The Flight of the Silvers (Silvers #1)(123)

—

Amanda’s mind howled with chaos, a fire in a crowded theater. Panicked thoughts trampled each other on the way to her mouth as her body twisted painfully over the railing. Her hands were submerged in an enormous white arm, fifty feet long and as thick as a manhole cover. She could feel Zack’s body in her thoughts, resting limp and unconscious in her titan grip.

“I got him. I got him. Oh my God.”

David pressed up against her backside, holding her in place. “Okay. Good. Good, Amanda. Now you have to bring him back.”

“It’s not working! I can’t control it!”

“Yes you can,” said David. “Concentrate.”

Six weeks ago, Sterling Quint’s physicists had attempted to gauge the limits of Amanda’s tempic talent. Her creations took an increasing amount of willpower to maintain. At sixty seconds, it felt like squeezing a tight fist. At two minutes, it felt like squeezing a tight fist around thumbtacks. Czerny had stopped the endurance test at 148 seconds, when Amanda began to cry and bleed from her nose.

David laid his hands on Amanda’s wrists. She could feel the giant arm contract.

“What are you doing? David, how are you doing that?”

“I’m not doing anything,” he said. “It’s all you. Just keep focusing.”

Theo fumbled his way up the side of the hot tub, throbbing with pain. He yanked a small shard of glass from his thigh, then looked to Hannah. The actress lay motionless on the floor.

Amanda turned her head as much as she could. “Theo! Are you okay? Is Hannah okay?”

“Concentrate on Zack!” David yelled.

Theo took an anxious reading of Hannah’s pulse and future, then exhaled at the presence of both.

“She’s all right. She’s okay.”

“Don’t move her. She could have a broken—”

Amanda screamed when Zack slipped in her grasp. David seethed at her.

“Goddamn it, Amanda! If you care about him . . .”

“I do! I’m sorry!”

Theo looked to the patio doorway, where Mia stood frozen in dread. Her inner voice chanted Zack’s name over and over.

“Mia . . .”

The urgent note from the future still dangled from her fingertips, warning her of Evan’s drugged cocktails. If only she’d seen it sooner . . .

“Mia!”

She snapped out of her daze. Theo jerked his head at the living room.

“Security’s coming. We need to go fast. Gather as many bags as you can carry. Leave the stuff we don’t need. Can you do that?”

She gave him a trembling nod, then disappeared inside.

Theo scooped Hannah in his arms, praying she didn’t have a spinal injury. He saw a thick stream of blood trickle down her hair. Goddamn you, Evan.

By the time Zack reached the ninth floor, Amanda’s brain felt like it was wrapped in barbed wire. David wiped sweat and blood from her forehead.

“Hold on. Just a few more seconds.”

“I can’t hold it . . .”

“You can, Amanda. You have to. You’ll never forgive yourself if you let him drop.”

With a final scream, she raised Zack to eye level. David grabbed his arms just as the tempis vanished. He pulled Zack over the railing, then checked his vitals.

“He’s okay, Amanda. You did it.”

Amanda fell back onto the one chair that was left standing, her face drenched and white.

Theo turned around in the doorway and looked to David. “You think you can carry him?”

“Yeah. I can get him to the van.”

With a loud grunt, David hoisted Zack into his arms. Amanda cast a shaky palm.

“Be careful! He could have a broken neck! They could both . . .”

Now the images in Amanda’s head turned melodramatic, a theater in a crowded fire. She pictured Zack and Hannah as paraplegics. Her fault. Her hands. Her tempis.

“Oh my God. I did this . . .”

David gritted his teeth. “Amanda, we don’t have time.”

“He’s right,” said Theo. “I know you’re drugged and I know you’re hurting, but you need to pull yourself together. We have to go right now.”

Wincing, she struggled to her feet. “Okay. Okay.”

They turned their gazes to the airy distance, at the sound of approaching sirens. Now Theo’s future howled. There was no way they’d make it to the van without being spotted. There was no hope of making it out of Evansville without another chase.

—

Zack came to life on the way to the elevator. Hot knives of pain stabbed his chest while his body bobbled and dangled in David’s arms. He raised a weak gaze.

“David . . . ?”

Amanda rushed to his side. “Zack! Are you all right? Can you feel my hand?”

He fought a cracked and addled laugh. I think we all felt your hand, honey.

“I’m okay. Anyone else hurt?”

“Hannah. She’s unconscious. I don’t know how bad it is yet.”

As Mia jabbed the elevator call button, Theo checked the progress displays above all four doors. Two of the cars were on their way up, one from the first floor, the other from the fourth. His thoughts flashed with images of six security guards in the lower elevator.

He pointed to the north-side doors. “This is going to be close. We need to jump in that thing the second it opens.”