Jade Bones's Arc

Chapter 4 of 6

Jade crouched in the brush until full dark fell. The mansion's blue clock ticked across the clearing. Then her arms began to glow. The vines on her skin flared bright in the shadows, throwing pale light onto the leaves around her. She froze. Any step forward would paint her like a lantern against the trees. She dragged her handcrafted cloak from her pack and wrapped it tight over her arms and legs. The thick fabric dimmed the glow, but light still leaked from her wrists and ankles. She tucked the sleeves under her gloves. She pulled the hood low. The cloak grew warm against the cold vines, and her breath steadied. Then she saw it. Not far from the mansion steps, a tall candle stood burning on a wax-covered book. Iridescent vines, the same as hers, twisted up its sides. The flame flickered as her own vines pulsed. They were linked. The candle was reading her. A small girl in a yellow dress stepped out of the mansion door, holding the hand of a red-haired woman. The child pointed straight at Jade's hiding spot. The woman's eyes followed. Jade had not moved. The cloak had hidden her glow, but the candle had not. The flame leaned toward her like a finger. Jade lunged backward and her boot caught rope. A dirt-covered net snapped up from the ground and yanked her into the air. She hung upside down, knife loose in her fist, the cloak tangled around her face. The vines blazed gold through the cloth. Below her, slow footsteps crossed the moss. The hunt had flipped. She had tried to hide her light and walked into the watcher at the door. Now she swung in the dark, lit up like a signal fire, waiting for the hand that would reach her first.