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Back Seasons of Chaos Save as PDF
Chapters (70)
  1. Dedication
  2. Prologue
  3. 1
  4. 2
  5. 3
  6. 4
  7. 5
  8. 6
  9. 7
  10. 8
  11. 9
  12. 10
  13. 11
  14. 12
  15. 13
  16. 14
  17. 15
  18. 16
  19. 17
  20. 18
  21. 19
  22. 20
  23. 21
  24. 22
  25. 23
  26. 24
  27. 25
  28. 26
  29. 27
  30. 28
  31. 29
  32. 30
  33. 31
  34. 32
  35. 33
  36. 34
  37. 35
  38. 36
  39. 37
  40. 38
  41. 39
  42. 40
  43. 41
  44. 42
  45. 43
  46. 44
  47. 45
  48. 46
  49. 47
  50. 48
  51. 49
  52. 50
  53. 51
  54. 52
  55. 53
  56. 54
  57. 55
  58. 56
  59. 57
  60. 58
  61. 59
  62. 60
  63. 61
  64. 62
  65. Epilogue
  66. Acknowledgments
  67. About the Author
  68. Books by Elle Cosimano
  69. Back Ad
  70. About the Publisher

Light flickers, low in my field of vision. Brilliant beams of amber light radiate through the gap in my coat. I gasp, a tendril of magic puffing out on my breath. “What did you do to me?”

“I rid you of your pathetic excuses. What the hell are you waiting for! My permission?”

Doug’s mind forces me forward until I’m hovering over the boy’s lips. Static crackles in my hair. I focus my thoughts and feel Gaia’s magic rise up and respond, as if it already knows me. Doug thrusts my mouth against the boy’s.

“Breathe!” he shouts at me.

Magic gushes from my lungs into the boy, a flood of amber fire. A soft glow kindles in his chest. I feel Doug’s mind hovering, watching the light brighten with a sick curiosity as my lungs empty completely.

The cold hand releases me. I jolt upright and cough, breathing hard. A few stray sparks slip between my lips, and I wipe them on my sleeve. The boy’s cheeks fill with color and his chest expands. I fall back on my hands, light-headed, as Doug calls the earth magic back to him.

The boy stirs. Doug reaches down and opens the boy’s jacket. The wound is gone, leaving behind a faint scar and the musky-sweet scent of fallen leaves. With a smug smile, Doug snaps a transmitter around the boy’s ear.

“Lixue,” he says, reaching into the boy’s pocket and withdrawing a ring of keys, “bring the Autumn home.”

Needles of light begin to pierce through the boy’s skin. I shield my eyes from the flare as his body dematerializes, and with a static hiss, his magic soars toward Greenwich Park.

I shake the red slush from my trembling hands. “You’re sick! You just ripped that boy’s life out from under him! What about his family? And his friends? He had his whole life ahead of him, and you took it!”

He hauls me up by the back of my coat. “I don’t know why you’re so upset about it. I was the one who killed him. You just saved his life.”

“You could have revived him yourself. You didn’t need me.”

He leans down into my face. “You’re wrong. You were the one who said you have to feel something for the magic to work! You have to want to save someone. And I didn’t give a shit about that kid,” he says, throwing a finger toward the bloody slush he left in the street.

Doug’s jaw rocks back and forth as he fidgets with the boy’s keys, his mind holding tightly to some emotion he doesn’t want to reveal to me.

“Let’s go,” he says, turning back for the parking lot. “It’s too cold for you out here.”

49

And Goes Down Burning

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