“Good.” Cyprian nodded to the other men, then asked in English, “Shall we?”
I felt their strength surge into me and hissed, “No, not me. Give it to Mal.”
I didn't have to explain further. They all instantly realized that I was right. We needed to empower the most physically strong of us, not the most magically strong. Color magic wouldn't be able to bend steel, but Malik's battleform might manage it, especially with an extra push from the rest of us.
I sent my strength down the bond between us, pouring all my energy into Malik. Mal grunted as his shirt caught fire. He smacked away the flames even as he shifted, his body thickening and lengthening into something humans considered demonic. Horns grew from his head, his teeth lengthened, claws sprang from his hands, and leathery wings sprouted from his back. He snarled and gripped the bars before him, holding the cell wall steady as he pushed on the door. Instead of trying to bend the bars, he was trying to break the lock. Mal's got the brains to go with his brawn.
The lock broke in three seconds flat.
Everyone got to their feet eagerly and silently. I hoped Ugela didn't have a camera in the room or we'd have company soon. The thought must have occurred to Malik too; he hurried down the line of cells, breaking every lock until we were all free. No one came to stop him. It looked as if luck was on our side.
Malik let go of our strength, sending the excess back to us, and we grinned at each other. All we had to do was get out of this room, and we could twist away. The problem was that I could only take two people at a time. And to do that, I needed to be at my best.
As soon as I was free, I hurried past Malik to the fridge and retrieved the golden vial. I shuffled through the lab equipment and opened drawers until I found an injector and grabbed that too.
“Let's go!” Rain hissed.
I held up the gun to show him what I'd been after. He nodded but waved me toward the door urgently. We rushed through the doorway and into a corridor as I loaded the injector. I didn't want to risk twisting people when I wasn't at full power.
“Stop,” Kyrian whispered.
The whoosh of an air canister came in the silence as I injected my magic back where it belonged. Kyrian lifted a brow at me, and I grinned as the power rushed through me, bright and beautiful. My second sight instantly blossomed as if to welcome the magic home, the auras of everyone before me billowing out to combine into one mass of kaleidoscopic color.
“Are you good?” Cyprian asked as I set the injector gun down on the floor.
“Yes.”
“Then let's twist from here,” Kyrian suggested.
“Fuck no, I'm killing that woman and anyone else corrupt enough to work for her,” Mal snarled.
“You mean Braxis,” Davorin said with a hint of smugness.
“Not the time, Bro,” Leo whispered.
“We can come back,” I argued. “I don't want to risk getting recaptured.”
“Mvarra,” Malik growled.
“We have lots of bare skin showing and all they have to do is hit us with a single paintball to take us down,” I reminded him.
“Do you seriously want to put her in danger again?” Cyprian snapped at Mal.
Malik exhaled slowly and the burning mark on my neck cooled.
“You're right,” Mal conceded. “Go ahead and start transporting people, Mvarra. I'll keep watch.”
I grabbed those closest to me—Kyrian and Rain. Then I tried to twist.
“Forest fires!” I hissed.
“No go?” Rain asked.
“They must have the whole building encased in that barrier,” Talon concluded. He looked at Malik and said in a sing-song, sarcastic tone, “I guess we have to slaughter them all.”
“Oh, darn.” Malik started to grin.
“Be careful, everyone,” I whispered.
