Chapters (42)
- TITLE PAGE
- COPYRIGHT PAGE
- DEDICATION PAGE
- CONTENTS
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
- ABOUT THE AUTHOR
A million questions flashed into my head, but I never had the chance to ask them.
Because at that exact moment, the Mazikin came crashing into the Warwick High prom.
THIRTY-ONE
THIRTY-ONE
A RAIL-THIN TEENAGER WEARING a stained suit and skinny tie vaulted onto one of the tables, kicking aside the centerpiece. He squinted at the dance floor, and as soon as his eyes landed on me, he was in motion. Diving onto all fours, he threw himself onto another table, sliding on the tablecloth before taking another leap on his way to me. Kids lunged out of the way, screaming as a second Mazikin bounded into the room, a muscular guy whose blond dreads looked like a lion’s mane. He, too, was wearing a suit. A bow tie, even.
The two of them had eyes only for me. Snarling, they made their way across the huge room, punching and knocking aside anyone unfortunate enough to be in their way.
Malachi released me, and both of us were reaching for our knives when Levi nailed the thin Mazikin midair—with a chair. The impact sent the Mazikin to the ground, bleeding and dazed.
The other Mazikin roared when he saw his friend go down, and he lunged for Levi, but Jim shoved Levi away and shot a hard punch to the Mazikin’s stomach before leaping into the air and performing the most acrobatic kick I’d ever seen. He landed on his hands. The Mazikin landed facedown. The kids nearest Jim gave him a round of applause.
Neither of the invaders had made it to the dance floor. Not even close. Two security guards ran in a second later, having heard the commotion. I could only assume they’d let these guys in thinking they were students. One of them lifted a phone to his ear as he leaned over the skinny Mazikin. A bunch of our classmates crowded around the guards, all talking at once about how these guys had crashed our prom.
“I’m calling the police,” one security guard finally said in a loud voice.
The other security guard held up his hands. “We’ve got this under control, kids.” He stood over the blond Mazikin like he’d been the one to take the guy down.
Levi chuckled between heavy breaths. He turned to catch Jillian in his arms, grinning as she practically wrapped herself around him. Jim straightened up, not yet ready to relax. He cast a sidelong glance at Malachi and me while he ran his hand up his rib cage, probably wishing he could pull the knife I knew was hidden under his jacket. A security guard shooed him away, and he backed up reluctantly, dripping aggression. His posture didn’t loosen until he felt Tegan’s hands on his back.