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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

Lixue and Jack, Julio and Amber . . . they’re all heading west. And I can guess exactly where they’re going—to find Fleur.

She must have changed directions inside the ley lines. If the others are heading west, she must have been diverted off the Meridian. And that’s a trail I can trace. There are only a handful of ley lines in all of London.

What I wouldn’t give to see the look on Jack’s face when he finds her, and me already there, waiting beside whatever stasis chamber they’ve managed to steal, holding her plug.

Clutching my side, I bend to recover my staff from the road and head west, my magic attuned for the electric hum underground. My cracked rib stabs my side with every step, and there’s a void—a strange stinging absence in my mind. I knew it the moment Fleur disappeared. Her magic tore itself from mine like a Band-Aid ripping free, leaving a raw, angry wound in its place.

I roam the frozen streets of Greenwich. I don’t know where I’m going. Only that I’m following the hum of a ley line. Blowing trash hangs in the air, mid-tumble. A fork of lightning glows in the sky. There’s not a soul in sight. Not a light shining on any porch or in any windows. And I wonder if this is what the world will feel like when it ends. If I’ll be the only one left.

The ley line converges with Julio’s and Amber’s scents. The farther west I go, the more the trajectories of their paths seem to align. I follow them through the empty streets toward . . . Peckham.

My feet go still as a conversation I had with Lixue just days ago comes barreling to the front of my mind.

. . . got a hit on a street cam in Peckham . . . She got off a bus there an hour ago.

58

Not One Was Left to Conquer

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JACK

My door’s already open when Lixue swings the car into the alley behind Auggie’s place. The van’s nowhere in sight. I tap the speaker in my ear, but the connection is still down.

“Fleur?” I call her name as I tear through the puddles toward Auggie’s door. “Where is everyone?”

Lixue gets out behind me without bothering to shut off the car. “I don’t know. They should be here by now. They were supposed to meet us . . .” Lixue’s next words hang unfinished. There’s a soft snap behind me, and something heavy thumps to the ground.

I turn, stumbling backward from the car. The driver’s side door hangs open, the windshield wipers slapping rain over the side. Lixue lies in the middle of the street, her head bent at an unnatural angle. Sparks of her magic mix with clouds of exhaust.