Page 96 of Shadow Caster
“You managed to carry someone?” Payne’s eyes lit up.
“Later. Let’s get you out of here first.”
We turned to Madam Mariana to find her awake and sitting up.
“What … What happened?” Her eyes widened when she realized where she was and who she was with. “Oh, no.”
“Yes,” Payne said. “Redmond betrayed you. Now if you want to live, you better come with us.”
Mariana stood on shaky legs. “How long?”
I glanced at the clock. “Ten minutes.” I pulled open the door. “Mariana, you got any mojo?”
She flexed her hands. “Yes.”
“Good, because if we come across any morph hounds, then we’ll need you to use it.”
We stepped out of the lab and into a foyer. A set of steel doors greeted us. Mariana used her palm print to open the doors, and then we were spilling into the catacombs.
Which way? Shit.
I let my gut take point through the catacombs. East. I had to go east. Howls and growls drifted toward us, but we moved away from them, and suddenly, the tunnels began to look familiar. We were on the right track. My legs buckled, and Payne grabbed me around the waist, hauling me up.
I shook my head, willing my body to cooperate, and continued. “This is it. This is the way.” I picked up the pace, ignoring the burn in my limbs. The price for phasing too often in a short period, for carrying another person. Once we were out of there, I’d rest.
The edges of my vision darkened. No. Not yet. Keep going, but we’d barely gone several feet when the thunder rumbled through the tunnel and the ground rocked.
“Oh, no,” Payne said. “It’s happening.”
The tunnel shook, and chunks of rock rained down on us.
“It’s too late,” Mariana said.
“Go,” Payne said to me. “You should have enough energy to phase out of here by yourself.”
I’d promised Hyde. I’d promised, but how could I leave Payne and Mariana to die? Another quake rocked us, and the tunnel ahead collapsed. We were trapped.
Payne grabbed my shoulders and shook me. “You need to go. Now.”
Shadows pooled behind him. This might not work, but I had to try.
Comprehension bloomed on Payne’s face as he read my expression. “Indigo, it could kill you.”
“Or it could save us all.” I gripped his hand and made a grab for Madam Mariana’s cuff.
Hyde, I’m coming.
I fell into the shadow patch, taking them with me.
Pain ripped through my head, tearing at my limbs, burning through my mind. My scream filled my head.
“Back up, give me room.”
I knew that voice.
Mariana.
Alive.
