’t wait to see the look on Damien’s face when I show up with a sharrow-kebab.”
The others chuckled at his wit, but turned serious when his smile fell and his eyes filled with hate.
“Hold her down,” he said coldly. They moved faster than I could see them, twisting my arms behind me and forcing me to my knees. I strained against them, my muscles burning. But even with elixir, I couldn’t fight off two elites.
I screamed, but I knew nobody was going to help me this time. I hoped April had the sense to get away at least. Maybe she and Trevor could hunt down the cure someday.
They shoved me roughly to the ground, forcing my face into the concrete, then flipped me over until rocks pushed painfully into my back. I heard the snap of leather as Nigel removed his belt. He was taking his time, drawing out my punishment. I recoiled in horror as he leaned close to me and sniffed my hair.
My throat was raw from screaming. I choked back a sob, feeling a tear drip down my cheek as the ash fell silently in the quiet streets around us. I heard the ominous croak of a raven nearby. Another answered from elsewhere in the city. The sound echoed through the empty, decrepit buildings. It was like some kind of absurd demonstration of human futility, a theater of the obscene, with a curtain of burning embers and zero spectators.
I reached out with my influence, feeling their feathered forms. I couldn’t move my arms, but that didn’t mean I was helpless. I poured my rage, my anger, my helplessness into the ash-filled sky, until it swelled into a rush of black wings and shrill cries. I felt the grip on my wrists loosen as one of the elite lifted a hand to swipe at the dark shape flapping around his head.
Nigel’s expression soured, and he looked up just in time to see a crow drive its sharp beak straight into his eye, and shred his cheek with sharp talons. He cried out and staggered backwards, but three more crows joined the fray, circling around his head like a tight black crown of claws and beaks. He dropped to his knees, covering his bloody face with his arms.
I punched Thomas in the throat and tore out of his grasp, rolling away and popping to my feet in a dead sprint. I dove head first into the open tunnel and slid forward to the first turn without looking back.
“This way,” April yelled. I could hear her voice through the labyrinthine airducts, leading me forward. One of the elite had followed me, I could hear him scrambling just behind me in the metal chute, but he was having trouble squeezing his bulk through the narrow vents.
I dropped into the warehouse, climbing quickly down the wobbly shelves. April was waiting by the entrance, waving at me frantically. As soon as I hit the ground, she flicked on a display of standing UV lights, then pulled down a thick metal security screen and locked it with a padlock.
We held our breath, listening to the metal creak as the elite crawled closer. A dark shape dropped down into the room and was halfway to us before his skin started to smoke and burn. He shrieked, hiding his face behind his sleeve, then disappeared into the dark hole in the ceiling, kicking over the shelf with a heavy crash.
I sunk back against the wall, choking down a sob and gasping for air.
April reached out her hand and I grabbed it, even though my heart was still pounding and I was short of breath. We raced back to the common area to warn the others. Heads turned as we passed the farm, the marketplace, pushing through the crowds.
A hand grabbed my arm and I flailed, shoving the figure away before I realized it was Trevor. His eyes narrowed as he took in my appearance.
“Where have you been?” he asked. “I’ve been looking