“It’s not that bad. Keep going.”
A laser beam that struck through his wing and shoulder was not what I would call “not bad,” but I didn’t argue.
Jaron led us deeper into the complex, into another room, up a set of stairs and down a high catwalk over another room with strange vats in the middle of the catwalk circling the room.
“How big is this place?” I muttered.
“Big enough that I can’t find the exit.” Jaron said over his shoulder.
Suddenly Luuciyn grabbed both of us and stuffed us into a recessed doorway. He stood in front of us, wings flared to hide us. Jaron and I shared a look when nothing happened. If he thought we needed to hide, I had no problem with it.
Boots thudding onto the metal catwalk announced a group of soldiers, likely going to the battle in the storage cavern. I shifted the rifle in my grip so it pointed up and I could quickly level it forward once Luuciyn was out of the way.
Thankfully, they didn’t notice us. When the last two were jogging past, Luuciyn reached out and artfully flicked his claws along their throats. They never saw it coming. He grabbed onto the backs of their uniforms so they didn’t hit the ground and alert the others. When the sound of their footsteps faded, Jaron led us on.
Sure enough, the vorpyr was holding her tiny baby to her chest, fangs bared and wings flared behind her as two men tried to get her out of a completely see-through room with what looked like a cross between a cattle prod and a taser.
Luuciyn swept past us. With his wings to propel him, he was through the open door and on the men in a blink. They dropped, their blood painting the walls.
The female spoke rapidly to him in vorikaan and he responded soothingly, wrapping an arm around her and gently stroking her hair as she cried. He said something else, and she trilled, hurrying out in front of him. When she saw us her face grew wary, but Luuciyn told us to go back the way we’d come and encouraged her forward with a hand to her back.
“Wait. We should get Tatiana.” Jaron turned to me.
“She’s here? Where?”
“Likely in her room. She’s not enough of a rule breaker.”
“Let’s go.”
“Jacqueline!” Luuciyn barked behind me as we made a dash for the hallway on the other end of the room.
“I have to get Tatiana. I’ll meet you.” I called back without breaking stride. A string of curses followed me.
Sure enough, we found Tatiana in a tiny room, sitting on an equally tiny cot, reading a book and jiggling her leg.
Jaron pushed on the metal door sporting a single thin window, but it didn’t budge. Tatiana leapt to her feet and came to the window. She said something but I couldn’t hear anything. I pointed at my ear and shook my head.
“We have to find a crowbar or something.” I looked around the cold concrete hall.
“What we need is to find the controller to the door lock and short circuit it.”
“What you both need is to be beaten, but first I’ll tear this door open so you stop wasting time.” Luuciyn’s matter-of-fact tone did nothing to hide the look of murder in his eyes. It took some doing, but he warped the door near the lock enough that it came free.
“Oh thank goodness!” Tatiana wrapped me in a hug. “We didn’t know what had happened to you.” She had tears in her eyes as she pulled back.
“Let’s discuss that when we don’t have a whole compound trying to kill us.” I grabbed her hand, and we raced after Luuciyn. The female vorpyr joined us, clutching her baby.
We made it back to the hallway that would lead us to the storeroom where sounds of fighting still raged and came face to face with a handful of soldiers.
“Shit.” We dodged to both sides of the hallway entrance as the soldiers began shooting and advancing toward us.
I slid the rifle around the corner and pulled the trigger before pulling back. Luuciyn was directly across from me on the other side of the hallway and tipped his wing at me. Approval? I wasn’t sure, but I did it again, shooting twice. In response, a round cylinder came bouncing out of the hallway.
“Plas grenade!” Both Jaron and Luuciyn shouted.
I whirled and shoved the female back as hard as I could. She grabbed my arm with her free hand and dragged me as she propelled us away with her wings. On the other side, the other three had gotten further. While the heat from the small explosion reached us, we were far enough away to not be injured. The baby cried, noises only slightly different than that of a human newborn.
The soldiers came out shooting. I shot back as we backed away with no cover to run for. One came directly at me.Click.The rifle was out of charge. He raised his laser pistol, and I stepped in front of the mother. A shot sounded and the soldier dropped. Jaron stood there, with a pistol he must have gotten from one of the downed soldiers, looking determined.
