The Helix by Yasmeen Cohen

Author:Yasmeen Cohen [Cohen, Yasmeen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-11-12T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

‘S

trat! Strat!’ I called out to the boy as I struggled to keep up with him. He’d taken off after examining my new weapon, storming out of the manor’s basement without a word of warning or explanation. Unable to get him to stop, I practically had to run beside him, asking my previously ignored question.

‘What’s wrong?’

‘Put that thing away. You can’t let anyone see it, especially not the Committee. They’ll strip us both of our Energy,’ he snapped.

Tucking my dagger away in its sheath and inside my kimono, I had to run to catch up with him again, jogging by his side.

‘Speak to me,’ I pleaded more forcefully this time.

Ignoring me, he started taking longer strides. Grabbing his arm, pulled him to a halt. ‘What’s going on?’ I demanded.

Staring intensely at my grip around his arm, Strat breathed out heavy and fast. I gently let go of his arm, like you would if you had accidentally touched a wild animal after it had snapped its teeth at you, only to have his piercing green eyes plunge into mine. They held no love or admiration. This was not the Strat I knew.

‘I could ask you the same! Who are you? Did He send you?’ he lashed out at me, his eyes dark and full of hatred.

Completely taken aback by the venom in his voice, I subconsciously took a small step backwards. ‘What are you accusing me of?’ I barked back, unable to contain the hurt in my voice.

‘Out of all the weapons, you’ve picked the only one that doesn’t belong to us,’ he replied with murderous hostility.

Crushing me like a thousand stabbing blades, I quickly understood that the ‘us’ he mentioned didn’t include me. The feeling only worsened with the sensation of acknowledgement sweeping through me, my gut confirming his suspicions. I wasn’t like the rest of them. I was once again the odd one out, and I didn’t even know why. Doing my best to cast aside the familiar crushing feeling rapidly building inside my chest, I asked the only thing I could think of to help me get some answers.

‘Whose is it, then?’ I asked reluctantly.

‘The Defacers, of course,’ he snapped back, pushing his eyebrows further together before marching ahead.

I couldn’t believe he was behaving this way. What did he think was going on? Rushing to follow him, I thought of what could have happened. I knew it had to be because of the dagger I had picked, but how was I to know which blade would choose me? Halting to a stop, I looked around to see that we had arrived at the bottom of the stairs, leading to Strat’s studio.

‘Out of loyalty to Darren, you can continue to stay here until your business is done. You hurt anyone, and I won’t hesitate to go straight to the Committee.’ A threat.

Before I could begin to process what he’d just said, he turned to leave without a hint of hesitation. As he did, I thought I heard him mutter, ‘I’m starting to understand why Darren’s been keeping you secret.

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