No, no, no, no. She’s dead. Air rushed into my lungs, and I choked back my sobs. I had to get out of there. I crawled to the books strewn across the floor, searching for the gateway book.
A ball of fire hit the bookcase. Charred books fell from the shelf and burned pages floated around me. I formed my battle globe and tossed it over the railing. The sphere looked like a crystal bubble; I’d never seen that before and wasn’t sure what it would do. It grew as it soared through the air and shattered on a table below, glass spraying up in the air. A large shard stabbed through the man’s throat. A surprised look crossed his face—blood squirting out of the wound—before he crumpled to the ground.
A fiery glow left him and hit me, heating my body. I patted down my clothes expecting to be on fire, but there was nothing.
I killed him! I. KILLED. HIM. Bile rose in my throat.
“Get it together, Gia,” I ordered myself. There wasn’t time for a freak-out. I moved my messenger bag to my back and continued searching through the shelves.
Flames consumed many of the books. Dark smoke drifted to the ceiling, causing the sprinklers to turn on. A purple sphere exploded by my hand. Call it fear or instinct, but I instantly formed a glass globe and sent it over the railing with great force.
An agonizing howl came from below. I didn’t dare stop searching, afraid to look. Afraid to see what I’d done, to see another death.
A purple light rushed me, hitting me in the chest. Crap. He stunned me. But I could breathe. I could move my hands. It didn’t work. My hand touched the familiar fine leather of the gateway book. I wiped the water from my eyes and tossed open the cover.
Something hit the bookcase to my right. Ice spread across the spines of books on the shelves and snuffed out the burning books on the floor. The water spraying out of the sprinklers froze and dropped, pelting me, stinging my exposed skin. I found the page to the Dublin library and stood, hunched over to make myself less of a target.
Veronique threw a fire globe. It hit my shoulder and part of my chest, catching my vest on fire.
“Shit,” I yelled and tugged it off. Pain seared my shoulder. Thankfully, my breastplate had taken the brunt of the assault. During my distraction, the girl Sentinel had climbed onto the balcony. She charged at me, tossing another ice globe. I dodged it, and an explosion of ice and snow fell around me.
I didn’t want to kill the girl, so I hesitated to throw another globe at her. Squaring my shoulders, I got ready for her attack. When the girl got close enough, I threw a kick to her gut and slammed my fist against her jaw. She stumbled back against the frozen railing. It broke free, and she fell over the side, landing on a table below. Her body was half on and half off the table, her neck bent at an odd angle and the bones underneath pushed against her skin.
Is she dead?
A shimmery light left the girl’s body and flew to me, smacking my chest. I took a step back, expecting to turn into a human Popsicle, but nothing happened, only a chill that rushed across my skin and quickly ended.
“You killed her,” Veronique yelled as she stepped up on a chair and onto a table. She charged the length of it, heading for me.
I dropped to my knees and flipped through the pages of the gateway book. My heart galloped like a thousand racehorses on steroids. I needed to escape.
Where do I go? I can’t lead her to the others. I stopped on the photograph of the Boston Athen?um. Home? To Nana. Afton. No. Veronique knew where Nana Kearns lived. I couldn’t risk going there. I tossed over more pages.
Just then, Veronique pulled herself up onto the balcony and let loose another fire globe. The flames licked the air and smoke trailed it like a comet. The fire grazed my cheek, pulling a sharp gasp from my chest.
Her breaths were loud—panting. The sound of a siren drew nearer. We’d have company soon.
A feral look on her face, Veronique plucked a dagger from her shoulder sheath. A velvet bag, weighed down by something heavy inside, was tied around her waist.
The other Chiavi? I had to get them. I grasped the strap of my messenger bag.
“You can’t win, Gia. You’re weak. Unskilled. A sniveling child.”
“I beat your ass, and I took care of your friends.” Meaning the three Sentinels lying dead on the floor below us. I forced my eyes to stay on hers, acting brave, though their deaths were like an overweight barbell on my conscience.
Her step forward caused me to step back. “That was dumb luck,” she said. “This will take skill.”
She ran for me. I drew my sword and swung at her. She ducked, the blade barely missing her. Before I could get another swing in, she tackled me, our bodies smacking into the bookcase, my sword knocked from my hand.
A satisfied look crossed Veronique’s face right before she stabbed my upper arm with her dagger. Her blade cut across my cheek. A horrified scream rattled my throat. My knees buckled and thudded against the floor.
“Shit!” The pain shocked me. I wanted to roll into a ball on the floor, to have this end.
She’s going to kill me. I’m going to die.
Fear gripped me.
Then anger.
Fight, Gia! The voice in my head was strong and forceful. It pushed me. Pushed me to my feet.
Pushed me to take action.
Your globe. Stop her before she takes you down.
I ignited one and busted it against her thigh, the glass pieces cutting into her leg.
She shrieked and teetered backward.
Dropping to a squat, I spun around and sweep-kicked her calves, knocking her to the floor. Her head slammed against the ground.
She laid there, unmoving.
“Unskilled,” I spit out like a distasteful word. “Who’s unskilled now?”
She started to move.
With pain shocking my shoulder, cheek, and chest, I opened the gateway book and collapsed on top of it. I couldn’t move anymore. My arms and legs shook. Blood trickled down my cheek and into my mouth, and I tasted copper on my tongue.
“Aprire la porta,” I said and hugged my bag to my chest, then remembered the Chiavi tied to Veronique. I felt a tug across my entire body. “No. Stop.” A swirling wind engulfed me and dragged me into the page.
Veronique jumped in after me and wrapped her arm around my neck, clinging to my back as we fell through the pitch-black void.
Chapter Four
The air rushing across me cooled my burning cheek. Blood from the wound in my shoulder soaked my sleeve. Fear rocked my bones, and I wanted to give up, just let the dark take me somewhere else, not there, not in the gateway of hell with Veronique. Her fist connected hard against my side and knocked me to my senses.
She can’t win.
I threw my elbow back and clipped her chin.
Veronique lost hold of me and spun away.
Unable to see where she was, I formed a light globe and tossed it in front of me. The sphere flew with us, illuminating the gateway.
Veronique struggled to unsheathe the Chiave sword. I threw my battle globe to stop her. It barely missed her, so I threw another, and it shattered against her side.