Page 43 of Elemental Hope
“We need to go.”
“Sure. Let’s get out of here,” Evrain agreed. “Imelda can deal with what’s left of Symeon.”
Dominic got back into the van, sliding across to sit next to Damon. Evrain climbed in next to him before slamming the door shut.
“Kissing? Really? You think we have time for that?” Damon snarked. He put the van in drive then headed for the exit ramp.
“For someone who was just supposedly stabbed, you’re remarkably talkative,” Evrain replied. “And opinionated. Brat.”
Dominic glanced from Evrain to Damon and back again. They were both grinning. He sighed. “Can we please just get out of here? I really don’t want to spend any more time in Imelda’s company and she can’t be far behind us.”
Damon drove toward the exit door but it didn’t open.
“Fuck. She’s locked down the building. Evrain—can you do something about it?”
“My pleasure.”
This time Dominic felt the discomfort as Evrain channeled his power. He gathered the air into a spinning whirlwind then threw it against the door. The metal panel blasted outward. Damon revved the engine then tore up the ramp. He skidded into the street and the van filled with the smell of burning rubber.
Emerging from the underground parking garage into the light of a sunny afternoon was blinding. Dominic blinked into the sun and tried to get his bearings, surrounded as they were by anonymous office blocks.
“You were right,” Evrain said. “We’re in Portland.”
“You didn’t know?” Damon asked.
“I was unconscious when I was brought here,” Evrain explained. “Dominic was drugged too. We made an educated guess.”
Damon glanced in the rear view mirror. “We don’t have a tail yet.” He took one hand off the wheel to grope in his pocket. He tossed a phone toward Dominic. “Can you call Nathaniel?”
“Sure.”
“There’s no password. His is the only number. It’s just a cheap burner phone he got me in case I ran into trouble. I wasn’t able to get word to him about the location of the building but he’s probably not far away.” He wended his way through the traffic and eventually found the route out of town.
Dominic handed the phone to Evrain. “Probably best you speak to Nathaniel. I’ll see if there’s anything in the back of the van that you can wear.” He scrambled over the seat into the rear cargo space.
Evrain dialed the single number in Damon’s directory.
“Nathaniel?” He put the loudspeaker on.
“Yes. Evrain, is that you? Where’s Damon?”
“He’s driving. He gave me his phone.”
“And Dominic? You’re all okay?”
“We’re all intact. Damon’s on the list for best actor at this year’s Oscars.”
“We’ll reconvene at your place. I’ll let Gregory and Coryn know. We need to employ some delaying tactics on Imelda and her cronies. That might get us some respite to plan our next move.”
“Don’t have too much fun.” Evrain hung up.
“What are they gonna do?” Damon asked.
“Cause some mayhem, I imagine.”
Dominic clambered into the front seat. “Here. I found an old workman’s jacket in the back.” He wrapped it around Evrain’s bare shoulders. It wasn’t that cold but Evrain was shivering. “Are you okay?” Dominic’s voice was edged with concern as he took in the black hollows beneath Evrain’s eyes and the blood streaking his hands and arms.
“I’ll survive. It’s all my fault we’re in this mess, so don’t waste your sympathy on me.”
