one.”
This was it.
I reached into the tank and passed my hand over the snails. The smallest one tugged on me, tiny needles of magic prickling my skin. Gently, I plucked it from its leaf and held it in the palm of my hand.
A faint glow lit the snail from within. It lingered for a second and burst, painting the snail’s shell with brilliant gold.
“Only powerful magic can see Keong Emas,” the old man said. “White tiger magic.”
Oh shit. I clamped the snail in my hand and felt it slide into its shell. “How much?”
“Take her.” The old man nodded to the guy in the red hat.
Red Hat peeled himself from the wall. Behind me a man and a woman moved from behind the curtain, cutting off my exit.
“You shouldn’t have come here,” the old man said.
“Jim!” I yelled.
“He won’t help,” the old man said. “Nobody will help.”
I dashed left, but Red Hat’s hand gripped my shoulder and he jerked me off my feet with superhuman strength. I kicked at him, but he batted my legs aside and carried me back to the corner, where a woman pulled the tarp off the cage. A man knelt in the cage on all fours, filthy, wearing rags smeared with old blood. Plastic ties forced his wrists together, and above them a ragged cloth with a holding spell scrawled in ink bound his forearms. A leather muzzle clamped his whole face, leaving only the narrow strip of space around his eyes visible. Bandages hid his head and all I saw was one eye, mad, furious, and brilliant turquoise.
There was a second cage next to him. An empty cage.
Panic squirmed through me. I kicked and thrashed, but the cage kept coming closer and closer. If I went tiger, he couldn’t carry me, but I’d be too dazed to fight and I would drop the snail. I couldn’t drop the snail, or Jim would die.
Jim would come for me. He wouldn’t fall asleep. He wouldn’t let them kill him.
I kicked and jerked with all the shapeshifter strength I had.
“Don’t make this harder on yourself,” Red Hat told me.
We were almost to the cage. “How can you do this?”
“Your uncle kept a lot of people from feeding their families.” Red Hat shoved me the final five feet. “We have mouths to feed. I don’t have a problem doing this.”
I thrust my legs at the cage and braced myself. “Jim! Come get me!”
The man in the other cage moaned a wordless scream and rammed the bars.
Red Hat jerked me down. “Nobody’s coming for you.”
No! No, I will not be put into a fucking cage. I kicked against the cage, pitching myself backward. My head smashed into Red Hat’s face. He dropped me. My feet touched the ground. Yes! I scrambled left.
Something smashed against my temple. Pain exploded between my ears. I spun. The woman behind me swung again and the bat took me straight in the face. The world shivered and I tasted blood on my lips.
Red Hat clamped me and muscled me forward. The man in the other cage let out a long desperate wail.
It was over. Jim fell asleep. Nobody was coming for me.
*
RED HAT WAS dragging me to the cage. The blond woman leaned over and swung open the door.
A man flew through the curtain and slid across the floor, knocking the tables and benches out of the way until he hit the wall. I caught a glimpse of long dark hair. He clenched his hands to his throat. A thin red spray shot from between his fingers. He gurgled, his eyes huge with sharp fear.
The curtain fell, revealing Jim, drenched in blood. His eyes glowed green and his face was terrible.
He came! Oh my gods, he came for me. It was going to be okay. Everything was going to be okay.
A stocky man lunged at Jim from the left, swinging a machete. Jim grabbed him. His knife flashed, and the man crumpled down, his machete slick with his own blood.
Red Hat threw me aside. I crashed into the cage and thrust the snail into the pocket of my jeans.
The blond woman by the cage screamed and swung her baseball bat at me. I ripped it out of her hands and bashed her with it. The bat snapped with
This was it.
I reached into the tank and passed my hand over the snails. The smallest one tugged on me, tiny needles of magic prickling my skin. Gently, I plucked it from its leaf and held it in the palm of my hand.
A faint glow lit the snail from within. It lingered for a second and burst, painting the snail’s shell with brilliant gold.
“Only powerful magic can see Keong Emas,” the old man said. “White tiger magic.”
Oh shit. I clamped the snail in my hand and felt it slide into its shell. “How much?”
“Take her.” The old man nodded to the guy in the red hat.
Red Hat peeled himself from the wall. Behind me a man and a woman moved from behind the curtain, cutting off my exit.
“You shouldn’t have come here,” the old man said.
“Jim!” I yelled.
“He won’t help,” the old man said. “Nobody will help.”
I dashed left, but Red Hat’s hand gripped my shoulder and he jerked me off my feet with superhuman strength. I kicked at him, but he batted my legs aside and carried me back to the corner, where a woman pulled the tarp off the cage. A man knelt in the cage on all fours, filthy, wearing rags smeared with old blood. Plastic ties forced his wrists together, and above them a ragged cloth with a holding spell scrawled in ink bound his forearms. A leather muzzle clamped his whole face, leaving only the narrow strip of space around his eyes visible. Bandages hid his head and all I saw was one eye, mad, furious, and brilliant turquoise.
There was a second cage next to him. An empty cage.
Panic squirmed through me. I kicked and thrashed, but the cage kept coming closer and closer. If I went tiger, he couldn’t carry me, but I’d be too dazed to fight and I would drop the snail. I couldn’t drop the snail, or Jim would die.
Jim would come for me. He wouldn’t fall asleep. He wouldn’t let them kill him.
I kicked and jerked with all the shapeshifter strength I had.
“Don’t make this harder on yourself,” Red Hat told me.
We were almost to the cage. “How can you do this?”
“Your uncle kept a lot of people from feeding their families.” Red Hat shoved me the final five feet. “We have mouths to feed. I don’t have a problem doing this.”
I thrust my legs at the cage and braced myself. “Jim! Come get me!”
The man in the other cage moaned a wordless scream and rammed the bars.
Red Hat jerked me down. “Nobody’s coming for you.”
No! No, I will not be put into a fucking cage. I kicked against the cage, pitching myself backward. My head smashed into Red Hat’s face. He dropped me. My feet touched the ground. Yes! I scrambled left.
Something smashed against my temple. Pain exploded between my ears. I spun. The woman behind me swung again and the bat took me straight in the face. The world shivered and I tasted blood on my lips.
Red Hat clamped me and muscled me forward. The man in the other cage let out a long desperate wail.
It was over. Jim fell asleep. Nobody was coming for me.
*
RED HAT WAS dragging me to the cage. The blond woman leaned over and swung open the door.
A man flew through the curtain and slid across the floor, knocking the tables and benches out of the way until he hit the wall. I caught a glimpse of long dark hair. He clenched his hands to his throat. A thin red spray shot from between his fingers. He gurgled, his eyes huge with sharp fear.
The curtain fell, revealing Jim, drenched in blood. His eyes glowed green and his face was terrible.
He came! Oh my gods, he came for me. It was going to be okay. Everything was going to be okay.
A stocky man lunged at Jim from the left, swinging a machete. Jim grabbed him. His knife flashed, and the man crumpled down, his machete slick with his own blood.
Red Hat threw me aside. I crashed into the cage and thrust the snail into the pocket of my jeans.
The blond woman by the cage screamed and swung her baseball bat at me. I ripped it out of her hands and bashed her with it. The bat snapped with
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