in my youth when I had terrible night terrors—I thought I was traveling to other worlds. Some scary ones and some nice. Even convinced myself that part of my body had gone during the night. But I saw a professional, learned the difference between imagination and reality, and soon healed.”
Imagination and reality. His shoulders perked up. “Tell me about your imagination.”
“I—” She paused and looked toward the wall of windows where a light cut down. “What is that?”
He jumped up, rushing to the window. A helicopter flew above, shining its lights down. “Fuckers.”
She stood. “What’s happening?”
He lowered his head, thinking rapidly. “If I were the Kurjans, I’d conduct a grid search for the helicopter that picked us up on the beach. Looking for places on the outskirts of town to hide a helicopter.” Which they’d probably been doing for hours. He’d figured they’d regroup before searching. “When that didn’t work, I’d do a cursory check downtown for a helicopter.” He was talking to himself at this point.
“You mean the one on top of this building?” she asked.
He’d thought they were safe. That his people were so well known for living in mountains and underground that the Kurjans would never really search a populated area. A high-rise was so out of character for the Seven, for the entire Realm really, that it seemed like a safe place for one night. “Shit.”
“Ivar?” she asked.
He ducked away from the window and reached her in a second. “The sun should be up soon. Maybe thirty minutes?”
“So?” Her voice emerged breathy, and her arm tensed beneath his hand.
The light cut out, and the helicopter high above banked and angled away. Had they seen the sun coming up? Ivar grabbed his gun off the coffee table and tucked it into the back of his jeans.
She gulped. “Are you sure we’re being chased? That could’ve just been a medical helicopter or something.”
Not with the searchlight flashing down through the buildings. But the approach of daylight might’ve scared the Kurjans off. Without a doubt, they’d return as soon as darkness fell. “I’m sure.” He needed to tell her the entire truth so she’d understand the danger. They had to be ready to run as soon as the sun appeared. “I think we’re okay now.”
He’d no sooner gotten the words out than lights slashed down from the north and east walls of windows. Soldiers on ropes swung in, crashing glass in every direction.
Promise partially ducked, covering her head, and screamed high and loud.
* * * *
Promise struggled through the panic, opening her eyes to gauge the level of threat. The two men who’d jumped through the windows quickly released their ropes, which flew back out into the storm. She blinked. Once and twice. The men had frighteningly pale skin and horribly bloodshot eyes. In fact, their eyes appeared red through the dim light. Both men were bald, save for one strip of stark white hair down the middle of their heads that ended in long braids.
She took a step back. Her stomach clenched, and the hair pricked up along her arms.
Ivar pivoted, putting his body between her and the ghoulish men. “Only two of you?” he asked, his back one long line of vibrating threat.
“More breaching the hallway,” the first guy said, his substantial jaw barely moving as his bloodred lips curved. “Though we won’t need backup.”
Who were these people? Rain splashed inside, covering black outfits that looked like they included bulletproof vests, only partially hidden beneath their dark jackets. Promise shivered, looking toward the door to the hallway. Were more of these weird-looking soldiers coming?
The second guy settled his stance, his boots crunching glass. “We don’t want you right now, Viking. Give us the professor, and we’ll let you live.”
What was this? A bad B movie? She moved to the side, partially out of Ivar’s shadow. “Why do you want me?”
The guy didn’t even look her way, keeping his focus on Ivar as he patted the hilt of a knife at his waist. “Well?”
Ivar rolled his neck, and it lightly cracked. “Come and get her,” he rasped. But he didn’t wait, instead leaping over the coffee table, his gun already out and firing rapid green lasers toward the first intruder. Blood spurted from the guy’s neck, but he somehow still jumped forward, colliding with Ivar in a clash louder than metal impacting metal.
Heat rushed up Promise’s throat. She screamed and scrambled around for some sort of weapon, her hands grasping a candlestick off the sofa table. She swung