Line Reads Novels & Stories

Chapter 3 Elara’s POV By mid-morning, the rain had settled into a soft, steady drizzle that blurred the edges of the street outside my window. Washington had a way of making the world feel smaller, quieter, and I liked it that way. The soft glow from my laptop screen was the only light in the room besides the muted daylight slipping through the blinds. A dozen lines of code danced across the monitor, my fingers moving without hesitation. The client from Byte & Beam, a small e-commerce start-up, had been struggling with security vulnerabilities for weeks. By the time I was finished, their system would be airtight, their data cleaner than a politician’s campaign promise.

I felt Lin getting up from her seat, maybe to give Mike and me time alone together. "Drink this to calm yourself," Lin said when she returned with a glass of water. I took it and drank everything. I put down the glass on the center table and found her smiling at me. Nothing was wrong with it if it was not the smile a friend should give to someone grieving. I creased my forehead and tried to ask her, but I suddenly felt my mouth numb.

Different for Lydia, at least. Mr. Harrison's voice droned on about medieval literature, but all Lydia could focus on was the overwhelming sensory assault. The strawberry shampoo of the girl two rows ahead. The leather of Janet’s new shoes. The sharp scent of the pencil sharpener at the back of the room. "Ms. Bailey?" Mr. Harrison's voice cut through her thoughts. "Would you care to share your interpretation of the text?" Lydia blinked, her mind racing. She'd been reading the passage, hadn't she? But now, the words seemed to swim on the page. "I... I'm sorry," she stammered.

it kills witches. Ignatius wheeled on her with eyes burning with anger and tears. "She's not a witch. She's the only reason we're alive. Now heal her!" Eline winced but nodded, fingers already in motion, singing softly as she drew a silver rune across Krishna's sternum. "She's clinging by threads," she whispered. "But she's fighting." "I know," Ignatius replied softly, smoothing a lock of hair back from Krishna's dripping forehead. "She always does."

Alyssa said and Ilana joined the two of them in front of the open drawer, accepting the file with a thank you. “Can you please put that back once you're done?” She asked and Ilana nodded. “The other's Nicholas Wood,” Alice provided and Alyssa nodded, walking off towards the N files. Ilana glanced at them from the corner of her eye as she took pictures of paper after page. She closed the file and put it back in the drawer, shutting it with a loud clank. Alice would be pulling out the syringe from her armband and sticking it in Alyssa's neck while she was busy going through the records.

Sicily and its alleys were printed in her mind like G****e maps. Finally the car came to a deserted area. No way could she make it to her secured place. Reaching a dead end Myra pulled the brake harshly and looked behind. Two cars stood there. Two more arrived from the other side also. The guard at the back seat asked to open the fire but Myra stood still and waited for some time. A blue dot appeared on the screen of the device kept in the car. She looked at the screen and smiled. Another blue dot appeared. After a few seconds the increasing number of blue dots was enough to bring a full smile on her face.

Celine opened the door and got inside the room to see that the bed was dressed neatly with a paper on top of the neatly folded duvet. Celine walked over to the bed and picked up the paper to read what was written inside ‘ I'M SORRY FOR NOT INFORMING YOU BOTH BEFORE I LEFT, BUT IM REALLY GRATEFUL THAT YOU BOTH ACCEPTED ME ONCE AGAIN INTO YOUR LIVES. HUG LUCAS FOR ME, INCASE HE STARTED CRYING AGAIN LOOKING FOR ME, BYE NOW ’ After reading the letter, the paper turned to ashes and disappeared into thin air. Frederick had used his powers to write the letter.

The code was clear: H-U-L-L--S-P-L-I-T-T-I-N-G. C-O-L-E--D-O-W-N. L-E-O--N-O-T--B-R-E-A-T-H-I-N-G. T-H-E--I-R-O-N--K-I-N-G--I-S--A-T--T-H-E--D-O-O-R.

In one of the buds, a tiny almost invisible marking was made in black A small cursive ‘K’ My stomach dropped. NO. To be continued.......

The glass reflected him perfectly now—no delay, no distortion. But as he turned to leave, a single line of text glowed faintly across the cracked surface. ROUND SIX: INITIALIZING. The letters pulsed once, twice—and went dark. Eli didn’t see it. Damian did. He said nothing.