I nudged Bauer forward and motioned for Savannah to follow me. As Bauer walked to the door, something fell from the ceiling. I lunged forward, knocking her out of the way. The object hit the floor with a sharp pop and tinkling of glass.
"Just a lightbulb," Savannah said. "You sure moved fast."
As Bauer recovered, I glanced up. Overhead was a row of six bulbs, the first now only an empty socket. A tiny squeak caught my attention, and I noticed the second bulb in the line move. As I watched, the bulb twisted slowly, unthreading from the socket.
"Wow," Savannah said. "It almost looks like--"
Crack, crack, crack! The whole row of lightbulbs smashed to the floor, plunging us into darkness. Bauer yelped.
"It's okay, Sondra," I said. "Your eyes will adjust. You have night vision now. The light from the security door will be enough. Move toward it and--"
Savannah shrieked. I whirled and reached into the darkness to calm her. Something tickled my left arm. I slapped my right hand over the spot and felt blood welling beneath my palm. Bauer screamed. A white blur flew at my face and slashed my cheek. As I snatched it, razor-sharp glass bit into my palm. Another piece struck my scalp. My eyes adjusted then, and I saw a whirlwind of broken glass flying around us.
"The door!" I yelled. "Sondra! Grab the door!"
Dimly I saw her outline huddled against the far cell, arms pulled in, head tucked down against the onslaught. Shards of glass pricked and sliced my bare arms and face as I pitched toward her. I grabbed her arm and yanked her to the exit, positioning her in front of the retina camera. As I reached for the button, I noticed her eyes were squeezed shut.
"Open your eyes!" I shouted.
She clenched them tighter, pulling her chin into her chest.
"Open your goddamned eyes for the scanner!"
I was reaching up to pry them open when she blinked. I hit the button. The first red light flickered, then died and the whole panel went black. I smacked the button again. Nothing happened. I jabbed it over and over, eyes skimming the panel for any sign of life. Nothing. No lights. No sound. It was dead. I spun around. At the other end of the hall, a dim red glow reflected around the corner.
"The other door still has power," I said. "Let's go."
"I can't," Bauer whispered, cradling her head against the flying glass. "I can't."
I ignored her. "Savannah, run to my cell. I didn't shut my door. Get inside while we unlock the other exit."
I grabbed Bauer with both hands, and half-carried, half-dragged her down the corridor. The maelstrom of glass followed, whirling around us, biting like a thousand wasps.
In the darkness and my haste, I passed Savannah, and arrived at my cell ahead of her. With a spasm of relief I saw my door was still open. I remembered I needed my shoes and darted inside to grab them. As I turned, the foot of my bed moved. It bounced a half-foot off the ground, then shot straight up in the air and hurtled toward me. I barely had time to backpedal out of the cell before the mattress struck the back of the door, slamming it shut.
"What--what--" Bauer stammered.
I shoved her toward the other exit. A staccato series of pops rang out. Expecting gunfire, I dropped to my knees. The hall filled with deafening static, as if someone had cranked every intercom up full blast. Savannah brushed against me. I squeezed her shoulder and tried to tell her every thing would be okay, but the static drowned me out. Giving Savannah one last reassuring pat, I grabbed Bauer and propelled her in front of the security door. This time, perhaps realizing it was her only escape from the flying glass, Bauer positioned herself in front of the retinal scanner and hit the button. The red light flickered out, and for a moment every thing went dead. Then a green light flashed. Bauer grasped the handle and the second light changed from red to green. She yanked open the door and flew into the hall. I knew that Bauer's security pass only allowed one other person, so as soon as Savannah and I both went through, an alarm would sound somewhere. I couldn't worry about it. The guards would see us through the camera anyway.
I slammed the door behind us. A few stray shards of glass fell harmlessly to the floor.
"What happened in there?" Savannah whispered.
"I don't know," I said. "Are you both all right?"
Savannah and Bauer nodded. Yes, every inch of our bare skin seemed to be bleeding, but no one had taken a piece to an eye or a major artery, so we seemed to realize that made us "all right."
Voices echoed from the other end of the hall. Savannah's head jerked up.
"We aren't going to make it," she whispered.
"Yes, we are," Bauer said. She straightened, brushing a trickle of blood from over her eye. "I am not going back in there. I'm out now and I'm staying out. Elena will take care of the guards. We'll stay here where it's safe."
