Infinity Reaper by Adam Silvera (new books to read .TXT) 📕

I’m about to tell her how I don’t want her picking up my slack when a blurry wind sweeps toward us, and Brighton appears with his phone. “Whoa,” he says as he balances himself. “I don’t recommend doing that right when you wake up.” He sits beside Prudencia. “Maribelle DM’d me last night. It must’ve been right after I fell asleep.”

“What does she want?” Prudencia asks.

Brighton reads out the message: “The stars took care of you after all, Brighton. Your second shot at life couldn’t have come at a better time. I’m working with a Halo Knight to take down the Blood Casters. But Tala wants answers on the deaths of her parents. Bring Emil to the eighteenth floor of the First Nebula Lofthouse. We can all work together and maybe even save Eva and your mother. No Spell Walkers.”

“Wait, why does the Halo Knight want to meet with me?” I ask. “Does she think I killed her parents?”

Anxiety strangles me.

“I doubt it, bro. Maribelle is the first person to make a case on how you won’t kill anyone. Tala probably wants to know what happened to her parents.”

“Then she’ll probably kill us for having phoenix blood.”

Brighton pops up. “Maribelle does too, so unless her ghost slid into my DMs we should be fine.”

“Quick history lesson, Bright: the Halo Knights killed Keon. What do you think is going to go down if she knows about my past lives?”

“We’re going to keep you safe. Look, Iris has been searching for leads every day and returning back with nothing. This Halo Knight may have her own connections that can lead us to saving Ma. You’ll never be able to live with yourself if something happens to her that we could’ve prevented. I’m getting ready.”

He dashes down the hallway.

He’s so eager to get out of here that he isn’t considering the obvious differences between us and Maribelle. Maribelle was born with her powers and I was reborn with mine. I’m not innocent because of everything my past lives have done, but Brighton is a traditional specter who stole his powers in this life. I’m not sure how that’s going to end well for him.

“Don’t let him pressure you into this,” Prudencia says. “I’m going to let him know how unfair he’s being.”

“No, he’s right. If there’s a chance to save Ma, I have to take it.”

Prudencia nods. “Maribelle said no Spell Walkers, but she didn’t say anything about me. I’m going with you.”

We get ready fast. It’s so screwed up to sneak away after all the hospitality Ruth and Wesley have shown us, but I’ve pissed off Maribelle enough for one lifetime and I tell myself that we’ll be back by day’s end if not sooner. It’s extra wrong when Prudencia takes Wesley’s keys and we drive away with his car.

“Maribelle knows we’re on the way,” Brighton says, putting down his phone.

“Did you tell her I’m with you?” Prudencia asks.

“You said you didn’t want to put a label on it yet.”

“Not romantically. That I’m physically coming with you.”

“Oh.” Brighton retrieves his phone again. “One sec.”

I spend the ride nervous that this is some kind of trap and Brighton keeps shooting me down and telling me to be more trusting. My anxiety has only grown stronger since getting my powers and the last time I trusted someone new he was killed because of me. I keep arguing with myself that Ma being alive isn’t some delusion, that Luna could be holding her hostage to use her as a tool later, but it’s damn near impossible to hold out hope for Ness. His very existence could upend his father’s entire campaign.

It takes us a couple of hours to reach Carroll Gardens in Brooklyn and we park a few blocks away from the First Nebula Lofthouse. Prudencia comes up with signals letting us know when it’s safe for us to follow her down the streets. She’s associated with us, but she fortunately isn’t famous like us, the Infinity Kings. Two men come out a building pushing a stroller and force us to hit a one-eighty when we see a group of women in athleisure dribbling a basketball our way. Brighton and I become suddenly interested in counting the blackened gum marks on the sidewalk like when we were kids until they pass. I miss the days where I didn’t have to wonder if strangers were going to celebrate or hate me.

Brighton and I get to the front of the building right as Prudencia comes out.

“Doorman talking to a nanny,” Prudencia says. We follow her around the corner and there’s a door by a dumpster. She telekinetically pulls it open. “Up we go.”

“Why did Tala have to be in the penthouse?” I ask.

“It’s only eighteen floors. I’ll see you up there,” Brighton says as his eyes glow like an eclipse. He blurs for a moment before freezing in place.

Prudencia has him bound with her power. “We’re all walking up together. If it is a trap, I don’t want you finding out alone.”

“You’re the boss,” Brighton says with a smile. This is some kind of game to him.

Once she lets him go, we all go up, mercifully not bumping into anyone along the way.

Brighton holds the door open at the top level. “This is going to be a lot more fun when we can all fly straight to the roof next time.”

If I can ever fly again.

Prudencia knocks on the only door and Maribelle answers in moments.

It’s been exactly a week since Maribelle last saw us at the meeting with Sunstar and Shine but the only person she regards now is Brighton with marvel in her eyes. “How are you feeling?”

“Stronger,” Brighton answers. It’s awkward watching him soak up this moment knowing that Prudencia is more than familiar that he had a poster of Maribelle in our bedroom. “Ready to work.”

“Let’s go.”

Maribelle leads us inside the loft, but we barely get to explore it before we go up one final