Mystic City by Theo Lawrence

Author:Theo Lawrence
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2012-10-09T07:00:00+00:00

• XV •

There is only one person I can talk to, one person I want to talk to.

Hunter.

The nose of the gondola breaks the waters of the canal, moving swiftly down Broadway, tiny waves rippling on either side of us. It’s sweltering hot, and my head is still spinning from the chaos at Bennie’s party. Remarkable that Thomas managed to take my focus away from a girl who literally ignited before my very eyes—but he did.

I want to feel hurt, to feel devastated beyond belief by his actions—sneaking around with Gretchen Monasty behind my back. How long has this been going on? But really, how can I be mad at Thomas for kissing someone else when I did the exact same thing?

I’m surprised by how easy my escape was, and confused that no one has detected my movement on the Grid so far, but I’m not complaining. I have no destination—I came to the Depths to find Hunter, but I have no way of contacting him. So I’ve instructed the gondolier to take me to the Block, and I’ll figure it out from there.

We sail past high, dark buildings, underneath arched bridges, and past other gondolas and water taxis. I don’t know how long we’ve been motoring along when I notice the spires along the main canal. I’ve never seen the energy within them act like this, pulsing on and off, surging and diminishing to the beat of some invisible music. I glance at the gondolier to see if he notices anything strange, but his eyes are focused ahead, his hand on the steering wheel.

Suddenly, I feel the heart-shaped chunk of metal around my neck heat up against my skin. I yank it out from underneath the fabric of my dress—and it’s glowing.

A golden light radiates from it. I cup the locket in my palms and try to open it, but I still can find no seam or latch. I drop it back inside my dress before the gondolier notices; it’s hot against my skin.

What is this thing? And why is it reacting like this now? When Frank grabbed it, he had just taken a dose of Stic. I wonder if the overload of energy coursing through his system activated it somehow.

Some spires brighten as we draw near, while others dim almost to darkness, and the locket throbs as if there is a human heart trapped inside. I think back to when I timed the rush of color in the spires from my window. I noticed that the pattern of light—white, yellow, and green—was different in each spire, but it didn’t mean anything to me then. I couldn’t figure out the pattern.

Only now, with the way the locket is reacting …

Follow the lights, Tabitha told me.

Okay, Tabitha. I’m listening.

“Excuse me?” I call out to the gondolier.

He raises his head.

“Can we stay straight, please?”

He points left. “But the Block’s that way, miss.”

“I know,” I tell him, “but I’ve changed my mind. Straight ahead, please.”

He obeys, and we stay on track. Up

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