Ascension by Laura Hall (accelerated reader books .TXT) 📕

The storm simmering the past few days had finally boiled over. As I stepped onto a covered terrace on the second story of the hotel, a gust of wet air hit me in the face before the wind shifted, driving the downpour away from stone balustrades. Shivering, I crossed to the southwest corner, as yet spared the wind’s notice.

The rain fell in sheets, thick and urgent. On the street below, headlights and taillights diffused into refractive blurs against the adjacent buildings and sidewalks. A distant flash of brightness in the sky was followed by a clap of thunder.

My arms tingled.

Live to be free, whispered the memory of my dad.

“You’re in pain.”

My heart catapulted into my throat as I spun to face Ethan Accosi. His aura was a dim glow around his shoulders, bathing his features in a sinister light. His posture, at least, was nonthreatening, hands tucked into pockets as he leaned against the opposite railing.

“I’m fine,” I said shortly.

“You’re shackled, Fiona. Virtually imprisoned by the Omega.”

“There are reasons,” I said with a calm I didn’t feel. “What do you want, Mr. Accosi?”

“Call me Ethan.”

I nodded. “Fine.”

He smiled and pushed off the railing, closing the distance between us with measured strides. The shoulders of his tux were wet from the rain, but he didn’t seem to notice or care.

I had the sudden premonition that this conversation wasn’t going to end well and eyed the door, estimating how many steps it would take to get there. And while I didn’t truly think Ethan meant me harm, I nevertheless crossed my arms, angling my fingers beneath my wrists. Just in case.

“What do you want, Ethan?” I repeated.

“I want what everyone wants,” he said with a small smile. “Knowledge. Power.”

“Let me rephrase. What do you want from me?”

He halted several feet away, the intent in his gaze warming my face. “I’d like very much for us to be allies. Unfortunately, I don’t see that happening today. Just remember that what I do, I do for the good of humanity.”

“What—”

“Your mother sends her regards.”

His hands whipped from his pockets and I pressed the releases on my bracelets a second too late. I glimpsed a test-tube right before clear liquid hit me full in the face, steaming on impact with my charged skin.

I tasted… licorice?

Dragging my fingers over my eyes, I blinked at Ethan. “What the hell was that?”

“Just relax,” he said, a strange, echoing quality to his voice. “It will be over in a minute.”

The spell hit.

I staggered as white-hot pain pierced my temple, tearing a ragged moan from my throat. My knees buckled and I hit the terrace floor, my ankle twisting with a pop. The breath was knocked from my lungs. Animal noises of misery met my ears; dimly, I realized they were coming from me.

My vision spiraled and went dark, then burst into precision.

I saw Connor in the ballroom. He was dancing with Samantha, a detached expression on his face. The real-time image flickered to Declan, who glanced at his watch before looking toward the stairs. Another flicker, then Adam, stiff and bored, speaking with a nameless man.

My vision blurred, then reset.

I saw Mal, pouring over texts in the Prime’s library. Then my father’s secretary, Rosie, driving a car on a dark highway, singing along to country music.

I saw my mother, her face as familiar as the one I saw in the mirror.

She was smiling.

“Live to be free, Fiona,” she whispered.

Another excruciating bolt of pain tore through me. I felt myself being lifted, unable to fight, barely able to breathe.

“It will be over soon,” said Ethan, his voice coming from the end of a long tunnel. “You’ll never be shackled again.”

I dragged air into my lungs and screamed, “CONNOR!”

His name brought me focus and I saw him again. His head whipped up, green irises blowing black. Then he was gone, and Samantha gasped, her dress swirling and arms hanging suspended around the space he’d occupied.

The door of the terrace blew off its hinges, smashing into the railing ten feet away.

“What have you done?” snarled the Prime, his voice dark as midnight, his power a leviathan—endless, radiant space. I writhed at the smothering magnitude of it and wondered if I was about to die. Or if my brain was already fried.

“I’ve freed her,” said Ethan breathlessly.

Connor growled, “If you want to live another second, you’ll give her to me.”

I moaned as my body passed between the men. Pain flared, bowing my back with a convulsion. Ethan said, “She said it would be difficult, but I didn’t know—”

Adam’s Opal aura blew across the terrace like a wind, warm and vibrant. “What did you give her?” he demanded.

“Forgive me, Fiona,” whispered Ethan.

Sapphire and violet lights blinded me and when they dimmed, the mage was gone.

“Fiona,” said Connor. “Open your eyes.”

I couldn’t.

Instead, I thought of Ethan and saw him.

He strode swiftly down the street to a dark sedan. Opening the passenger door, he slid inside and looked across at the driver. She was a pale, dark-haired