From whimpering jellyfish to group leader in sixty seconds flat? Nice to see Bauer regain her poise, but this wasn't the sort of change I'd have wished for. Never mind. At least she wasn't cowering in a corner. Besides, I was the one who should go after the guards. Bauer would only get in my way.
As I started forward, Savannah grabbed my shirt.
"I'll help," she whispered. "I'll cast a spell."
I hesitated, wanting to tell her not to bother, but realized that giving Savannah a chance to feel useful might calm her fears. Besides, she was only a twelve-year-old neophyte witch. She'd only know the simplest sort of spells.
"Okay," I said. "As long as you can cast it from here. Keep down and quiet."
As I crept forward, a crash shook the hallway. Then another. Then smashing glass, louder than the falling lightbulbs. Then pitch dark. Yes! This time I welcomed the blackness. It would give me an advantage ... so long as the broken glass didn't start flying again.
"Goddamn it!" a voice--presumably a guard's--hissed. "First, exit one dies, then the camera at exit two, now this. A fucking power failure."
"I'll grab the flashlight," a second voice said.
"We both will. I'm not standing around in the dark."
So there were only two guards? Better and better. I quickened my pace to a lope, rounded the corner, and hit the elevator button. Then I headed for the guard station. Partway there, I stumbled over something and looked down to see a fluorescent light cover. I sidestepped and brought my stockinged foot down squarely on a shard of glass. Biting my cheek against a yelp, I brushed my foot left and right, clearing the path as I eased forward. Light darted from around the corner. The guards had found their flashlight. Damn.
Behind me, the elevator doors creaked open. A voice called out, not in front of me, but from the rear. I froze in mid-step. The guards rounded the corner, flashlight beam bouncing off the walls. Someone behind me shouted. I whirled, saw a gun, and dropped to the floor. Shots rang out from front and back. A bullet grazed my leg. I gasped and crawled to the side of the hall. A scream. A shout of rage. A curse. I glanced up. The guards were shooting at each other, the two from the station firing at three by the elevator. Two more lay on the floor, one screaming and writhing. Bullets whizzed past me. I got up on my hands and knees, pitched forward, and ran doubled-over to the others. I raced right past the second group of guards. They didn't even notice.
"Go back!" I yelled to Savannah and Bauer. "Get inside!"
CHAPTER 36
CORNERED
Bauer pushed past Savannah and flew through the security sequence. The exit opened and all three of us clambered through. I slammed the door behind us. Savannah shouted that the door was now open to the empty cell across from mine. We dove inside.
"I was peeking around the corner," Savannah said as I gulped air. "When the guards came with the flashlight, I saw the other ones get off the elevator. I cast a confusion spell so you could get past them. It worked pretty good, huh?"
"Very good," I said, not mentioning that I'd been nearly caught in the crossfire. What the hell had Ruth taught this kid? A twelve-year-old witch should be casting spells to calm frightened kittens, not making armed men blast one another to bits.
>
"Hey," a voice said from the doorway. "Did I miss my party invitation?"
We all jumped. Leah stepped inside, yawning and raking her fingers through her sleep-mussed hair.
"Don't close that!" Bauer said, grabbing the cell door.
Did it matter now? Though I said nothing, I certainly didn't foresee another breakout attempt in our near future. While the opened cells may not have been a trap, they hadn't been a lucky break either. The opposite, in fact. My great escape plan had vanished in that hailstorm of bullets outside. Even if we got through this mess, Winsloe would only need to check the computer logs to realize I'd used Bauer to get past security. He'd make sure it never happened again. I tried not to think of the multitude of ways he could ensure that.
Leah walked to a chair and slumped into it. "Cut my damned foot walking down here. There's glass all over the floor. And how come the doors are open? Not that I'm complaining but--Whoa, what happened to you guys?"
"Flying glass," I said.
"Geez. Not sorry I missed it. Is anyone hurt? I know first aid."
"We're fine," Bauer said, moving to the bed.
While we talked, Savannah leaned out the doorway. "I don't see anyone. Are they all dead?"
"Dead?" Leah repeated as I yanked Savannah away from the open door. "Who's dead?"
I explained what had happened. As I spoke, Leah kept shooting discreet glances at Savannah, who'd collapsed onto the carpet and didn't seem to notice.
