“How much farther to our destination?” Haru demanded.
“Another twenty to thirty minutes, sir,” the driver replied through what sounded like clenched teeth. As he spoke, Haru could feel the vehicle slow while the wind and rain lashed the car, creating a gray wall in front of them that the headlightscould not pierce. Over thirty minutes was now more likely, but there was nothing they could do about it. The driver could not go any faster without risking their lives, and he didn’t want to endanger Adrian more than necessary.
The minutes ticked by, and Haru watched as Adrian turned a small throwing knife around with his deft fingers. When they were only a few miles from the facility, the storm began to quiet and roll away. The flashes of lightning grew less frequent, and the deafeningboomof thunder turned to low grumbles.
“What the hell!” Ruben bellowed as they came upon a long, gray, two-story building with slender windows set back against a dark, thick forest. Black smoke billowed out from one corner while trees surrounding the buildings were burning, possibly from lightning strikes. There were other scorch marks on the building and in the pavement of the parking lot. It looked as if the epicenter of the storm had been this building, and it had paid the price.
“Who are those people? They don’t appear to be employees,” Adrian pointed at ragged, thin people slipping from the building and running into the forest. A mixture of relief and terror was etched on their faces.
“Test subjects,” Ruben growled. His meaty fist balled up, his knuckles cracking. “Clearly, the storm knocked out the power, and the guards were careless in their duty, allowing people to escape.”
“We need to get inside and assess the damage. Discover what is left of your efforts.” Haru had barely spoken when he threw open the door and clambered out with Adrian close on his heels. Ruben gasped and sputtered, but the sounds were lost to the wind and the last of the rumbles of thunder.
“If Shey’s not alive, I swear to fuck I’m killing everyone here,” Adrian snarled under his breath.
Haru nodded. His thoughts were the same. They’d already witnessed the horrors of Voxmore’s facility, and this one looked like more of the same, though more technologically advanced. Between the deep pockets of the villains behind this endeavor and the limitless evil of the mastermind, there was no telling how many more facilities like this dotted Damardor.
They charged inside to see white walls splashed with blood. Lights flickered, leaving the hallways shrouded in darkness. Here and there, the bodies of armored guards still slumped on the floor. Blood, burnt ozone, and smoke lingered in the air, tickling Haru’s nose. Yes, Shey had been here. He could feel it in his bones. This was the work of the prince. He’d fought alongside him, knew his quick and precise style.
“Halt! Identify yourself!” A guard barked at them. His automatic weapon was lifted, half concealing his face as he took aim at Adrian.
Haru clenched his teeth. The bastard dared to threaten Adrian’s life. Haru was going to rip his throat out and leave his corpse with the rest of his comrades.
“Enough! Stand aside!” Ruben puffed and blustered behind them. “These are my guests here to inspect the facility. What the hell happened?” He elbowed his way past Haru and crowded the guard. Ruben’s face had gone from pale to flushed. Sweat speckled his forehead.
“Um…we’re still trying to figure that out, sir.Um…”
“Still trying to figure it out?” Ruben raged, his body vibrating as if he were a time bomb ready to go off. “Where is Yasmine? I left her to manage this place. What the hell has she been doing?”
“She’s in the command center, sir. Lightning struck the building several times, knocking out the security system. Some prisoners escaped. But before that…there was a phenomenon.”
Ruben looked as though he were about to rip off the guard’s head with his bare hands, but he stopped cold at those last words. “What kind of phenomenon?”
Haru also froze, and Adrian’s hand shot between them to grasp Haru’s arm. His fingers tightened, biting almost painfully into flesh. Was this Shey? Had he been pushed too far and revealed his abilities?
“Mass hallucination. Like…like everyone slipped into a nightmare. It began when we were aggressively questioning a woman.”
Air left Adrian in a rush, and Haru watched the muscles jump in his jaw as if he were grinding his teeth.Aggressively questioning?No, they were torturing her.
“Where is she now? Did she escape?” Ruben demanded. His voice trembled, and he reached out to grab the guard. “I must see her now.”
The guard winced and stumbled a step back. His face grew pale, and he lowered his gaze. “She-she’s dead, sir.”
“What?” Ruben raised his fists as if to beat the other man, but stopped himself and let out a frustrated growl. “Useless! All of you are useless!” Ruben continued down the hallway, and Haru was quick to follow with Adrian at his side.
They passed more blood-speckled walls and cold pools of blood on the floor. Everywhere they looked were spent shells and bullet holes. As they walked, Ruben lamented his pathetic employees.
“This is what I have been dealing with. Complete incompetence. Every time we show even the slightest sign of progress, the subject dies. These people have no finesse. No damn brains in their heads. I don’t have time to babysit them every second of the day and hold their hands.”
“Usually, when all the employees prove to be incompetent, the failure lies with the person in charge and how the employees are managed,” Adrian said in a light, singsong tone.
Ruben grunted. “Yes, I think you’re right. Yasmine might be enthusiastic about our goal, but she lacks the intelligence to run an operation like this.”
Adrian rolled his eyes at the back of Ruben’s head, and Haru had to swallow his dark chuckles. It was clear even to him that Adrian had been talking about Ruben, but the man wasn’t the type to see a fault in himself.
The central command center was a large room crammed with monitors and people frantically typing away. Unfortunately, only a few of the screens were lit. Elsewhere, workers had computers torn open, trying to fix things manually. A tall, thin blond woman stood in the center of the madness. Her hair hung in a lopsided bun while wild strands stuck out from her head. Makeup was smeared around her eyes, and her lipstick was even smudged. Sweat beaded on her forehead, and her voice cracked as she shrieked at her employees to work faster.
“Yasmine!” Ruben bellowed as he entered the room.
