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More figures loomed beyond the smoke and fire. I unleashed several more shots and the guards split, some going into the labs on the left, the others to those on the right. I rolled upright and bolted in the opposite direction.
My feet were truly on fire now, but I couldn’t stop. Bullets were pinging off the walls around me, several of them cutting through my stolen uniform and tearing into flesh. Pain was beginning to bloom everywhere, but I ignored it and kept running. I had to reach that fire escape to have any hope of getting out of here.
Bear, is the way clear up ahead?
His energy zoomed past me and then, after a moment, the image of two guards flashed into my mind. They were around the corner, standing between me and the lab that held the fire escape, their weapons at the ready.
A bullet ripped through my thigh and I stumbled, my fingers brushing the floor as I battled to keep upright. I grabbed a second gun, then twisted around and unleashed a barrage of bullets. When both guns were empty, I clipped them onto the belt hooks and pulled one of the assault rifles free.
Bear, create a noise behind the men ahead.
I pressed back against the wall, keeping an eye on the corridor behind me as I listened for Bear. There was a soft clatter, and then something round and metallic rolled toward me. Grenade. Or maybe a smoke bomb. I shot it. The thing exploded, firing sharp shards into the air that thudded into the metal walls and tore into my left calf; a heartbeat later, there was a second explosion down at the other end.
Bear’s diversion.
I ducked around the corner, raised the rifle, and fired repeatedly. The man facing me went down, blood pouring from a shattered right hand and a gut wound. The other man twisted around and returned fire. I was out in the open and had no protection. Bullets thudded into my thigh and my arm. My legs went out from underneath me, and my knees hit the floor.
This was it. I wasn’t going to escape.
A fire ax appeared out of nowhere and smashed across the guard’s head. Blood flew as he fell sideways, his finger still on the trigger and the bullets tearing a path up the nearby wall and onto the ceiling.
The weapon was wrenched from his grasp and flung sideways, and then Bear was next to me. Up, up, he said, his energy on my arm, trying to lift me. The guards are coming.
I can’t—
Try, he growled, tugging at me again.
I took a deep breath, then, somehow, managed to climb to my feet. But there was a roaring in my ears and I wasn’t sure if it was the sound of the approaching security forces or the pounding of my blood as it poured from my many wounds.
I staggered forward. As I neared the guards, I heard a voice scream, “Alive, I want her alive!”
Then something smashed into my back and sent me sprawling. Energy surged, a dangerous force my two little ghosts were gathering in an effort to defend me.
Don’t, I somehow said as the shadows of unconsciousness threatened. Wait. They want me alive, so there’s still a chance of escape.
But what—
I didn’t hear the rest of Bear’s question.
The shadows claimed me and I knew no more.
Chapter 15
Waking was a slow and painful process. Not only because my body was a maze of heated agony, but also because someone was systematically slapping my face.
We can fix that, Bear said. Just give the word.
Not until I’m sure I can move. Where am I?
In Rath Winter’s office, Cat said. He’s the one slapping you.
“Why isn’t she waking?”
The voice was deep, dark, and male. Rath Winter, I knew, simply because I’d heard his voice before, after he’d rung Sal when I was staying with him.
“You’re damn lucky she’s even alive, given the number of bullet wounds littering her body.” The second speaker was also familiar—it was Janice Harvey. “Just be thankful for small mercies, and give the drugs time to work.”
“We may not have time. We have to presume what we’re doing here is—or soon will be—common knowledge.”
