Read Online Sunburst (Starbright Series) by Rachel Higginson - Free Book Online
Authors: Rachel Higginson
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question, but there w as this soul-deep fear robbed me of my smarter instincts. For some reason she terrified more than anything else- more than Aliah, or my future, or anything .
“Just stopped by to chat,” she grinned. My back was pressed up against the brick of the school building and she was standing next to the shed. Her hands were clasped in front of her demurely but her black and white striped maxi dress flowed out around her legs in a wild dance with her hair.
“How sweet,” I intoned dryly.
Two Fallen thugs stepped around the shed to join her. I recognized them from Aliah’s gang. One’s name was Saul, but I didn’t know what the other’s one’s name. They were big, muscular and completely dark- as if they sucked all the light around them into their black hole of evil.
“Did we catch you alone?” S even asked mocking innocence so well that I wanted to give her an Oscar. “Where’s my adorable, little brother?”
“Where you can’t touch him,” I bit out. I was terrified to be alone here, with the pure, raw evil that was Seven and her henchmen. I didn’t even have a weapon on me, not even a dagger or any kind of sharp object. I was completely vulnerable with only shin guards and cleats to protect myself. But I was happy Seth wasn’t here. I would gladly save him this trauma.
Seven’s eyes narrowed and a flicker of impatience flashed across her face. “Tell me, Stella, is Seth still having his bad dreams?” I pressed my lips together and narrowed my eyes at her, wondering if she had anything to do with dreams. “He used to have them when we were children too. Only then, I was the one to comfort him, hold him while he slept, kiss the boo boos better. I was the one that he counted on.”
I just stared at her, knowing she wanted a reaction from me, knowing I could not give her one.
She walked closer to me like a tigress stalking her prey. Stopping just inches in front of me, I realized we were the same height. At different times I’d imagined her a tiny, petite little girl, weeping for help and then I pictured her towering over me, alive with all her dark power. She was neither- she was my size and destructible just like me.
Up close I could see black veins spread out from under her eyes and down her cheeks like the thinnest kind of tree roots. Her chapped lips displayed a cut in the center of her fuller bottom one. And there was a prominent bruise on the underside of her jaw. What was happening to this girl?
We didn’t exactly bruise easily.
The closer she stood to me, t he temperature continued to drop, and I felt her malevolent evil all the way to my spine. But at the same time she still radiated this healthy glow of Light. She did not make sense and it only made my head swim, trying to understand her.
“You look tired,” I commented. “Do you also have bad dreams?”
Before I could protect myself, her hand had lifted and slapped me soundly across the face. Her sharp fingernails caught my skin as they dragged down in painful slices. I gasped at the sudden sting and felt the trickle of blood as it dripped down my chin and onto my t-shirt.
She lifted her hand but only to catch my pony tail. Her hand grabbed fistfuls of my hair and yanked it hard so I was forced to look up at her, “What do you think, little Star?” Her voice rasped aggression. I was tougher than a hair pull, but her grip was so firm that I couldn’t extricate my head from her hands without losing handfuls of hair in the process. “Of course, I have bad dreams. Not quite evil… not quite good…. Seth and I have that in common, you know? There’s no coming back from either though. It’s only a matter of time before Seth sees the…. light.” She laughed at her own joke- an airy, tinkling sound, that under any other circumstances would have sounded pleasant. Then she trailed a long, bloodied fingernail over my exposed throat.
“Seth is not like you,”
“Just stopped by to chat,” she grinned. My back was pressed up against the brick of the school building and she was standing next to the shed. Her hands were clasped in front of her demurely but her black and white striped maxi dress flowed out around her legs in a wild dance with her hair.
“How sweet,” I intoned dryly.
Two Fallen thugs stepped around the shed to join her. I recognized them from Aliah’s gang. One’s name was Saul, but I didn’t know what the other’s one’s name. They were big, muscular and completely dark- as if they sucked all the light around them into their black hole of evil.
“Did we catch you alone?” S even asked mocking innocence so well that I wanted to give her an Oscar. “Where’s my adorable, little brother?”
“Where you can’t touch him,” I bit out. I was terrified to be alone here, with the pure, raw evil that was Seven and her henchmen. I didn’t even have a weapon on me, not even a dagger or any kind of sharp object. I was completely vulnerable with only shin guards and cleats to protect myself. But I was happy Seth wasn’t here. I would gladly save him this trauma.
Seven’s eyes narrowed and a flicker of impatience flashed across her face. “Tell me, Stella, is Seth still having his bad dreams?” I pressed my lips together and narrowed my eyes at her, wondering if she had anything to do with dreams. “He used to have them when we were children too. Only then, I was the one to comfort him, hold him while he slept, kiss the boo boos better. I was the one that he counted on.”
I just stared at her, knowing she wanted a reaction from me, knowing I could not give her one.
She walked closer to me like a tigress stalking her prey. Stopping just inches in front of me, I realized we were the same height. At different times I’d imagined her a tiny, petite little girl, weeping for help and then I pictured her towering over me, alive with all her dark power. She was neither- she was my size and destructible just like me.
Up close I could see black veins spread out from under her eyes and down her cheeks like the thinnest kind of tree roots. Her chapped lips displayed a cut in the center of her fuller bottom one. And there was a prominent bruise on the underside of her jaw. What was happening to this girl?
We didn’t exactly bruise easily.
The closer she stood to me, t he temperature continued to drop, and I felt her malevolent evil all the way to my spine. But at the same time she still radiated this healthy glow of Light. She did not make sense and it only made my head swim, trying to understand her.
“You look tired,” I commented. “Do you also have bad dreams?”
Before I could protect myself, her hand had lifted and slapped me soundly across the face. Her sharp fingernails caught my skin as they dragged down in painful slices. I gasped at the sudden sting and felt the trickle of blood as it dripped down my chin and onto my t-shirt.
She lifted her hand but only to catch my pony tail. Her hand grabbed fistfuls of my hair and yanked it hard so I was forced to look up at her, “What do you think, little Star?” Her voice rasped aggression. I was tougher than a hair pull, but her grip was so firm that I couldn’t extricate my head from her hands without losing handfuls of hair in the process. “Of course, I have bad dreams. Not quite evil… not quite good…. Seth and I have that in common, you know? There’s no coming back from either though. It’s only a matter of time before Seth sees the…. light.” She laughed at her own joke- an airy, tinkling sound, that under any other circumstances would have sounded pleasant. Then she trailed a long, bloodied fingernail over my exposed throat.
“Seth is not like you,”
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