Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 88119 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88119 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
I tried to jump to my feet, but the ground had started shaking. I kneeled, trying to find my balance. Pollard’s body was more difficult to maneuver than my own and the trembling ground wasn’t helping one bit. Panic flashed through me. I had to do something. Could I risk changing back to my own body? I still heard shots and shouting. How could anyone fire when they couldn’t possibly see their targets in the darkness?
Where were the others?
“Tess!” Holly’s scream echoed in my skull.
I stumbled to my feet and changed back to my own body. The ground vibrated under my feet and a sudden burst of motion sickness hit me. I forced myself to remain calm. My clothes began to slip off, much too big for me now that I was no longer Senator Pollard. I hastily changed into Alec’s body, which was better for fighting. Tightening the belt a notch, I looked around.
“Holly?” I called in Alec’s deep voice. “Holly, where are you?”
She’d sounded so scared.
Orlov lay sprawled on the floor beside the speaker’s podium. I couldn’t tell if he was alive. The shaking ground made it look as if he was having spasms. Keeping my eyes on my dark, misty surroundings, I bent over him and pressed my fingers against his throat. The moment his pulse thrummed against my fingertips, I straightened and hurried past him, ignoring the tightness in my chest and the way my eyes watered from the gas.
“Tess!” Holly screamed.
I whirled around toward the sound. It was coming from somewhere to my right, from the seating area. A few people were still running around in panic and half a dozen were lying on the ground, unmoving. I could only hope they’d lost their balance, hit their head and lost consciousness when the shock wave collided with them. Thankfully most of the audience seemed to have fled the auditorium. But I still couldn’t see Holly.
My eyes swiveled around the room. In the back, I could make out a struggle between several forms. I decided to head that way and was halfway there when suddenly Holly appeared in front of me, her body slowly flickering into view. Her blue eyes were wide when they found me.
“Holly!” I’d never heard Alec’s voice sound that scared.
Realization flashed across her face. “Tess,” she said quickly, fearfully. “We have to leave.”
Her legs were materializing inch by inch when a man popped into view behind her.
“Grab the girl! It’s her,” another man screamed.
Did he mean me or Holly? But then I realized I was in Alec’s body right now. They didn’t even know I was a girl.
“No!” I screamed but he didn’t even look at me as he wrapped his arms around Holly’s waist.
Her eyes grew wide with fear and she clamped up. She had to fight! But she seemed paralyzed with terror. I stormed toward them, staggering from left to right as the ground’s vibrations picked up once more. I had almost reached them when they disappeared into thin air. My fingers closed around nothing. Holly was gone. One moment they had been there and then they’d vanished. I stared at the spot, trying to make sense of what had just happened. I spun in a circle.
“Holly?” There was no answer.
Tears sprang into my eyes. Where had she gone? Alec ran in my direction, then jerked to a halt when he saw that I looked like him. I shuddered and returned to my own body, not caring if anyone saw it. But there was no one around who was able to pay attention. The trousers fell off my body, but I couldn’t even bring myself to care that I was only wearing a dress shirt and a tie. Blood was streaming out of my nose, over my lips and down my chin.
“Holly,” I groaned.
Alec bridged the last few steps between us. His clothes were torn and his gray eyes were wild. He touched my shoulder. “Are you okay?”
I blinked up at him, and somehow it seemed to happen in slow motion. “Holly,” I said voicelessly.
“What? What’s the matter, Tess?” His grip on my arms was the only thing keeping me upright.
“Holly,” I croaked. “She’s gone.”
“Where to?” Alec looked around like she might be springing up from the ground any second.
“She vanished. She was right there.” I pointed toward the spot behind Alec. “And then a man grabbed her and they vanished into thin air.” A hysterical laugh burst out of me. Being confronted with other people’s Variations should have been standard by now, but it wasn’t, and probably never would be.
“Hey,” Alec said softly as my legs buckled and he picked me up.
I wasn’t sure if it was the gas or Holly’s disappearance, but I was cracking up completely. “I caught one of them. He’s over there.”
Alec carried me to the back of the building where I’d seen the man with the sunglasses. He stepped over unmoving bodies without stopping to check if they were alive.