Little Spark

28 - The Hit

All I see is black. I can tell I'm lying on my back, but my limbs feel like those giant anvils you see in cartoons. Ice blue eyes flash in my mind, and I twitch.

"Guys, she moving!"

I force my eyelids apart, which is hard because they feel like they've been sealed together with a hot-glue gun. Luca's face comes into view. "She's waking up!" she says, looking at someone I can't see. She adjusts something cool on my forehead, and a tingling sensation ripples down my arms and legs. I try to sit up, but a large hand catches my shoulder and eases me back down.

"Whoa, slow down," Apollo says, appearing above me. He looks across the room and frowns. "Earth to C and V: our friend is alive over here."

I hear the pound of approaching feet then Candis leans over me, her green eyes wide with apprehension. It's shocking how similar they are to Reign's, but I know that if she's here, he's obviously not. "Blizzie!" she shouts, taking my face in her hands. "Oh, thank goodness!"

"I told you she'd be fine." Mr. Casey joins the group of faces looming over me. It's a little stifling.

"Where am I?" I croak, startling myself with the awful sound of my own voice. "And what are you guys doing here?"

Mr. Casey reaches out a hand and helps me sit up as Von walks over from across the room and kneels in front of me. "You're in the church basement," he says.

"But I was just with—"

I look at Candis and catch myself; her freakily Reign-like eyes are so full of concern, a knot of guilt lodges in my throat and tries to choke me.

"I was just at the park. How did I get here?"

Von shrugs. "No idea. I was upstairs and someone knocked on the door. When I opened it, you were laying on the stoop. Your skin was super hot, and you were steaming and glowing. Never seen anything like it." He squints. "Anyway, I'm sure Mayor Shetani has the cops in his pocket, so I called Candis."

"And I called Pol, Luca, and M.C. We all came right over. I was worried sick, B!"

"Wait, what time is it?"

Apollo looks at his watch. "Five."

"Five??"

"That's right, kiddo." Mr. Casey shines a light into my eyes. "You've been out for over six hours."

"You said you were in the park?" Luca asks. "What were you doing there? Do you remember?" She fixes me in her secret-learning stare, and I know I have to think fast before she mind-reads the truth.

"Uhh, well, I was sitting at the fountain, just thinking I guess, and suddenly, it was a different time and...." I trail off as I make eye contact with Von, not knowing how much of what I saw is safe to reveal in front of him.

Mr. Casey's hand comes down on Von's shoulder. "It's ok, Bliss," he says. "Young Mister Raymond is on our side."

"I mean, he is the reason we're all here." Candis gazes at him like he birthed Polaris.

Apollo sets his jaw and clears his throat. "So what happened, Bliss?"

"Honestly, I'm not really sure. I was at the fountain, and I got dizzy, so I closed my eyes. Then I heard a voice and opened them, and it was a different time. At first I couldn't see who was talking because there were two people blocking him from view, but then one of the people moved, and I saw Cole Shetani. He was still in his inauguration suit. He was telling the people to 'make it quick' or something. Then he left, and when the people turned around, I saw that they were the murderers from my nightmare. So I guess if all that really happened, Cole Shetani ordered that couple killed."