AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Twenty
All Hell
We stepped into the hallway to find Brianna and Brendan running toward us.
“The hall,” Brendan called, and I knew what he meant, turning with Emily to reach the safe room they’d dubbed the hall before it was too late.
She didn’t question me, only ran alongside until the thin red line of flashers lit up the corridor. Her hand squeezed tight in mine and I glanced at her, not surprised by the ‘it’s too late’ expression. I tightened my grip on her and pressed against the wall to check the corner to the next hall. I felt Brendan and Brianna behind us, but could hear no others when we crossed to the entrance and punched in the code. In a matter of seconds, we’d made it to this place, and already I’d heard the first shots from the floor below.
“There,” Brendan said, pushing us across the room to a dark-paneled wall. He ripped the painting from its hook and threw it aside, revealing another keypad, another passcode. “Inside,” he demanded as soon as the panel started shifting.
We were in a smaller chamber lit only by security lights, a narrow passage to the left and a narrow passage straight ahead, both of which must have been built between the walls of the other rooms.
“We have to split up,” Brianna said as she shoved a parcel into Emily’s hands. “They’re coming for us.” She indicated herself and Brendan and I realized what she’d said was true. They would be after Brianna. Not Emily.
Brendan stepped forward. “The north passage takes you down to the edge of the yard. I’ve got armed men there, we can all go—”
“No,” Brianna said. “You and I will go that way. Aern will take Emily through the other passage, by the sheds.”
Brendan’s eyes went tight. She knew too much.
“This is the only way,” Brianna said to no one but Emily, and her hand rested over her sister’s as she spoke.
“Wait,” I said, shouldering them apart, but not entirely sure why.
Emily blinked.
“Go,” Brianna whispered to me. “Wesley will be waiting for you.” The certainty in her gaze might have convinced me eventually, but the dull echo of gunfire through the reinforced walls did the trick quick enough.
Emily pressed the black twill-wrapped package against her chest and gave Brianna one last look.
“I had Brendan get them for you,” Brianna said. “Use them prudently.” She placed her hands over Emily’s where they clutched the package and pushed.
“Wait,” Emily said, “there’s something I have to tell you. I forgot.” Her eyes flicked to Brendan, back to Brianna and I somehow knew what she was referring to. I remembered the moments before I’d seen her mark, when she’d been curled over her stomach. She’d had a revelation, what was it, what had she been saying…
“It’s all right,” Brianna said.
“No,” Emily insisted. “No more secrets. It was her, Brianna, he took her and she—”
“I know.” The room went still as Brianna confessed. Emily’s mouth opened, but no words came.
Brianna sighed. “I’m sorry, Emily. I know. I’ve known all along.”
The pain that twisted Emily’s features was cutting. “Then…” She stopped, stumbling for words. “But…” And then, almost desperate, “Why?”
Brianna’s eyes held Emily’s when she answered. “Because I am a prophet. I was born with our mother’s gifts.”
A long, unspoken message passed between the sisters. They stood before each other, a mirror’s reflection by all appearances, alike in body and blood, but they couldn’t have been more different.
“It’s coming,” Brianna whispered. Emily took a deep breath and nodded.
And then a blast sounded in the room outside the chamber and Brendan yelled, “Go!” before pulling Brianna down the north passage. Suddenly, Emily and I were running in the opposite direction. The passage was narrow, my shoulders brushed the wall as I ran. I could hear Emily behind me, feet padding lightly on the bare floor. There were stairs, and then a hard right turn, a low corridor, and then a left, and we were standing in a small alcove beneath a single overhead hatch door.
I looked back at Emily to be certain she was ready. She was bending over, strapping something to her leg. When she straightened, I saw what Brianna had given her, as the last of a set remained at the ready in her hand.
Knives. Brianna’s gift had been, from what I gathered, at least three handcrafted fighting knives. I winced when the realization came, when Brianna’s words registered with her warning. Her prophecy.
Emily nodded, as if she’d missed my reaction and was merely answering my inquiry on whether she was ready. But before either of us could start the climb, the hatch shifted, and we ducked away, though there was no place to hide in the tiny recess. Fortunately, it was Wesley’s copper hair that popped into view.