"... we should stay in here," I said. "Remain calm and hope they do the same. No sudden moves. Nothing to set them off."
Savannah pushed herself up from the floor. "I know this calming spell--"
"I'm sure you do, hon," Leah said. "But maybe that's not such a good idea."
Savannah's face fell. Leah put her arm around the girl's shoulders and gave her a squeeze.
"Elena and I can handle the guards," Leah said. "We'll find a safe place for you, hon, in case there's trouble when the guards arrive."
Slanting a look sideways, Leah directed my gaze from Savannah to the stray lightbulb pieces on the floor. My heart sank. Savannah. Who else could have been responsible for the whirlwind of flying glass? There'd been only three of us in that hallway and only one who'd been known to propel dangerous objects through the air. It was a big step up from hurling plates, but I'd already seen a demonstration of Savannah's increased powers with that lethal confusion spell. Of course, she hadn't done it deliberately--she'd been hurt as badly as any of us--but that wasn't the point. Whether she intended it or not, Savannah was dangerous. Put her under emotional stress and she reacted with violence.
"Good idea," I said. "We should get Savannah someplace safe." Safe for her and safe for us.
"Sondra, how about you go with Savannah?" Leah said. "My cell's open. Hide in there."
Bauer sat on the bed, knees pulled up, staring at the wall. Back to whimpering jellyfish.
"I'm fine," she whispered.
"You've had a rough go of it," Leah said. "Elena and I can handle this. How about you take Savannah and--"
"I'm fine!" Bauer snarled, head jerking up, lips curling. Then she froze, as if realizing what she'd done. She closed her eyes and shuddered. "I'm fine," she said firmly. "I want to help."
"Maybe we can talk to the guards," I said. "Explain what happened. Is there an intercom, Sondra? Some way we can communicate with them?"
Bauer shook her head.
Outside the cell, something thudded against the exit door. We all stopped to listen. Two more thuds in quick succession, then silence.
"They can't get in," Bauer whispered. "The exit door must have lost power or jammed."
"So much for hoping they were all dead," Leah said. "How many guards are there in total?"
"Three doz--no, thirty," Bauer said. "We--they started with thirty-six, but there's been casualties."
"Lousy odds. Well, let's get Savannah out of here before things get bad."
Leah reached for Savannah, but she ducked and ran to me.
"I want to help," she said, looking up at me.
As if I didn't feel guilty enough just suspecting Savannah of causing the flying glass. But if Leah and I were going to fight this, we had to get Savannah someplace safe where she could calm down.
"We aren't trying to shut you out, Savannah. I know you could help. That confusion spell"--I managed a wry smile--"well, I was impressed, I'll tell you that."
"But ..." Savannah sighed, with the weary resignation of a child who could hear "but" coming a mile away.
"But if you stay, Leah and I will be too worried about you to concentrate on the danger."
"We'd be very concerned if you stayed," Leah said, sneaking me a look. "We'd all feel much better if you were someplace else ... safe. I'll take you to my cell."
"Fine," Savannah said, in a voice that said our decision was anything but fine.
Leah reached for Savannah's hand, but the girl brushed her off and stalked out the door. Leah jogged after her.
Several minutes later, Leah hurried back. The guards were still beating at the exit door.
"She's in my cell," Leah said. "Hidden under the bed. I closed the door."
I started to nod, then stopped. "You closed the door? What if it jams? How will we get her out?"
"Right now I'm more worried about Savannah getting herself out. If I didn't lock her in, she'd be down here in two minutes flat, trying to help us. We don't need that kind of help." She glanced at the broken glass. "She's helped quite enough already."
"If Savannah made the glass fly, it wasn't intentional."
Leah shrugged. "You're probably right. Anyway, it's not her fault. What can you expect, with a mother like Eve."
"You think that's it? Just because her mother was into black magic doesn't necessarily mean--"
"Eve wasn't just a witch, Elena. Her father was a demon, meaning she was a half-demon/witch hybrid. A brutal combination. Now, I'm pretty laid-back. I don't scare easily. But Eve scared the crap out of me. Sondra, remember when she first got here--"
Bauer whirled to face us. "Who the fuck cares, Leah?! We have God knows how many armed guards pounding at the exit door and you're discussing Savannah's genealogy!"
