neck. She grabbed on to his wrists and pulled them outward, trying
to get him to release his grip, but he had leverage on his side. Her
neck muscles strained dangerously, and she felt herself start to
panic for the second time in an hour. But it was that recent brush
with death that informed her as she kicked and struggled. The
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thought of using her lightning made her stomach turn, but she
knew she had no choice.
Helen felt the current start in her belly. It was naturally trying to
arc out of her toward the ground, and all she had to do was release
it. Untrained as she was, she let the bolt go, and it shot down her
legs uselessly, causing her to convulse. In her desperation, she got
the last few volts to run up to her hands and jump across her skin
into the man?s wrists.
For a brief moment the blue spark lit up the room with a flash,
and she saw his eyes widen in surprise. Then she felt him shake
with the current, and heard him scream as he was electrocuted.
Helen smelled burnt hair and ozone like a calling card from her
darkest childhood nightmare. She felt what must have been half
her body?s energy empty out of her, leaving her as weak as a kitten.
The burden of the large man on top of her grew intolerably heavy,
and she knew she had to get out from under him before he recovered
or she would be no better off than she was when he?d had
her by the head. While her attacker was still shaking, she managed
to kick some of his weight off of her, and as the barest amount of
light was allowed to creep back into the room, she finally got a look
at him.
The gleaming blond curls and the thick body were Hector?s, and
for a moment she feared she had killed him while he might have
been trying to teach her a lesson. She leaned right over him to see