Page 49 of The Devil's Bargain
“Well, you’re right about one thing, in any case,” he mumbled.
“What’s that?”
“I’m not a good person.” The world wouldn’t be losing anything once he was gone.
But Mercy and Aodhan would, and Calix didn’t want to put them through that.
Just a little more…He knew they were trying to find him, felt bursts of their panic through the bond now and again, though it was quickly swept aside by his drive to survive. It was taking all his concentration not to keel over.
“What does that mean?” Mitri asked, but before he could get an answer, the door to the room crashed open, and the last person Calix expected to see came into view.
“Mitri, have you seen—Cal!” Nero dropped to his knees at his side, reaching for him. “Good Light, what’s happening? Are you okay? Call for help!”
“Go,” Calix tried to push him back toward the door, but he could no longer move his arms. “Go get, Mercy.”
“He’s looking for you. I’ll—” Nero had just gotten to his feet when the sound of a blaster going off momentarily deafened both of them. His gaze remained locked onto Cal’s, eyes wide.
“I wanted it to look like a natural cause of death,” Mitri was speaking through the ringing in Calix’s ears, “but now we’re going to have to change the story. Nero came here for revenge, and got the jump on you. Don’t worry though, Cal. I’ll make sure you’re written down as the hero.”
Blood was seeping from Nero’s right side, staining the white shirt he was wearing.
“Amory really loved you,” the forensic scientist divulged to Nero, lifting the gun a second time. “I’ll make it quick for her.”
He lifted the gun a second time.
Using the last bit of strength he had left, Calix tossed himself at Nero, just as the gun went off again.
Chapter 21:
Titus had checked the cafeteria with no luck, and even though he hadn’t heard anything from Nero, he decided to head to the basement, where the mortuary was. Since his tracking device was showing he was still in the building, the only other place he could think of for him to have gone was there.
He heard the first gunshot just as he’d entered the main portion of the morgue. The second came while he was running toward the small room in the back.
Two bodies crashed out a second before he could reach for the door handle, and he moved without thinking, reaching out to catch the one that mattered most.
Calix fell into his arms, both of them going to the floor from the impact.
His eyes were closed.
There was blood coming from the back of his shoulder.
“He was shot!” Nero not so helpfully yelled. He was bleeding as well, pressing a hand against his side as he moved away from the door. “Mitri has a gun!”
His Third was bleeding out and his heartbeat was weak.
His Third was dying.
Less than a week after they’d almost lost their Second.
Titus’s fury was like a live thing, whipping about the room in a burst of energy that sent items flying. Glass crashed into the walls and shattered, metallic tools clattered and clanged.
Nero had to duck to avoid being hit by more than one object, eventually crawling under one of the tables for shelter.
Titus planted a palm over Cal’s heart and healing him the same way he’d done with Aodhan, stabilizing his body and their connection at once. As soon as he was sure he had a secure hold on that source of energy, he directed his attention to another.
He called on his ability, altering the pheromones in the air just as Mitri decided to take his chances and step around the corner of the room.
Mitri lifted the blaster and fired, but Titus curled himself around Cal, the bullet grazing his right arm instead of making any serious contact. He tried to fire again, but his eyes practically crossed as Titus’s influence finally took hold.
