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We slipped down the hal , doing our best to limit our noise, until I reached the end of the corridor. I motioned for them to hold up and inched a look around the edge. The passage turned to the right and continued for the length of what looked like a room before a fork branched off into another hal to the right.
It was hard to tel what was at the opposite end of the corridor--probably another hal way. The building was big but not unending. I nodded for the others to fol ow me, and we slipped around the corner and headed for the next hal way.
We were almost there when a thin, wiry man came barreling around the corner. He was reading something on a clipboard and ran right into me before bouncing back, openmouthed, as he realized what he was seeing.
"Crap," I said. We were going to be outted by a geek.
But he didn't stand there gawking and yel ing like an amateur. No, instead, he whipped out something that fit in the palm of his hand as he let out a loud shout that sounded like a cross between a yip and a howl. So not a good sound. But before I could say a word, Morio returned the cry, howling at the top of his lungs even as he began to grow into his ful demonic form. Eight feet of humanoid fox demon was a sight to behold.
"Double crap," Menol y said and launched herself forward, but before she could reach the dude, he lifted whatever it was he was holding and pressed a button. And al hel broke loose.
I reached out just in time to meet an oncoming wave of what felt like electricity. Or maybe it was pure joy juice or whatever the fuck, but a thousand stabbing needles forked their way through my body, and I went down like a wet noodle. As I lay convulsing on the floor, Menol y leapt past me and then, before I could hear the satisfying crunch of our enemy's broken bones, she joined me on the floor, her eyes flashing red even as the jolt kept her from moving.
"You die!" Smoky flew past me, and once again, I heard the charge go off, but this time there was the sound of something wet smashing against one wal , and Smoky's raw laughter fil ed the hal . Meanwhile, Camil e helped me stand as the flickering tingles played across my nerves like a freaking torture machine.
"Can you stand? Can you hear me?" She wrapped her arms around me and helped me over to the wal so that I could lean against it. Menol y joined us-
-apparently the effects didn't last as long if you were already dead.
I nodded, trying to catch my breath. "Yeah . . . yeah . . . I'l be okay. Real y." I glanced over to where Smoky was standing, near the end of the hal , keeping guard. The guy was a puddle on the floor, blood pouring out of every orifice he had. Smoky had not only tossed him like garbage, he'd raked him with his claws. So much for the front man.
Camil e gingerly picked up the weapon he'd been using and handed it to Roz. "You're the expert on weaponry. What is this?"
"Essential y, a magical Taser," he said. "Sorcery, no doubt." He paused, then gave us a veiled look. "Want to make a bet it has something to do with that new club--the Energy Exchange? Just a gut hunch."
I held out my hand. "Let me see it."
Shaped a lot like a one of the old-fashioned phasers off of the original Star Trek shows, it was lighter than it looked. A simple button control ed the trigger, and there was a digital readout that showed the number ten in the green LCD display. A smal icon was flashing in another window. Meaning it needed to recharge? Or was it ready to shoot?
We were about to find out, because down the hal , a set of double doors to the left flew open, and a group of men rushed out. They were al wiry and thin, and while I didn't see any more of the magical stun guns, at least two of them carried basebal bats, and a third had a very nasty-looking stiletto--and I'm not talking shoes.
"Incoming, and they don't look friendly!" I yel ed as I brought the contraption up and aimed it at the leader. He paused. I decided that we weren't going to get out without a fight, and fired.
"Cripes!" Camil e let out a shriek, and I heard a commotion, but I didn't have time to look back. The leader was down, but the four other men rushed us, and I knew I couldn't get al of them before they came in swinging.
I tried another shot, but the stun gun sputtered, and I saw a red minus sign in the display. It was out of juice--I didn't need an expert to tel me that. I tossed it to the side and pul ed out my dagger just as the first shifter came swinging, bat poised to take out my head.
Moving just in time to avoid getting a concussion, I stil managed to get clipped on the arm. He hit me ful on the shoulder, and I yelped as he raised his bat for another swing. I took advantage of the opening and darted in, my dagger at the ready. Lysanthra sliced through the air, whistling as she came singing down across his arm, gashing the bicep wide. He let out a shout and dropped the bat as he tried to stanch the blood.
While he was down, I whirled to lend a hand to the others. Smoky had dropped two of the shifters, but I saw why Camil e had yel ed. She was kneeling beside Tril ian, who was woozily sitting up, rubbing his head. Three dead shifters were lying near them, and Vanzir was wiping blood off his knife.
I noticed that my guy was trying to get up and, in a flash, I was behind him, Lysanthra poised at his throat.
"It doesn't get any better than this from here on out, but it could get a whole lot worse," I said. "Where are the werewolves? Al of them?"
He stared up at me, his eyes narrow. "Bite me, bitch."
"I can do better than that. I can turn into my panther self and rip you to shreds. I can let our friend over there," I nodded to Vanzir, "suck the life force out of you. I can let my sister throw an energy blast into that dynamite you've got and blow this whole fucking place to smithereens. Or you can tel me and maybe
. . . just maybe . . . get out intact with your skin." Of course, I thought, I'd be turning him over to the Supe Community Council for charges, but he'd be alive.
For a while.
He cleared his throat. "Fuck it . . . in there." He gestured toward the double doors. "There are stil guards, though."
"Good boy. Now, time to sleep for a bit." Chase should be outside by now. He knew enough to wait for us to come out instead of barging in on his own. I glanced around. Crap, we didn't have anything to put our prisoners to sleep. "Okay, go nite-nite for a while." And with that, I gave him a good wal op to the back of the head. He conked out with a low groan.
"What you want to do with him?" Vanzir helped me lift him up.
