The Shadow Crosser (The Storm Runner 3)

That’s when I saw a row of sprinklers lining the overhang. I hurled a wave of smoke to activate them, and the twins recoiled from the spraying water.

I flew past them, toward the stern and my friends.

As I did, Jordan yelled, “You’ll die on this boat!”

He hit me with an electrical current so strong it ran through my veins at blinding speed and threw me off my feet. I spun in midair and crash-landed on my back. Out of pure instinct, I willed Fuego into spear mode and aimed it at the twins. The moment the weapon left my hand, regret pounded its fists against my bones.

Rosie had me by the collar, dragging me away as Fuego slammed into Jordan’s chest. The twin fell to his knees, blood trickling from his mouth.

His eyes met mine, and I could tell my face was imprinting on his brain.

No! You can’t die!

If Jordan died now, Quinn would never get mixed up with him, and Brooks wouldn’t come to my school to tell me about the prophecy I was a part of. It would mess up the future for sure!

Bird drew some kind of light around his brother and helped him to his feet. Did that mean he was going to be okay?

The next thing I knew, Rosie had leaped off the side of the boat with me in tow. As we soared through the air, I saw Prince on the bow, gazing up at the stars as if he was clueless about the chaos that had erupted all around him.

Rosie and I splashed into the cold sea. The water gripped me hard as Fuego circled back into my grasp. Jazz pulled Betty alongside us and hauled me up while Rosie scrambled into the boat. The others were already there—Ren shivering under a blanket, and Adrik standing at the stern, hollering up at Prince, “Diamonds and Pearls forever!”

“They had security cameras!” I shouted at Jazz.

He nodded. “I totally took care of that. Scrambled their feed.”

Heart pounding, I took a quick look around. “Where’s Brooks?”

“Not here, and we can’t wait any longer,” Jazz said. “The twins are already getting into their speedboat.”

I grabbed his shirt. “We can’t leave her. She’s got the devourer.”

“The what?” Jazz raised his eyebrows in confusion.

Just then, Brooks burst out of the water in hawk form with the devourer clinging to her back. She let out a piercing cry of triumph right before she blended into the inky sky.

“Never mind,” I said to Jazz.

We sped away across the water, reaching airborne speeds, but it wasn’t fast enough. Within two minutes, the hero twins were racing behind us. It was as if Fuego hadn’t done any damage to Jordan at all. Electrical bolts flew at us like bullets.

I created a wall of smoke, obscuring their view.

“They saw me,” I told Ren and Adrik, careful not to let Jazz overhear.

“Maybe they won’t remember you later,” Ren said.

“Maybe they will.”

Adrik leaned in as the wind whipped all around. “They’re too far away for me to steal a memory. You need to let them catch up.”

“We’ll get fried!” Ren said.

Rosie roared with the ferocity of five lions. She shook her head and flashed her fangs.

“How close do you need to be?” I asked Adrik.

“I have no idea,” he said, shrugging. “Maybe fifteen, twenty feet?”

I waved my arms above my head, hoping Brooks was paying attention.