leap over Flynn and roll as I hit the ground behind him. They’re quick, though, and have me surrounded again in seconds.
It’s easy to forget that they are trained Rifters, too. Catherine doesn’t rift anymore, but Flynn is still active, and still in really good shape. They aren’t holding anything back, either. Flynn lands a blow to my lower back, but when Catherine moves in, I’m able to grab her staff and force it from her bad arm. Suddenly, time is moving in a blur. I’m not thinking about my next move anymore. My body is reacting of its own accord.
I’m not sure how it happens, but I blink and Catherine is on her knees. Flynn is standing in front of me, and I have the two staffs crossed at his neck. He’s holding up his hands and saying my name.
I drop the sticks and step back. The muscles in my arms and legs are twitching like I’ve just run ten miles.
“That’s what we mean,” Catherine says, climbing stiffly to her feet. “You could have taken the Hollow girl. So, why did you hesitate?”
I close my eyes, calling the fight to the front of my memory. There was something about the girl. She was beautiful, for sure, but that wasn’t it. There was something else, too. Something I can’t put into words. I look up and they’re staring at me, waiting for some kind of answer. I can feel Tesla glaring holes into my back, watching me like one of his little science experiments. “I don’t know what you want me to say.”
Flynn sighs and holds his hands out to me. I take them without hesitation. “Ember, I know it’s hard. I know you don’t like hurting people. It’s against your very nature to harm someone or let someone suffer. But you are too important to risk losing. Understand? Sometimes, you have to put someone down—or let someone get hurt or even die—to save yourself and your team. You can’t hold anything back.”
I take a deep breath. “And what if someone dies because of me? Because, for some reason, my life is worth more than theirs?”
Flynn lowers his head, looking me in the eye. “That is a burden you will have to learn to carry.”
* * *
My stomach is churning by the time I make it to my next lesson, which is already in full swing when I slide into my seat. After a few minutes, a wadded-up wrapper hits me in the side. I turn and Ethan is staring at me.
He mouths, “What happened?”
I roll my eyes and mouth, “Later.”
Lucky for me, Kara has somehow managed to smuggle in a few pieces of chocolate from who knows where. She passes me a few while Professor Mortimer scribbles on an archaic chalkboard. Good thing chocolate works on hunger and on nervousness.
Mortimer teaches time manipulation studies. Across the board, he has scribbled a list of names. One of them jumps out at me.
“Can anyone tell me who these people are?” he asks, tugging his striped vest down over his rotund belly.
I raise my hand. Kara and Ethan exchange bored looks. I swear I hear Ethan mutter, “Overachiever.”
“Ember?”
I lean forward over my desk, swallowing the last of the chocolate quickly. “Survivors of the Titanic?” I say.
“Correct.”
“So what?” Kara asks sarcastically, twirling her long loose hair around her index finger.
Mortimer points to the third name on the list. Molly Brown.
“This name wasn’t on this list last year.” He lowers his chin, looking at us over the top of his bifocals. I’m about to ask how that’s possible, but then it dawns on me.
The Hollows.
He must be able to read my face because he nods. Point made.
In the back of the class, slacker-boy Roy raises his hand for the first time possibly ever. “So what happened? I mean, what changed?”
“Everything, according to Tesla. The ripples caused by the change in the event were far-reaching and unstoppable. That one minor change affected history for the next three hundred years. Can you imagine if they had done more?”
“More?” someone asks behind me.
“He means, like, what if they had
It’s easy to forget that they are trained Rifters, too. Catherine doesn’t rift anymore, but Flynn is still active, and still in really good shape. They aren’t holding anything back, either. Flynn lands a blow to my lower back, but when Catherine moves in, I’m able to grab her staff and force it from her bad arm. Suddenly, time is moving in a blur. I’m not thinking about my next move anymore. My body is reacting of its own accord.
I’m not sure how it happens, but I blink and Catherine is on her knees. Flynn is standing in front of me, and I have the two staffs crossed at his neck. He’s holding up his hands and saying my name.
I drop the sticks and step back. The muscles in my arms and legs are twitching like I’ve just run ten miles.
“That’s what we mean,” Catherine says, climbing stiffly to her feet. “You could have taken the Hollow girl. So, why did you hesitate?”
I close my eyes, calling the fight to the front of my memory. There was something about the girl. She was beautiful, for sure, but that wasn’t it. There was something else, too. Something I can’t put into words. I look up and they’re staring at me, waiting for some kind of answer. I can feel Tesla glaring holes into my back, watching me like one of his little science experiments. “I don’t know what you want me to say.”
Flynn sighs and holds his hands out to me. I take them without hesitation. “Ember, I know it’s hard. I know you don’t like hurting people. It’s against your very nature to harm someone or let someone suffer. But you are too important to risk losing. Understand? Sometimes, you have to put someone down—or let someone get hurt or even die—to save yourself and your team. You can’t hold anything back.”
I take a deep breath. “And what if someone dies because of me? Because, for some reason, my life is worth more than theirs?”
Flynn lowers his head, looking me in the eye. “That is a burden you will have to learn to carry.”
* * *
My stomach is churning by the time I make it to my next lesson, which is already in full swing when I slide into my seat. After a few minutes, a wadded-up wrapper hits me in the side. I turn and Ethan is staring at me.
He mouths, “What happened?”
I roll my eyes and mouth, “Later.”
Lucky for me, Kara has somehow managed to smuggle in a few pieces of chocolate from who knows where. She passes me a few while Professor Mortimer scribbles on an archaic chalkboard. Good thing chocolate works on hunger and on nervousness.
Mortimer teaches time manipulation studies. Across the board, he has scribbled a list of names. One of them jumps out at me.
“Can anyone tell me who these people are?” he asks, tugging his striped vest down over his rotund belly.
I raise my hand. Kara and Ethan exchange bored looks. I swear I hear Ethan mutter, “Overachiever.”
“Ember?”
I lean forward over my desk, swallowing the last of the chocolate quickly. “Survivors of the Titanic?” I say.
“Correct.”
“So what?” Kara asks sarcastically, twirling her long loose hair around her index finger.
Mortimer points to the third name on the list. Molly Brown.
“This name wasn’t on this list last year.” He lowers his chin, looking at us over the top of his bifocals. I’m about to ask how that’s possible, but then it dawns on me.
The Hollows.
He must be able to read my face because he nods. Point made.
In the back of the class, slacker-boy Roy raises his hand for the first time possibly ever. “So what happened? I mean, what changed?”
“Everything, according to Tesla. The ripples caused by the change in the event were far-reaching and unstoppable. That one minor change affected history for the next three hundred years. Can you imagine if they had done more?”
“More?” someone asks behind me.
“He means, like, what if they had
Similar Books
