Page 42 of Crystal Iris #1

“I know she would never steal anything.”

“I’m sorry to burst your bubble, but she did steal it.”

“From who?”

“From my father.”

“What? How do you know that? How do you even know she knew your father? ”

“Because my father is her brother.”

I let the information sink in.

“You’re saying… you’re my…”

“Cousin. Now, tell me, Iris, how did you do it?” I look at his red hair. Could he be telling the truth?

I’m still lost, trying to process what he said, when he yells, “Fuck! You really don’t know, do you?”

I shake my head.

“You had to fuse yourself with it, otherwise it would’ve been a… dead diamond.”

“I didn’t do anything. I just put it on.”

“Right. You think I’m stupid?” He pulls out a gun and brings it to my head.

“I swear Darion. I’ll help you. Okay? Just put the gun away.”

I don’t have to fake it. I really am terrified.

I try to take the necklace off. I try to give it to him. But I can’t—it’s too painful. He sees it.

“You need to… disconnect first, defuse.”

“How?”

“Fuck, Iris, you should know. Now, stop fucking around.”

“I swear, Darion, I don’t know.”

“When you first put it on, what happened? Where were you?”

“I was in…” Awena’s voice comes to mind. You spilled blood. You spilled blood. You spilled blood. When I cut my finger on the broken glass, that’s when I saw the light. Maybe… that’s what Darion wants to know. I can’t tell him. But I have to give him something.

“I was in the bathtub, when… I felt something for the first time.”

He grabs a bottle of water and throws it at me. The prism glows.

“Try to take it off now,” he tells me, pointing the gun.

I really try. An intense jolt of pain hits me.

“What else, Iris? I know your brain, think. ”

“There was nothing else…”

“You know what? I’m tired of this. Bring the girl,” he orders the man.

Frantically, I glance toward the door. Please don’t, please don’t.

I see Akira’s bloody face and I want to kill him. “Let her go!” I yell.

“She’ll make you talk…”

Her mouth is covered with tape. Her eyes lock with mine, begging for help.

“Now…where were we?” Darion walks closer to Akira and points the gun at her. “My father told me we needed you alive, but her… I’m free to do as I please.”

“Darion, no!” I start yelling. “Fire! Fire! There was a candle.” I know that the moment I mention the blood, Akira and I will both be dead.

“Do you have a lighter?” he asks the man behind him.

“In the car,” the man replies.

“Go fucking get it,” Darion orders him.

I have to think of a way out of this. A way to keep Akira alive.

“Darion, look at me. If you touch her, I swear, I’ll die—but I won’t tell you anything about this necklace. If you want answers for your father, you leave her out of this.”

“I don’t think you’re in a position to negotiate.”

“Do you want to risk it?”

I’m not sure if he buys it, but at least he moves away from her.

The man returns with the lighter.

“Give it to me,” I tell him.

“The fuck I will.” He brings it closer to my prism, and I brace myself. As soon as the flame gets near, I have to go. I close my eyes and focus on Hoyt—on his face, on him kissing me. I black out.

I find Hoyt in his study. He’s on the phone, his hands covering his face. He’s in too much pain. Broc is there, too. I have seconds. I make myself visible to both of them. Then I move. I have no idea if this is going to work .

I get closer to the wall, to his father’s map, and try to go through it. It burns where I touch. I proceed faster and faster. I focus on being the light—my violet light. I move around the map, burning and forming the words Darion, HAR . I black out before I can add VARD.

When I wake up again, I see Darion staring at me. Is he frightened? My head hurts. I feel sick. How long was I gone?

“What the fuck happened?” he asks me.

I taste more blood. Akira’s eyes are on me, barely blinking. I nod at her. I want her to know that I asked for help. I’m not sure if she picks up on my message.

“I blacked out. It hurt me—the flame, the prism.”

Darion’s angry and scared. I know he’s growing desperate. Is it possible for Hoyt to find me? It’s the middle of the night. It would take days to track Darion down. We don’t have days. We have minutes. I need to do something else.

“I need to rest. I need a minute,” I tell Darion. I feel weak, but luckily, whatever that strong smell on me is keeps me from passing out.

“I don’t fucking have time for this,” he says, looking away.

“Maybe… if you told me what you know… maybe we can figure this out together. I don’t want to die, Darion. I want to give you my prism, I promise.”

“Your what?”

“My prism. That’s what I call it.”

“Huh.”

“What do you call it?”

“Amulet.”

“What do you know about it?”

“I know that there are more. The prophecy says seven. My family has been looking for them for centuries. This one on your neck has been in their possession for a long time, but nobody could figure out how to fuse it. Your mother stole it and disappeared.”

“Why didn’t you take it before? You saw it, at the river, months ago.”

“My father. He wanted to do this differently. He wanted to gain your trust, tell you about the family. He… wanted you to… join us. Help us. He thought there was a chance you wanted a family, since your mom was dead.”

“Help you do what?”

“Use it, of course. And then find the other ones. He found you a couple of years ago, found out your mom was dead. He decided I should go to Harvard, get close to you. We weren’t sure you actually even had the amulet—you never wore it.

Not until last year. We knew if you did possess it, you hadn’t fused with it.

Or you would’ve had to wear it. We thought maybe your mom had passed it on to someone else.

We waited. My dad said we had to play the long game.

He’s wrong. It was a waste of time. I grew tired of waiting. ”

“How many other… amulets does your family possess?”

“None of your business.”

“I’m asking because… have they never… fused any of them?”

“They don’t have other ones. They’re still… tracking them.”

“Why do you want them?”

“Are you kidding me? Why do we want the most powerful things on Earth?”

“What are you going to do with them?”

“Whatever we want.”

“All it does is shine a light.”

“If that’s all you think it does, then you have no idea what’s on your neck.”

I realize he’s right. I don’t. “Then tell me.”

“I’m done with the history lesson. You’re the professor here. You tell me how to fuse this thing, or she’s dead.” He points the gun back at Akira, and she shakes.

I have one other idea. It’s risky, but I have to try it.

“Let me try with the lighter again. Let me hold it this time. ”

Instead of holding it, I throw it on the floor. The flammable chemical ignites instantly.

This time, I don’t think of Hoyt. I think of my light—my violet light only.

And then I’m out. I’m out of the chair, out of my body.

I’m shining in the air, right in front of them.

The men are staring. I take a look at my body in front of me—my eyes are rolled up, white.

Blood drips from my nose. I have to be fast.

I set a line of fire, separating the men and my body from Akira. I burn the tape that ties her hands and feet. She runs.

The men try to get around, but whatever chemical is on the ground is also everywhere else. The fire picks up quickly. I hear shots. I’ll burn the whole place down if I have to. I keep moving, igniting more and more of the liquid on the ground.

I look at my body. It’s surrounded by fire. The men are coughing, trying to reach me. They can’t pass. But I can. I move toward my body. I burn the tape around my ankles and set myself free.

And then I open my eyes. I’m back in my body.

I’m too weak to run, but I manage to get up.

Somehow, the prism creates a veil around me.

I can’t burn. I literally walk through the fire, unbothered.

I hide, watching Darion and the other man try to find a way back into the building, a way back to me.

I wait inside. Hidden in the flames. I stay there until they leave, until the cops show up. Until Aaron shows up.