Madly & the Jackal by M. Leighton Read Free Book Online Page B

smile a bit shaky, Daddy pulled me into his arms for another breath-stealing hug.  When he pulled back, he was blinking quickly.
    “Jackson,” he said, looking over my shoulder.  His expression was steely and serious, conveying what his words couldn’t.
    I could picture Jackson’s curt nod, even though I couldn’t see it.  When my father let me go, it was back to business—all short, clipped comments and reiteration of plans.  Like a whirlwind, before I knew it, Jackson was telling me to transform us back into John and Mary Rainns and we were making our way from my father’s study, quite possibly never to see him again. 
    I refused to consider that truth, even though my aching heart already had.
     
    ********
     
    Jackson and I exited much the way we’d entered.  The only differences were that he held my hand tightly, comfortingly and we said absolutely nothing once we’d left the study.
    We had just left the guard’s shack, officially signing the Rainnses out of the Warden’s company when it hit us.  A high-pitched sound split my eardrums and made my head feel like it was about to explode.  It was excruciating. 
    When I managed to crack my eyelids and glance toward Jackson, I could see his discomfort through my blurry vision. In some corner of my mind, I was thankful he was faring much better than I. 
    I saw Jackson tilt and my scrambled brain thought at first he was falling over.  I wanted to do something about it, but before I could gather the strength, I realized it was my knees buckling, that I was the one falling.
    I wanted to lift my hands to my ears, to cover them and try to block out some of the siren, but I was incapacitated by the whistle.  Unable to keep them open any longer, I let my eyelids fall shut once more.  I knew I was going down.  I could feel unconsciousness clawing at the doors of my mind.
    And then I was in Jackson’s arms. I felt them come around me like bands of warm steel just before my body crumbled to the pearl sidewalk on which we stood.
    A rhythmic thump assured me we were moving.  It took a mammoth effort to open my eyes again, but I managed it, looking up into Jackson’s handsome, sweaty face.  He was struggling to keep us both upright and on the move. 
    That’s when I saw it.
    Like a wraith, something dark passed over Jackson’s head.  I saw its form for only a single breath before it disappeared behind a wavy cloak of shimmering light that mimicked the crystalline skies of Atlas.  But what I’d seen in that fraction of a second, I would never forget.
    It was Leviathan.  I’d only heard the legends during school, seen the age-old drawings of what it was rumored to have looked like, but I’d never met someone who had actually seen it.  Nevertheless, I knew.  Instinctively, I knew.  Its true form was just as the High Councilors had once described.  Just as terrifying.
    Each of its three heads was clearly visible.  Eyes like the orange rays of dawn hovered above nostrils that streamed with white smoke.  Each mouth was round and wide and ringed with hundreds of sharp, triangular teeth and its single breath was laced with fire.  Its body was serpentine and covered in dozens of hard scales that protected its tender skin like so many shields.  And then I saw its belly.  It was lined with jagged spikes that appeared razor sharp.  One brush with that belly would gut a Mer.  Or decapitate one.
    “Jackson, run!” I exclaimed breathily.  My voice wasn’t very loud, but I knew that it had made its way to Jackson’s ears.  Just before my eyes shut again, I saw him glance down at me with alarm in his eyes. 
    And then we were sailing through the streets.  I couldn’t hear or see anything, only feel.  Pain.  Movement.  Warmth.  Fear.
    Running, running, running, I barely heard the voice penetrate the shrill noise that clamored around in my head. But I did.  It was Jackson’s
    “Madly, can you use your bracelet to make it stop?  Or make us not be