The door's security panel required another code. I didn't bother trying to bypass it. Time was too precious. Instead, I wedged my claws into the seam between door and frame, bracing my feet against the floor. With a roar of effort, I pulled, feeling the metal bend and then give way with a shriek of protest.
The room beyond was clinically white, dominated by a medical examination table in the center. And there, strapped down with restraints, was Kalyndi.
When she saw me, relief washed over her face. "Redmon!"
I rushed to her side, quickly assessing her condition. They'd taken blood, several vials based on the marks on her arm, and attached monitoring devices to her chest and temples. Her skin was paler than usual, but she seemed otherwise unharmed.
"Did they hurt you?" I asked, carefully removing the restraints.
"Nothing permanent." Her voice was hoarse. "Just tests. So many tests. And questions about us, about our relationship."
The last restraint fell away, and she sat up, swaying slightly. Without thinking, I pulled her against my body, breathing in her scent, reassuring myself she was truly here, alive.
"I knew you'd come," she whispered against my hide.
"Always," I promised, helping her stand. "Can you walk?"
She nodded, determination replacing the momentary weakness. "We need to go. There's something else, Redmon. Something I found out while they had me."
"Tell me once we're clear of this place."
"No, you need to know now." Her eyes locked with mine, intense and urgent. "There are others here. Not just test subjects, actual captives. Including children."
My blood ran cold. "The missing offspring? Here?"
"Level B, Section 4. I heard the scientists discussing transfers while they thought I was sedated." She gripped my arm. "We can't leave them."
I hesitated only for a heartbeat. The plan had been simple: get Kalyndi, get out. But I knew she was right. We couldn't abandon children to Magnus Terra's experiments.
"It will be dangerous," I warned. "Security will be tighter there."
"I know." Her jaw set in that familiar stubborn line. "But if it were our child, wouldn't you want someone to try?"
The thought of our theoretical child in this sterile hell made my decision instant. "Level B it is."
I helped her to the door, checking the corridor before we stepped out. "Stay close. The diversion won't last forever."
"Diversion?"
As if on cue, a distant explosion rocked the facility, the vibrations traveling through the floor beneath our feet.
"Elder Marok sends his regards," I said with grim satisfaction.
We made our way to the emergency stairwell, avoiding the elevator's cameras. Kalyndi moved more steadily with each step, her natural resilience asserting itself. When we reached Level B, I cracked the door open, scanning for threats.
This floor was different, brighter, almost homey in sections, with colorful murals on some walls. It might have seemed pleasant if not for the armed guards at intersections and the locked doors with biometric scanners.
"It's designed to look like a school," Kalyndi whispered, disgust evident in her voice.
"A prison disguised as a sanctuary," I agreed.
A large blue door marked section 4 at the end of the main corridor. Between us and it stood four guards and whatappeared to be a scientist in a white lab coat, all looking tense as alarms continued to sound throughout the facility.
"We need a distraction," I murmured.
Kalyndi's eyes lit up. "The fire suppression system." She pointed to a control panel on the wall nearby. "If we trigger it on this level only, they'll have to investigate."
"Good thinking."
