Only Hard Problems by Jennifer Estep

Author:Jennifer Estep [Jennifer Estep]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Jennifer Estep
Published: 2024-02-03T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SEVEN

ZANE

The explosion ripped through the library.

Bright light. Intense heat. Incredible noise. All of it blasting through everything in its path, including me.

The light, heat, and noise went on and on and on in a continuous, flaming, furious roar, making me feel like I was hunkering down on the surface of a sun. All around me, the sides of the desk warmed, as though I was trapped inside a wooden oven that was going to roast me alive. Sweat dripped down my face, and acrid smoke clogged my lungs, making it hard to breathe. I hunkered down a little more, pressing myself into a tight ball and as flat against the floor as I could manage at the same time.

All the while, the light, heat, and noise just kept going on and on and on . . .

Slowly, the roar faded away, along with the concussive waves of fire and force. I crawled out from beneath the desk and stood up. Intense ringing sounded in my ears, as though dozens of alarms were jangling all around my head.

Disoriented, I wobbled back and forth on my feet, my stormsword glowing a weak, watery blue in my hand. A thick cloud of smoke billowed over me, and my violent coughing reignited the painful ache in my cracked ribs, along with the pounding pain in my head, despite the skinbond injectors I’d used earlier.

I blinked a few times, and the library settled back into focus. What was left of it, anyway.

The explosion had reduced the wooden cases to smoldering splinters, and loose pages from the burned books drifted through the air like charred gray snowflakes. The framed portraits on the fireplace mantel were piles of ash, the gold frames melted to the wall. All the plants had been reduced to blackened husks, and flames flickered here and there, greedily consuming everything they touched.

Debris had slammed into the desk I’d taken cover behind, and long, jagged bits of crystal, metal, and stone stuck out of the sides like makeshift spears. If the wood had been an inch thinner, I would have been skewered to death. I shuddered and spun away from it.

In addition to the ruined furniture, the grenade had shattered all the windows and blown out half of the back wall, revealing the blue moons and bright stars of the summer solstice sky.

Some of the roaring finally faded from my ears, but in the distance, screams and shouts rose up. Everyone at the solstice celebration had heard the explosion, which meant Silas wouldn’t care about quietly sneaking around anymore. No, the only thing he would be concerned with now was his escape, and he would order his remaining Black Scarabs to cut down anyone who got in his way.

Knowing the Techwave’s penchant for destruction, Silas wouldn’t waste this opportunity, and he would wade right through the center of the solstice celebration and try to hurt—and kill—as many people as possible. My gut clenched at the thought of my father and grandmother getting cut down by Black Scarabs.

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