The Blade of Shattered Hope (The 13th Reality #3) Read Online Free PDF Page A

spent months trying to understand the power within him, make it a tangible thing. He’d spent months failing. But urgency won out. He felt his heart slow, felt the heat cool away, felt the pressure release.
    It was gone. Tick opened his eyes, looked down, focused.
    His dad’s face was turning purple.
    ~
    Lorena’s screams were drowned out in a sickening
gurgle as the cold wave of water crashed into her. The creature had leaped into the air and dove for her face, forming into a thick stream and slamming into her like a sudden burst from a fire hose. She shook her head, spitting and coughing, and grabbed at her face. Instead of washing off her and falling to the floor, the liquid seemed to stick, enveloping her head and neck in a mask of water. It crept into her mouth, into her throat. She gagged, spit again. She wiped frantically at her face, but it did no good.
    The terrifying situation had created a crisp sense of clarity in her mind, and an idea formed somewhere in the dark factory of her thoughts. A very bizarre idea.
    She turned and bolted for the garage. With every step, she felt rivulets of water running down her torso, the creature capturing her inch by inch. She knew she wouldn’t be able to move once the thing had control of her legs.
    The garage. She had to reach the garage. She made it out of the kitchen and into the short hallway with coat hooks and shoe racks. The door was only a few feet away.
    The water reached her knees. She felt herself slow a bit.
    She lurched forward, reaching for the door that led to the garage. One arm had been taken completely over, and the other had only a second left before its fingers would be swallowed by the possessed water. The liquid encasing her arms made it harder to control her movements, but the creature seemed mostly focused on her head. She found the handle. She twisted the knob and pulled. An instant later, the wet monster had consumed her fully.
    Lorena fell forward and toppled down the three stairs that descended into the garage. Ironically, the thick layer of water cushioned her fall.
    ~
    Tick slapped at his dad’s face with cupped hands, like a dog digging for a bone. Each swing caught a little pool of water and sent it flying, but more instantly sloshed back in, and the displaced splashes somehow flew back onto his dad’s body like metal shavings returning to a powerful magnet. Every once in a while their combined efforts would clear just enough water for his dad to take a quick breath, but Tick knew they couldn’t keep it up much longer.
    The garage door that led to the inside of the house banged open.
    Tick looked up and saw his mom. Fully encased in water just like his dad, she fell down the short staircase and crashed onto the floor with a wet flump.
    “Mom!” Tick cried, scrambling over to her and falling on top of her. He could only hope his dad could find enough breaths to survive.
    His mom clawed at the water around her nose and mouth. She kept trying to say something, but all that came out was the garbled mess you hear when someone talks to you while submerged in the swimming pool. Her eyes were open, fixed on Tick through the crystalline, shimmering layer of water. She wasn’t panicked, but definitely trying to communicate something.
    Tick forced himself to stay calm. Reaching forward, he placed his hands on either side of her face. She got the message, and remained completely still. With a quick jerk, Tick slid his hands across her mouth, swiping away a huge section of water long enough for her to get one word out.
    He didn’t know what he’d expected, but it sure wasn’t the two syllables that came out of her mouth in a gargled scream.
    “Vacuum!” she yelled.
    At first, confusion engulfed Tick. He thought surely his mom’s mind had snapped under the pressure of being possessed by a blob of water. But then he realized it was quite the opposite. She’d been the only one to actually come up with a solution.
    He turned his head to look over his