Page 84 of Heir of Ashes

“Heard they got more than ten of ours. Say we off this freak and scatter his parts as a surprise gift,” said the second one.

“Nah. Got orders. How’re things in Building C?” Rafael/O’Neil asked.

“Hasn’t been breached as far as we know. Just the garage and here,” the first person answered.

“Any orders I should know? All I was told before hell broke loose was to escort this one to Building C, down to the labs.”

There was a brief silence while I held my breath. It was protocol for all guards to know and practice occasional emergency drills. This was something O’Neil would have known.

“Dunno ‘bout your orders, but the breach hasn’t spread to B and C,” the third person said. “Reports so far confirm we lost all sentinels on duty, squads two and four. Some injuries in five and six, but the seventh is still intact. If you got the orders from above, the squads on duty have no doubt been notified. You know Johnson is nothing if not thorough.”

“The explosion was probably a diversion, so there isn’t much by the parking facility,” a fourth voice added.

“Hey, O’Neil, where’s your communication wire?” the first voice asked.

“Shit, man, I didn’t have time to grab it before I had to move.”

A grunt followed Rafael/O’Neil’s statement.

“Johnson has ordered enforcements at all exit points, including the evac tunnels, though there’s been no activity there,” the third voice reported.

Evac tunnels? What tunnels?

“Hey!” one of the guards cried out in alarm, though I couldn’t tell which. There was a gurgling sound, followed by “Fuck, O’Neil, what the—”

A commotion, grunts, then eerie silence. Then Rafael—still wearing O’Neil’s form—poked his head inside and motioned for us to move.

Outside, night had turned into day with all the spotlights. The wind had picked up, cooling the sweat on my skin. Archer was leaning against the building. I hurried to him, slipping his arm back around my shoulders.

On the ground, scattered around the exit door, lay seven bodies, though I couldn’t tell if they were dead or unconscious. Probably the former, judging by Rafael’s earlier actions.

“We’ll cut across to Building B,” Rafael/O’Neil said, pointing to the darkened building forty yards away. “You ready?”

In response, Logan produced a round device from his pocket. I recognized it as a detonator timer, different from the one he’d used earlier in that this one turned green instead of yellow. I caught the number ten on the display before he pocketed it again. We crossed to Building B in the open and had just reached it when an explosion to our left shook the place.

The back wall. Logan had blown up the back wall.

Oh yeah, professionals. We were literally rocking the place—down.

We ran to the opposite side of the explosion, toward the parking facility, leaving behind the shouts of orders, barking dogs, and yelling.

Oh shit, we were going to make it.

The thought had barely crossed my mind when the rhythm of the commotion behind us changed. Logan broke away from the group, unhooked the remaining two grenades strapped to his waist, and hurled them back. Two explosions rocked the night, one after the other.

Good thinking, I thought. A smoke screen to help our escape. The parking facility was only fifteen yards away. Rafael turned to the left, where the wall was crushed into a heap of rubble—the origin of the first explosion.

We reached the debris well ahead of the guards and began scrambling over loose rocks. Twice I stumbled with Archer, subjecting my knees and palm to numerous cuts, but we pushed on. We reached the barbed wires just a couple of steps behind Rafael. Behind us, Logan returned fire, the sharp retorts of his gun echoing above the chaos, keeping the guards at bay.

At the top of the rubble, I slipped on a loose rock and fell hard, painfully jarring my knees. With nothing else for support,I held onto the barbed wire, ignoring the sharp bite of the needle points inside my palm, and hauled Archer beside me. From my elevated perch atop the debris, I could see the chaos unfolding below. Logan wasn’t much ahead of the pursuing guards. In fact, he wasn’t running at full speed. Once the smoke cleared enough, the guards would have a clear shot at him. Already, some were raising their weapons. Someone shouted, “Down with the live bullets!” And several guards exchanged their weapons for long-barreled guns.

My gaze whipped back to Logan, snagging on the trail of blood he was leaving. He had been hit. No wonder the guards were catching up with him. With a sinking feeling, I realized he wasn’t going to make it. Without hesitation, I whistled to Rafael, leaving Archer perched on top of the rubble as I scrambled down to meet Logan. My heart thundered in my ears as our gazes met, my left hand fumbling to free the bracelet from beneath my sleeve. Logan’s eyes widened with understanding, and he tried to push himself harder, gritting his teeth with every step. Still a few feet away, I raised my arm and pointed behind him at the approaching silhouettes. The slumbering force within me stirred and took notice.

“Help me,” I murmured, unsure if I was pleading with the force or praying. My hand shook as I reached for that gentle hum and willed the kinetic energy to be unleashed upon the guards, who were only a few dozen steps away, their weapons aimed. Logan had told me I only needed to will the bracelet to work.

What happened next was beyond my understanding. Like with the fire mage a year and a half earlier, I pulled on that slumbering presence, then merged it with the humming bracelet, and as Logan had instructed, I willed it to work. My intention was to shield Logan and push the guards back, buying us time.

One moment I was focused on the guards, the next I was looking up at the dark sky, debris and dust swirling around me. Disoriented didn’t begin to describe how I felt. Something had gone terribly wrong.

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