Edwina let out a low, terrified moan.
Kendra slid off the table. Her legs nearly buckled, but she managed to catch herself with a white-knuckle grip on the table.
“Mind yourself!” This time it was Dandridge who snapped out the warning. “The knife missed your vital organs—remarkable, really—but you still lost a lot of blood.”
“It’s not the first time I’ve been stabbed,” she muttered.
Sir Preston smirked. “I must confess, you are a most unusual female. Still, it will take you a day or two to recover. We want you in top form before we begin our experiments.” He paused, his eyes brightening as he looked at Dandridge. “I wonder if a transfusion of purified blood would speed up the recovery process?”
Dandridge looked intrigued. “Yes . . .yes, an excellent idea, Sir Preston. We can’t wait too long, of course, if we want to get a true measurement.”
Cold fear and fury speared through her as she listened to the rising excitement in the two men as they discussed the idea. A new experiment with her as the lab rat.
“How does it work?” she asked abruptly. A bead of sweat slid down her spine as she forced herself to step toward Dandridge’s invention.
“We don’t yet know its potential,” Dandridge said now. “It works like a Leyden jar, where the rod is charged with static electricity, and the electricity is then stored in the glass container until it’s released. But our device ismuchmore powerful. It truly is lightening in a bottle.”
Kendra nodded, even as she gave a surreptitious glance around the chamber, looking for something she could use as a weapon. There were medical instruments on the counter, sharp and deadly—but too far away. She spotted her reticule and gun on a bench. Closer, but not close enough.
“The machine is fully charged,” Dandridge continued. “It can provide an electrical current for six hours. More than enough time to circulate the blood.”
“Clever.” Kendra glanced at Sir Preston, leaning on his cane, with its silver handle that concealed the blade. Even in her weakened state, she was confident that she could get the weapon from him . . . but that still left Dandridge.
“We remove the infected blood, which is then passed through the machine . . .”
Kendra pretended to listen as her gaze returned to the counter. Her stomach lurched at one object floating in murky liquid. She recognized the orb for what it was:an eyeball.
And she knew, absolutelyknew, she was staring at one of Clarice’s eyes.
In a few days or weeks, bits and pieces of her would be in those jars too.
No fucking way.
The door suddenly flew open, and a wild-eyed Dawes flung himself into the room.
“Andrew?” Sir Preston asked, startled. “What happened? Where’s Ned?”
“He’s— I don’t—” The apprentice panted, shaking his head. “Lord Sutcliffe came . . .”
It’s now or never. Sucking in a breath, Kendra launched herself at Sir Preston. Pain exploded in her abdomen as she rammed him with her shoulder, sending the old man wheeling backward. She tried to grab the cane, but Sir Preston was already falling. He yelled as he splashed into the shallow creek.
Kendra turned in time to see Alec, Sam, and Fish barreling through the doorway.
“No!Damn you!” Sir Preston cried, drawing Kendra’s attention again. He’d managed to get to his feet and his eyes locked on hers as he yanked the silver handle off his cane, revealing the blade. There was only one weapon close enough for Kendra to grab.
She turned and grasped the wooden box, lifting it in one Herculean effort. She felt her stitches rip open as she heaved the machine in a low arc toward the stream. Sir Preston’s eyes widened and his mouth opened, but no scream emerged as the box hit the water. His body did a jittery dance as the machine’s electrical current was discharged in the creek. Then his eyes rolled up in his head and he collapsed face-down into the water.
Kendra’s heart leap into her throat at the sound of a gunshot, and she pivoted to see Dandridge’s body sprawled on the floor. Kendra met Alec’s eyes as he lowered his gun.
“My God, Kendra . . .” Shoving the weapon into his pocket, Alec raced over to her. “You’ve been shot,” he breathed, his eyes on the bandage and the blood seeping through it.
“Stabbed. Sir Preston’s fucking cane hid a knife.” She began to shake. “I’m pretty sure I tore out the stitches.”
“Damnation.” He ran over to the counter and brought back more linen strips. “When we get home, I’ll call my physician.”
“I’m sort of off doctors right now.” She hissed when he wrapped the bandage around her. “Unless it’s Dr. Munroe. He’s stitched me up before.”
Alec muttered something she didn’t quite catch.
