—What’s happening—
—The kids are too traumatized to climb the ladder…Cosmo get up there—
The hellhound and I stand sentry in the stalled elevator car as the dragon climbs the shaft.
—He’s got the cover open, I can see daylight. Alexis, lift a kid up…see if Cos can reach her—
SMASH.
The enemy crashes against the elevator doors.
CRASH.
Once again, then they starts stuttering apart.
My minotaur kicks in and the rest of my body shifts, as does the hound.
When the doors fully open, we charge, bowling down the guards like skittles. I slash and rip with my claws at the same time hearing the snap of hellhound teeth.
Screams.
Sirens.
The heavy thud of tactical boots hits the stairs. Dozens of them.
—Guys…come on…we’re all be out in a moment—
—You first, Bully—
I immediately shift back to human, run to the elevator and heave myself through the hatch. It’s a tight fit and as I drag myself up a bullet hits my thigh. The pain is distant, an annoyance is all.
Rolling onto the top of the lift car, my large frame taking up too much space and I almost crush the gryphon.
More gunshots sound below, but I concentrate on the guns firing above the ground. Where Theo and the children are.
Feniks gets out to the surface, then I pull myself up. Theo and the children ducked down behind an oil tank.
The centaur is their defence, bucking and kicking while firing arrows at the same time.
“Load them up!” he roars, “I’ve got this.”
Picking up the girl from Cell 4, I duck low and limp to the Jeep, then toss her inside.
Hobbling back, I grab three more children and repeat the action. Theo is already in the truck bed, pulling the children down and urging them to lay still.
—Coming up— The hound.
I scramble into the driving seat, revving the engine. The passenger door is ripped open and the hellhound and his cousin tumble in. “Go!”
Out of the corner of my eye I see a dragon take to the sky, then whirl around and shoot streams of fire down onto the panicking guards.
The Jeep’s tires scream as I wheel out of the compound and smash through the gates. We fish-tail wildly, but stay on the road.
The centaur runs beside us, firing arrows behind him.
—Destroy that place!—Theo commands.
—Yes, Theodora—