"Chill out, Sondra. Elena and I have every thing under control. We're used to this kind of stuff. All I'm saying, Elena, is to be careful around Savannah. Remember, she's a preteen girl, hormones kicking in and all that shit. It only makes things worse. Who knows--"
"Goddamn it!" Bauer shouted. "They're breaking down the fucking door!"
"You think they'll get in?" Leah asked me calmly, as if Bauer were some lunatic screaming inside a padded room.
"Eventually," I said.
She sighed. "Okay, then. Time to prepare the welcoming party."
When we'd finished planning, we turned off the light. With our night vision, Bauer and I would be fine, and Leah had decided that the overall advantages of darkness outweighed the personal disadvantage of limited vision.
We slipped into the hall, staying behind the corner in case the guards broke through, guns blazing.
"Hello!" Leah shouted. "We're trapped in here! Some of us are hurt! What's going on out there? Can you hear us?"
No one replied. As Bauer had warned, the door was soundproof. Leah tried a few more times, then I motioned her to silence and listened. I could hear only snatches of muffled voices.
"--when's that--getting here?"
"--other door--power out--"
"--radio--again--"
"--off-duty guys?--Matasumi, Winsloe?"
Leah leaned against my shoulder. "Can you tell how many there are?"
I shook my head. "Three, maybe four voices, plus those who aren't talking. Wait, I hear something else."
A loud hissing sounded from the other side of the exit. As I tried to identify the noise, it suddenly rose to a grating whir, loud enough even for a non-werewolf to hear.
"Blowtorch," Leah said. "That'll work. We'd better get ready."
We neve
r got a chance to put our plan into motion. As I swung into the empty cell, the exit door suddenly opened. The guards' shouts of surprise broke into a barrage of commands. Leah darted into the first cell with me. As I wheeled to close the door, I realized Bauer wasn't with us.
"She bolted," Leah said.
"Shit!"
I threw open the door. Bauer was running down the hall.
"Sondra!" I shouted.
She stopped. Instead of turning around, though, she started pounding on the cell door to her right.
"Open up!" she yelled. "Goddamn you! Let me in!"
At first, I thought she'd lost it. Then I realized she was at the one remaining occupied cell, that of the Vodoun priest. Of course, Zaid couldn't hear her. The wall was soundproof. Despite every thing happening out here, the poor guy was probably sound asleep. I leaned out the doorway to tell her to hide, but she was already gone, vanishing into Armen Haig's former cell.
As I closed the door, I realized we had a problem. Leah and I were hiding behind a one-way pane of glass. Any guards in the hall could see us, but we couldn't see them. Not good. I scanned the cell for a hiding spot, knowing I wouldn't find one. We were exposed. Any second now the guards would come around that corner--I stopped. Why hadn't they come around the corner already? When I cracked open the door, I heard frantic shouts, then a scream, an inhuman shriek that made my hackles rise.
I motioned Leah back. "I'm taking a look."
"Crouch," she said. "Stay below eye level."
We both hunkered down. I eased the door open. A flash of light ricocheted off my eyes and I jerked back, only to see the beam skitter from wall to floor to ceiling, like someone wildly brandishing a flashlight. Over the screaming, I heard a male voice; then a high-pitched alarm swallowed all sound. I sniffed and smelled something so unexpected I doubted my own senses. The acrid stench of burned meat filled the air. As I inhaled again, second-guessing myself, a guard rocketed by so fast I didn't have time to retreat into the cell. It didn't matter. He flew past, mouth open in a scream swallowed by the siren. Something flapped at his side. I squinted in the near dark, then shuddered. It was his arm, almost severed above the elbow, swinging back and forth as he ran.
The flashlight beam continued to bounce around the walls. Shapes flickered, casting contorted shadows on the wall. The siren wavered and gave one last coughing blip. As it died, sound filled the air: the hissing of the blowtorch, shouts from the guards still hidden around the corner, the endless screams of the guard with the severed arm. Another guard stumbled around the corner, the blowtorch flickering beside him. As he passed our cell, he slid on something, his legs flying out. The blowtorch sailed into the air. Then it stopped. Stopped eight feet above the ground and hovered there, spitting blue flame. The fallen guard sprang to his feet. The blowtorch flew down and sliced him across the back. His arms shot up and he pitched forward, screaming as his shirt ignited. The stink of charred flesh and fabric filled the air.