Page 18 of It takes a Psychic

The weapons were simple amber-based firearms that produced bolts of fire. They had an extremely limited range—power and accuracy diminished rapidly over distance in the Underworld because of the heavy paranormal atmosphere—but when set on the highest level and used at close range, they could be lethal.

“Buy me a little time,” Oliver said. “I just need a few minutes to get us out of this tunnel and out of visual range.”

“I understand.”

She hiked up her skirts and swung her legs around on the bench so that she was facing the pursuing sled. She checked the flamer charge, aimed, and rezzed the trigger. The jet of fire fell short of its target, but the other sled dropped back a little.

The dust bunny chortled.

“Right,” Oliver said approvingly. “Like that.”

The enforcer in the passenger seat of the other sled fired a couple more shots. She replied with two of her own.

“I can keep them at a distance as long as I’ve got a charge,” she said, “but this flamer is sort of dinky. It isn’t going to last long.”

“Dinky?” Oliver sounded offended. “That is a top-of-the-line, customized Igniter, Model 240 Compact.”

“Petite? Smallish? Like I said, dinky. Forget it—my point is, do you have another one?”

“No.”

“That’s unfortunate, because I’ve got a feeling the guys following us have a couple of backup pieces.”

“Next time, bring one of your own.”

“I’ll do that. Meanwhile, I’ve got an idea.”

She set the flamer down, reached behind her back, and unzipped the bloodstained gown.

“What are you doing?” Oliver asked as she peeled off the long sleeves and lowered the bodice of the dress.

“We need more firepower. I’m going to create some. I hope.”

She stood and shimmied out of the gown, leaving herself clad in panties, bra, and heels. When she was free of the yards of fabric, she picked up the flamer and fired a short burst of flame at the hem of the gown.

The delicate material caught fire immediately. Driven by the thick currents of energy in the tunnels, the flames leaped high—a lot higher than she had anticipated.

Fire was one of the elemental forces. That meant it traveled across the normal spectrum and into the paranormal end. She was suddenly holding a torch.

“Shit,” she yelped.

Frantically she hurled the burning dress out of the sled, seized the flamer again, and fired two more shots into the blazing fabric as it fell to the ground.

The thick psi flowing through the tunnels did the rest. Fed by the intense energy, the flaming dress exploded into a full-blown firestorm between the two sleds. It would not last long, but while it burned, it was an impassable barrier.

There was a lot of yelling and some furious shouts from the pair in the pursuing sled. The driver stomped on the brakes to avoid plowing into the firestorm, but it was too late. Detecting fresh fuel, the ravenous flames surged around the vehicle.

Leona watched through the wall of fire as the two enforcers leaped off the back of the sled’s platform, barely escaping the conflagration. Screams that sounded a lot likeFuck youand similar farewells could be heard, but they were muffled and distorted by the atmosphere and the roaring flames.

The dust bunny chortled enthusiastically. She bounced down from the dashboard and bounded onto the rear seat to get a better view of the fire. She was obviously buzzed on dust bunny adrenaline.

She was not the only one flying high. Oliver slapped the steering wheel with one hand and whooped with laughter.

“That wasbrilliant,” he said. “I gotta tell you, my evenings aren’t usually this exciting. We should do this more often.”

Leona was suddenly very aware of the breeze created by the moving sled. She was almost naked.

“Easy for you to say,” she muttered. “You’re not the one who will have to walk home through the Dark Zone in her underwear.”

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