enough to hurt my throat. I followed it with a heavy cough.
It was the cough that seemed to snap her out of it. Maybe it was so uniquely me that her subconscious recognized it? She blinked twice, and the magic between her and the Hua faded. It didn't vanish completely. It was too late for that.
"The Hua," she said. Her stomach muscles clenched as she started to pull herself upright.
I reached for the stone without thinking, getting a finger on it before pulling it away in sharp pain. It was way too hot to touch.
Jin's hands wrapped around it on her way up, and she pulled it from the supports and cradled it to her naked chest. Her forehead was damp, and her eyes looked droopy. She was fighting hard to move right now. I needed to get us free.
I found the dice in my pocket. They were warm. Ready. I owed it for Stargazer. I brought them to my lips.
"Make sure you take the fucking guards, or I'm going to die," I said, activating the magic. I was still wearing the mask. I could hear the laughter echoing in my head.
The mousey tech yanked open the doors. The guards turned and raised their rifles.
I threw the dice, and then grabbed Jin and pulled her back, falling to the ground behind the chair.
I hit hard on my back and rolled, putting myself over her and the Hua, holding back a pained cry at the feel of the stone against my chest, burning even through the trench.
I heard a cry. A single, solitary, fucking cry.
One? It took one?
The laughter got louder in my head.
A soul for a soul.
The bullets pinged off the chair behind me as the guards adjusted their aim. The trench would absorb the first few bullets before the integrity was lost.
Then I would die.
"Baron," Jin said below me. "Get off."
Her eyes were red. Burning.
I rolled away from her.
The fire exploded outward. I couldn't tell if it came from her body, or from the Hua. All I know is that it launched out like it was in a firehose, bathing the entire area in front of us in heat and destruction, first turning the machines to slag, then the fleeing techs, and then the guards.
They all vanished beneath the assault, their screams cut short by the burning dissolution of their lungs.
The fire stopped only seconds after it had begun. It would have been a great time to rest, but there was no time to rest. There were a lot more ghosts still lining the gates at the outer edge of the facility.
I rocked to my feet and turned to Jin, holding out my hand to help her up.
She looked back at me with frightening, tired eyes. The Hua was still tight to her chest, a tight, almost threadlike glow tying it to her.
"We need to move," I said.
Her body shifted as though she were in mud. She was fighting to rise, to get going. Whatever was happening with the bonding, it was leaving her weak.
I crouched and got my hands under her, careful not to touch the Hua again. I groaned and coughed as I lifted her, feeling my sudden fatigue catching up with me. I had pushed a lot of magic into Tobias to stop him. I was grateful I had more of the meds.
Of course, the injector had been lost in the crash.
I stumbled towards what was left of the door, at the same time hoping the burning magic hadn't toasted the car. I spared one look back at the carnage - the destroyed machines, the two techs who had escaped unscathed, and Tobias laying prone on the floor, still unconscious. If I had a gun, I would have shot him then and there.
The dice were resting right in the center of the destructive path. I wasn't surprised to find them unharmed. Did it know what Jin was capable of? Was that why it had only taken one?
"What do you know?" I asked it. The laughter had faded back some, combined with the screams of the one it had claimed.
It didn't answer. I knew it wouldn't.
I stooped and shifted my hand to grab the two squares of carved bone, and then pushed out into the desert sun.
THIRTY-NINE
Teacher's pet.
The rental car was still there, unharmed by the blast. I circled to the passenger side and lowered Jin to the ground. Then I yanked open the door and guided her in, wrapping the belt so that it would offer