Somehow, against all odds, that rickety metal cotactuallysaved my life.
Maybe Iama fucking god after all.
“Shit,” I cough, shifting to check on Ren.
I only have a few inches to move, but shoving backward against the cot wiggles me free some more. Ren’s eyes are closed, and he’s dirty, scraped and bleeding a little.
Shit, so am I.
“Fucking what the… fuck,” I breathe, coughing some more from all the dust in the air.
I press my face to Ren’s chest. His heart is pumping against my cheek. And a rush of relief warms me inside. Until I remember that I’m heartless and shake it away.
He’s breathing, but knocked out cold.
“Dios… That was close,” I chuckle hoarsely.
But my amusement falls away fast when I remember the voice.
“Eres el diablo…”
“Angelito,” I croak, frantically fighting against the rubble that’s burying us beneath the cot.
Fuck, okay, what if he’s here and now he’s hurt??
No no no. Not him.
Everyoneelse can rot, but if Angel is here, he needs to be… okay.
It takes a few minutes, but eventually I dig myself out and climb over the piles of rock, stumbling to the door. I cast one last look at Warren Xavier. He looks peaceful, sleeping beneath the crumpled bed frame in a pile of debris.
He’s fine.
I need to find whoever spoke those words to me. It was him, Iknowit was.
But how…?
And what about the girl??
Peering out into the hallway, I’m momentarily distracted from my hectic thoughts as I freeze, balking at the destruction. It’s staggering.
My prison is…destroyed.
The emotion that comes first, as a reflex, is a sweeping breath ofrelieffleeing my lungs. Like chains that have held me down for so long have been unlocked, and I’mfinally free.
But I overpower it and frown.
This is mine. Myempireis in ruins.
Shuffling through the halls, I’m tripping over things, coughing and holding my side. I might have cracked a rib, and there’s something sticky dribbling from my head.
But I don’t care. I need to get out of here.
I need to find…
“Pajarito?” I call quietly, peering around every corner. “Are you here?”
I don’t see any trail of blood, other than the one I’m leaving. No sign that he’s been hurt.
