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19
The lightsin the pod went out. We were plunged into darkness.
I waited for my eyes to adjust, to find some hint of light to see by. They didn't. The darkness was absolute.
My heart raced. Panic rose inside me, along with a scream which threatened to tear from my throat.
Danec held me closer and whispered something.
I couldn't hear it over the pounding of blood in my ears and the ringing from the utter silence.
"What?" I asked.
"I said I like you," he repeated. "A lot."
"I like you too." Was now really the time for this? I supposed it was, we might never get another chance. "Very much."
Before he could respond, the lights came back on so bright I blinked hard and shook my head.
"There," Slek said. "I've rigged the cannon to…" He shook his head. "It doesn't matter. What does matter is that we have one chance at this. And…"
"And what?" J'avet asked, eyes narrowed at Slek.
"And it could backfire and blow us all up," Slek said lightly. "But if this doesn't work, we're probably screwed anyway, so I say we give it a shot."
"That's your professional opinion?" J'avet asked.
"Professional. Personal. Guy who doesn't want to end up infested with nanobots." Slek sounded indifferent, almost sarcastic, but fear flashed in his eyes.
"I say we do it," I said.
J'avet glanced back at me, quirked a brow, then nodded at Slek.
"Do it." To the rest of us, he said, "Sit down and strap in. This could get rough."
"It isn't already?" I asked under my breath.
Danec snorted his agreement, but strapped in beside me and draped an arm over my shoulder.
"In three," Slek said loudly.
Beside him, Brinley's face was pale with anxiety, but she looked hopeful. If anyone would understand what Slek had rigged up, she would. Her expression gave me hope too. Maybe we'd be okay.
"Two."
J'avet's eyes were on the window. The odd lights in his irises flashed briefly. Maybe he was part machine too, I mused, but I was almost certain he wasn't.
Humar squeaked with fear, but I had no sympathy for him. The nanobots wouldn't have touched him. He hadn't needed to push the Freytauri woman into their path. If he hadn't, she might be here with us.
I sighed softly. He wasn't to know, I suppose.
"One." Slek slammed the heel of his hand down onto a button.
The cannon, attached to a cable of some kind, lit up. Or at least, a series of buttons down the side did.
For several heartbeats, I was sure it was about to explode and kill us all.
Something outside the pod flashed and Slek let out a whoop of joy.
