That was all he could think of.
He’d never been so relieved to turn into a unicorn. His sense of the danger surrounding them was sharper than ever, but at least his head was clear.
And he could see the door. Blake’s security system had locked it in place with steel bolts, but it still seemed easier to get out that way than through the barred windows.
Keith neighed, tossing his head in that direction:Since I can move faster, I’m going to go start kicking.
It was a lot to convey with a neigh, but Iris clearly got it. She nodded and started following him at a careful, glacial pace, trying to keep Seraphina on her back.
Keith started kicking.
He reared up and did his best to slam his full weight against the door, striking his hooves against it over and over.
Come on, come on ....
He even turned around, kicking with his back legs like an angry donkey. Maybe that would be a more direct blow?
The immense mahogany door shook beneath his assault. Splinters flew, and if all he wanted was to leave some unsightly scratches and chips on Blake’s door, he’d be happy with his work. It looked ugly enough now.
But there was still a lot of door to get through. And how much smoke could they breathe in and still survive?
Blake had said the doors were all reinforced. Clearly he hadn’t undersold it.
If Iris didn’t make it out of here—
Keith couldn’t even let himself think about that. He had to come up with something. Iris had figured out how to defeat Blake; he just needed to channel some of her creativity. He had to think of a way out that Blake never would have predicted.
What wouldn’t Blake think of? He’d been a narrow-minded, unimaginative asshole, someone who couldn’t even fathom that anyone might do somethinghewouldn’t do ....
Like going through a wall instead of a door.
Keith backed up until the heat from the fire was almost unbearable. Sweat poured off him. If he stayed here much longer, it would start to sizzle, pop, and turn to steam.
He wasn’t completely sure he could survive doing this, but if it got Iris out, he didn’t care.
Ready, set—
He lowered his head, diamond-hard horn out, and charged.
His horn gouged a hole in the wall, weakening it so that the rest of his body could barrel partway through. His shoulders and front hooves were between the crumbling plaster and the brick exterior.
Dust filled the air now, mixing with the smoke. Keith was having trouble breathing. His hooves were tangled up in fallen debris, and he scraped one hock bloody as he backed out of the wall and prepared for another run.
Iris was making a wild, unrestrained whinnying noise that Keith instinctively knew wasn’t deliberate. She wasn’t trying to get his attention because she’d had a better idea. She was just crying out in alarm and concern as he battered away at the wall, using his horn and hooves and head andwhole bodyas a sledgehammer to beat it to pieces.
His head was ringing, and every part of him hurt, butit was working. On the third charge, his horn crashed through the exterior wall, punching out a brick and sending some more falling too.
Then, to his absolute amazement, hands reached inside the hole he’d made.
With shifter strength, they started pulling the loosened bricks free, throwing them outside and opening up the way. More hands reached in close to the ground, yanking the lower bricks too.
The ragged hole in the wall was big enough for a horse to pass through now.
Despite all the throbbing pain, Keith felt an overwhelming wave of relief. He could get her out now. He backed up, stepping over the remains of the wall and clearing a path for Iris. He neighed to her, looking from her to the hole.
It’s safe to go through now.
Iris’s eyes were red from the smoke, but even so, Keith was pretty sure he saw a glint of stubbornness there, like she really, really wanted to ask whyhehadn’t gone ahead and gone through. But, for Seraphina’s sake, she started to cautiously advance.
