The Necklace: The Trial Realm

Chapter Twenty Seven: The Person You've Become

"Mali!" Opall screams and I roll off of Pig Face, yelping in pain.

I watch in terror as Pig Face gets to his side and thrusts his own hand at me at the same time as the first man does it towards Opall. With quick reflexes she stands, the shining blue from her wrist flashes and she smiles as Maxum barrels out of the back of the buggy, plowing towards the two guards.

Both men continuously thrust their hands out but none of the white fire light comes out and they look equally as perplexed as I feel until I realize that Opall and Maxum have ignited their stones and nulled out the patrolmen's abilities.

"Big mistake hitting my friend with that." Maxum snarls just before he send the guy flying backwards with one big hit to the middle of his face. The man hits the ground and is out cold with blood trickling from his nose.

Brynlynn and Raven appear and both come to me, keeling on either side.

"It's bad." Raven whispers over me to her like I'm not here.

I grip my arm at the elbow, pulling it toward my chest and wincing at the strain. "No shit it's bad, I can feel it." I grunt through gritted teeth. "How did he do that?"

"Utopians can manipulate light." Bryn looks down at me like I'm a poor wounded animal she wants to nurse back to life. "Hang in there, ok?"

I knew that I'd been told they could do that, but I didn't realize that's what it meant. I was thinking of something much more friendly than the ability to burn the flesh off my arm with the flick of a wrist and a blast of white light.

I jump when Pig Face hits the ground beside his partner and Maxum stands over me, cracking his knuckles. "Done." He grins. "Now what?"

Opall jumps down and starts running up the street. "Now we go with Malikah's original plan. We run through, knock out ones in the way, get her friends and get the hell back. Hurry!" She yells over her shoulder. "We haven't got much time left!"

"Uh oh, I think mass is over too!" Bryn points up the road to where Buggies are beginning to pull away from sidewalks.

"Get me up!" I demand and Raven sweeps an arm under my good one, letting my put a lot of my weight on him while we hurry up the street. Opall points out the simple white stoned two story building with a golden sign out front with the scales etched into it.

I shudder when I see it and Raven looks down at me, squinting his dark eyes. "Are you ok? We can slow down."

"No." I shake my head quickly. "No slowing down. I just...I remember this place."

"You do?" He asks. "I thought you said earlier you didn't remember your trial?"

"I don't. I didn't have one." I grit out, the pain from my throbbing arm making me feel a little light headed. "It's the last place I ever saw my...my parents alive."

There is no pause before his reaction or a schooled expression. He just looks at me. "I'm sorry."

I refuse to dwell on the unwanted memories, and instead try to huff along faster. My arm screams with pain and my vision has minor black spots dotting the edges, but there is no time for me to fall apart. Not from my mental or physical pain.

We bust into the door of the building, startling a young man in the same patrol uniform.

He staggers backwards, clearly unsure of what to think.

Maxum steps up, one giant truck of an arm reared back when Raven says. "Don't, let me." Maxum looks at him and his two big brows meet in the middle. "You don't have to hurt that one. Let me talk to him."