Carrie Jones [Need Pxies 02] Captivate (pdf)

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This time her voice gets a little bit more growly.
You know about Valhalla? I hedge. So it s real? How come you ve never told us
about it before?
I only know about it because my mother told me, and when she did& She pauses. Her
hands go into the air like she s trying to grab the right words. It was more like a fairy
tale. I haven t told you about it because there was no need, and you, Zara White, are
trying to change the subject. Where is Nick?
Something outside screams. It s shrill and loud. Issie jumps into Mrs. Nix s arms.
Devyn moves toward her protectively. I race to the window, pull back the curtain, and
peer out into our front yard.
What is it? Mrs. Nix asks. Her voice fills with alarm.
Pixies, I answer. A lot of pixies. They must ve just missed you.
They are twirling around in some sort of weird dance. Their feet twist over the snow in
fancy, wild footfalls. Their arms reach up toward the sky. They are circling figures in
the approaching dark, dancing around something.
What if they try to get inside? Issie asks.
I try to make out what s going on. The only one who can come in here is my father.
And what if he does? Devyn asks.
I don t hesitate. Then I kill him. As I search for him in the dancing forms, I notice it.
How did I not notice right away? I leap back from the window. Give me a weapon.
What?
Give me a weapon, I insist. My good hand is out. A poker, I guess. NO a sword.
Mrs. Nix slams the hilt into my hand. I rush toward the front door. Stay here. Except
Mrs. Nix. You might want to change.
Uh-oh. She s entered military commander mode. Zara? Why are you in military
commander mode? Issie s wringing her hands but I don t have time to talk anymore.
Devyn goes to the window. Holy
What is it? Issie shrieks but I m already at the door, throwing it open and charging
outside.
It s Betty, Devyn answers. They ve ambushed her. She s surrounded.
Definition
Hero: you might want to be a hero if and when you and your friends are attacked by pixies.
Remember, though, that heroes often die.
The wind hits me first, bringing waves of snow that obscures my vision with pure white.
It only lasts a second. The snow slaps my skin and melts. I blink the water away from
my eyes and charge, just rush headfirst into the pixies. My sword guides the way.
They howl. One turns, it s a man. Betty takes the opportunity and strikes. She leaps on
his back. He staggers forward just one step, trying to stay balanced. Her tiger teeth sink
into his neck. Even with all the shrieking I can hear her fangs drop through flesh, hear
flesh rip, hear bones break as she shakes the pixie s body. He falls to the ground, limp,
twitching in his Wal-Mart jeans.
Betty! I scream a warning.
Three more are closing in on her. She leaps from the dead pixie and growls. Her large
paws leave the snow again as she turns, snapping. I can t believe this is my grandmother.
She doesn t change often, but when she does it s stunning.
Something has smashed me from behind. I am falling. My trunk twists as I do. I pull
my sword around and slash the air before I even see what s got me. It s pixie. It s
female.
She smiles. Snow melts into her red hair, splatters over her cat pajamas and bathrobe.
Princess& we have you to thank.
I thrust out with my sword. She dodges it and one of her hands pins my neck. The other
pins my arm. Damn, she s strong.
How does it feel to be the one who is trapped? she whispers. How does it feel to be
the one who is weak? The one who is about to die?
I don t know, I grunt. Her hand on my neck is cutting off my air. The world spins. I
choke out, You tell me.
My feet kick out in this total ninja move Nick taught us. The force of it heaves my chest
up and breaks her hold. It s not much but it s enough to allow me to roll out of the way.
She falls sideways. Pixies shriek around us. Betty growls, low and menacing. The pixie
lunges back toward me. My sword is slashing through the air before I think of it. The
weight strains my shoulder. The blade hits. It goes through the cotton of her bathrobe.
Her stomach bleeds out. It stains reddish blue. The color spreads onto the cats on her
pjs. She just laughs. Blood spreads and spreads.
Someone is screaming. Someone is lifting a sword through the air and slashing it down
into a neck. That someone is me. I wrench it back out.
I stand.
A life flows away below me. My third. I have killed three times. I turn away, raise my
sword, and keep screaming. Things move in slow motion. Everything but me.
Devyn flies out of the house and swoops down, attaching a pixie man with wild blue hair
and some nose bling. His talons zoom in for the eyes.
My sword slashes through another pixie s stomach. He s bigger, built like a lumberjack.
He staggers but doesn t fall. His eyes go wilder, even more silver. He smile and lunges
for me again.
I raise my sword but I don t bring it down. Instead, a large bear crashes into him. Mrs.
Nix. They fall to the snow, twisting. Mrs. Nix makes no noise. She grabs his head in
her mouth.
I turn away.
There are so many. They swarm toward us. Betty is trying to fight four at once. Her
long torso shakes with rage. She s bleeding from her shoulder. I stomp my way toward
her. I m still wearing my slippers. My feet will regret that later. Right now, I feel
nothing just anger and this wild, wild need to protect and avenge.
An arrow zips through the air and stabs into Betty s side. She bucks from the impact and
pain. A roar fills the air.
Zara& ., one of them whispers behind me, from the woods. Come to me&
I ignore it. It s an old trick and I am so past it now. Another arrow flashes through the
air. Devyn dives and grabs it in his beak. He drops it to the ground. I rush toward Betty.
The pixies are closing in. I hack at the one closest to me and miss. He back away. His
long black leather jacket flaps in the wind.
Fashion faux pax right there, buddy, I sneer. I lunge forward and yank the arrow out of
Betty s fur. She howls and turns on me. Our eyes meet. Fear stills my breath. I back [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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