Witch and Wizard_ The Fire - James Patterson [19]
Yet here we still are. Human.
Wisty sighs in frustration. “My power’s shorting out or something. It’s like it works on other people but not on us.”
Without a spell, without a choice, I tackle Wisty and together we tumble out of the fourth-story window, falling, falling …
And then a crushing thud.
Chapter 19
Wisty
WHIT AND I stand up, coughing, panting, and a little bruised but victorious.
I glance, bewildered, at the enormous pile of trash that broke our fall, and an old woman nods at me as she walks away down the demolished street, trying to look inconspicuous. A small sign of support and unity. We are not the only ones still battling this unjust system. The soldiers lean out the window, bellowing insults, but they can’t get to us.
So why are these N.O. men grinning? I squint up at the window. They’ve got something small and angry squirming between them.
They’ve got Pearl Marie.
She struggles against them, her little face fierce with determination, but the men laugh, yanking her arms back and forth.
“You forgot your little pet,” one jeers at us. “We could toss her down to you” — he dangles Pearl out the window as she screams — “but I think we’ll just hang on to her for now. You know, for safekeeping.”
“You didn’t change her, too?” Whit whispers angrily at me.
“I thought I changed them all,” I say, irritated. “There’s no way I could’ve missed her!”
“She must’ve slipped out before then.” Whit sighs. “She was terrified of those wolves. I told her to stick with Mama May and run. We’ll have to find her after we’ve got our energy back and built up the Resistance forces.”
He turns, and I look up to see Pearl’s distraught face at the crumbling window, struggling against the pull of her captors.
“We’re not just going to leave her,” I demand. I can’t believe what I’m hearing. Back in the days of the Resistance, we never would’ve left someone behind.
“What choice do we have?” Whit asks, his voice strained with emotion. “You know I care about that kid, Wist. It isn’t safe here for you … for us. I just got you back, and I’m not ready to lose you again.”
Whit looks up at little Pearl Marie. “We’ll come back for you!” he yells. “We promise. And we always keep our promises.” I catch sight of her brave nod as the guards sweep her away — and swiftly down the stairwell, I’m assuming, toward us.
Resentfully, I dash down the alley of rubble after my brother, mice fleeing in our path. After we’ve been running for what seems like forever, I turn to Whit, still angry. “That’s not true, what you said,” I tell him.
He looks at me, confused. “What’s not true? I didn’t say anything.”
“That stuff you told Pearl Marie when we ran away like cowards, when we left her there at the mercy of those goons,” I say bitterly. “You said we always keep our promises. Who have we made promises to, Whit? Celia. The Resistance kids. Mom and Dad.”
Whit’s face flushes, but he remains silent.
“A big help we’ve been to all of them, big brother. We shouldn’t be making promises to anybody, not to a single soul, and especially not to that doomed little girl.”
Chapter 20
Wisty
“GOT … TO … STOP. Going … to … barf,” I wheeze.
I slow to a halt next to a closed fast-food joint, and my brother, who’s way ahead, jogs back to me. It’s almost nightfall, and we’re not even out of the capital, but the plague has weakened me more than I want to admit.
There’s a huge neon sign blinking the One-Der Burger’s logo: THE ONE IS FOREVER. CONSUME HAPPILY. I’m doubled over, but I turn to cough some phlegm in its direction.
Whit’s eyes are full of concern. “You okay, sis? I’m fine stopping for the night. You’re looking a little wrecked.”
I shake my head. “I’ll be okay. I just need to catch my breath. It’d be nice if we could just fly or something.”
“Your M still acting up?” Whit’s frowning at me.
I roll my eyes. “I know, okay? It was dumb to waste all that energy on a weak fire and Holiday lights so soon after being sick,