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"That was your spell back there?" I said.
"It wasn't yours, that's for sure. Mine you can actually see by."
"I'm having some trouble."
"So I saw." He coughed. "That's about the extent of my witch magic, though. Dad taught it to me. He learned it . . . he must have learned it from your--" Another cough. "Anyway, catch your breath here and follow me if you must. Just don't get in my way."
"Thanks a helluva--"
He went back under. I followed. We'd gone about ten feet when he stopped. He kicked and I thought he was in trouble, so I grabbed his ankle. He managed to reach back, grab my hand, and motion for me to retreat. When I hesitated, he put it into reverse himself.
There wasn't room to turn around, so we had to back up. Slow going, and I was gasping when I surfaced. Bryce came up just behind me.
"It's Anita," he said. "She's dead. Something blocked her way and she must have panicked, trying to clear it instead of retreating. I'm going back in. Stay here."
"No, you're half-dead yourself. If anything's wedged in there, you'll never get it out."
He hesitated, but agreed and let me go. I was able to pull Anita's body back past the air hole and went up for a breath, then down again.
The blockage was another corpse, this one bloated so badly it was like pulling a cork from a bottle. I managed to get it back to the breathing hole. I came up for air and told Bryce, and I couldn't say another word before he dove and started out. I followed.
Just past where the corpse had been wedged, there was another breathing hole. Or so it seemed. The last had been a dead-end pipe, probably filled in at some point. When Bryce lit his light ball, I could see that this one was indeed another pipe . . . but not a dead end.
There was a ladder of rusted bars up one side. I said I'd go first--whatever was up top probably wasn't easily opened. He agreed.
It was a tough climb. Some of the bars were rusted right through, and I broke more than one. When I checked to see if Bryce was getting hit by the falling metal, he told me to just keep going. I finally made it to the top. The pipe ended in a metal cover. I gave it a shove. It didn't budge.
"Umm . . . ," I called down.
"Just keep pushing," Bryce said. "And stay to the side. I'll try some spells."
I did, and he did, using knockbacks and energy bolts. I cast a few unlock spells under my breath. I'm not sure what worked--maybe a combination of all--but after a few minutes, the pipe lid groaned. Another heave and it flew open.
We made it out of the drain or whatever the hell it had been. I wasn't about to stop and analyze the architectural significance.
As soon as we were aboveground, I could hear the sirens and the shouts. Ambulances for the wounded. Emergency workers searching the rubble for survivors.
Survivors. Oh, God.
I lurched forward, legs shaking almost too much to support me. When Bryce coughed, I turned back to see him braced against a wall, his face pale, cheeks flushed bright red. He could barely stand. I went back to help him, but as soon as I reached to touch him, he waved me off.
"I'm fine," he said.
"No, you aren't."
I tried to grab his arm.
He backed up. "Go. I'll follow."
I raced down the back alley. There was no sign of Jaime.
Did she know Jeremy was--? Was Jeremy--? And Adam . . .
I rounded the corner and--
Dust floated down. The building was gone. Collapsed. The front and back walls and part of the attached sides remained, the upper floor listing, ready to fall at any moment, police and emergency workers shouted for people to get back behind the line.
And the middle, where the lab had been? There was no middle. Just those front and back walls, nothing between them but broken planks and twisted metal and chunks of plaster.
