36Bubbles of noxious fumes exploded in front of his face. He sneezed into clouds of Lael’s powder and slowly his sight returned. Gabriela had hold of his arm, he’d felt the grip like a vice cutting off his circulation, jerking him in one direction then another. Gabriela yelled to duck and he ducked. Gabriela ordered him to drop to the ground and the ground smashed into his body with the speed of a Mack truck. He realised he could see when flashing lights became swerving shadows, when he could duck before Gabriela commanded it and judge the distance to the ground before he dropped.
But it was too slow. Frustration ate at him, the screams of his friends tore him apart. Light now emerged from the shadows, stripes of orange, swirls of white and pink and green. The glittering of his bedazzleme
