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He blinked then set his hand on the door as well, on the other side as mine. “You need to get out of here. They’ll turn you into something else, something evil and empty.” His voice wavered, full of fear. It was so different from the way he’d acted moments before.
It seemed he still held a speck of himself.
I pointed at the door, mimed it opening, then held up a single finger. I wanted him to understand that I would let him out, but he had to wait a little longer.
He shook his head. “You can’t. You can’t let anyone here go, not even me. We aren’t who we were. You don’t know what we’ll do if we get out. If you can, kill us all. Don’t open the doors here, just set off the emergency overrides to flood the cells with poison.” His voice trembled with terror. He meant every word—he’d rather I kill them all rather than let him out.
I couldn’t do that, though. They were alive. Maybe I could find a way to help them, to get them to remember who they had once been. Even if there wasn’t, I couldn’t just murder unarmed and trapped people. I shook my head, trying to tell him I wouldn’t do that.
He came closer and rested his forehead against the door. “You don’t understand, you haven’tfelteverything you are draining out of you. The things I’ve already done, the blood I’ve already spilled for them, I don’t want to carry those memories anymore. I’d rather die than let them use me anymore. If I get out, I’ll kill you, too. If I’m free, I’ll slaughter every shade I see without mercy just like they’ve trained us to.” As he spoke, his voice dropped and slowed.
He curled his hand, and a high pitch screeching sound drew my attention. His hand had shifted, and he dug his claws into the door. Despite how strong it had to be, he managed to leave deep grooves in it. The fearful expression he’d had melted away until it was the blank expression he’d had when I’d first seen him returned. He no longer recognized me, no longer saw me as a person.
Just as quickly, he threw himself against the door, as if he could barrel through it and at me.
I stumbled backward just as his body shifted, changing into his other form. It was as if he were proving his point, making sure I understood that if I let them out, they’d not run. They’d kill every shade they could find because that was what they’d been programmed to do.
I rushed down the hallway, away from the horrible sounds he made, from the memory of that emptiness in his eyes, from the future I nearly shared in. At the far end, I found an elevator. I hit the button for floor three,praying that Deacon’s information was still good, that the layout was still the same.
I went down the hallway after the elevator stopped, pausing at the first door to the left. After popping the lock on that door as well, I entered it to find a room full of servers and lights and cables running between it all.
Which meant that I’d found the communications room.
I took a deep breath, then sent my message to Kit, only able to hope it reached him. “It’s time.”
Chapter Nineteen
Wade
I didn’t mind Kit in general, but he made for boring company.
Well, in a way. I enjoyed harassing him, given how buttoned up he behaved, but he rarely gave me enough of a reaction to make it worth the effort. He worked better as a lightning rod, as someone I could mock with others around rather than just us. I needed an audience to really get into it.
However, given I stayed calm better than Knox or Brax, it made sense for me to wait for Hera’s message. The other two might end up getting into it with Kit, whereas I could hold my tongue when needed.
Kit blinked slowly, going unnaturally still. The change in his expression told me something had happened.
“Was that her?” I asked.
Kit turned and looked toward me, as if just remembering I was there. “She said, ‘It’s time.’What does that mean?”
I hopped to my feet. If she just said that, it meant we had ten minutes until showtime. Ten minutes until we reached the point of no return, when we couldn’t stop what was going to happen.
I headed for the door, but Kit slid in front of me. When had the quick bastard even moved?
“What are you all up to? I knew it wasn’t anything good, but that the way you’re rushing out like this says whatever you’re doing is serious and time-sensitive.” Kit sure had the presence of someone dangerous. Even a look from him made me want to take a few big steps backward. I forced myself not to, though. He didn’t need the ego boost of knowing he intimidated even me.
“Sorry, buddy, trade secrets. If you’ll just excuse me…” I tried to move past him, but he again placed himself between me and the door.
“Tell me what is happening,” he said, his voice low. Was he trying to command me?
It didn’t seem to work. Maybe because I was a void? Sometimes powers didn’t work on me, as if my skills made them useless immediately.
“Not happening,” I said with a shrug. “Hera asked you for help and you agreed, remember?”
“That was before the look on your face or before I saw Brax and Knox sitting just outside the elevator, waiting for word. Please tell me you aren’t all stupid enough to plan some sort of escape? I let this go because I assumed you would never come up with an actual workable plan and would realize the futility of trying, but it seems I overestimated your intelligence. This isn’t a movie, where you all plan a magical heist that worksand allows you to go live out your days on a beach somewhere.”
I moved my gaze past him, the delay a problem. “If you give a damn about Hera, you need to let me go.”
