Dragon's Isolation - Miranda Martin Page 0,48

know if there will be papers but it’s something simple I can have him help me look for.

While he searches the tables I spy cabinets on the opposite wall and make my way to them. I do my best to avoid looking in the tubes between me and them but it’s not possible. The images sear into my mind.

When I have time I’ll be back. I promise all your poor lost souls. Right now I have to save my man. I hope you understand.

Silently I make my vow. The cabinets won’t open. I tug but they’re locked so I jerk. They rattle loudly, but I’m not getting in that easy. I put my foot against one and pull on the handle with all I’ve got. My hand slips and I slam onto my back.

“OW!” I yell as my head cracks on the floor.

Shidan is looming over me in an instant, growling. He helps me to my feet then glares at the cabinet. He grabs the handle.

“It’s locked,” I say at the same time his muscles bulge and he grumbles.

The door flies off its hinges, and he throws it across the room.

“Show off,” I mutter under my breath, but I smile, grateful for his strength. The inside of the cabinet is filled with pills and vials of liquids, hundreds of them. “Jackpot!”

Shidan smiles and nods. “Good?”

“Yes!” I exclaim.

There has to be something among these that will be a cure. Out of all this horror that surrounds us, there must be some glimmer of hope, and this is it. I’m sure of it. I set about packing everything in the cabinet into our bags. Shidan may be regressing, but he’s still smart. He sees what I’m doing and helps.

Once we’re done with one cabinet I have him open the others and I take everything we can fit into our packs. We run out of room before we get everything there is, but I’ve prioritized what looks like medicine and then journals that will hopefully be understandable to Addison. When I look through them, they don’t make a bit of sense, but I’ve got no medical training at all.

The bags are fully loaded, and that’s all we’re going to be able to take. Shidan lifts the biggest of them and settles it onto his back between his wings. He rolls his shoulders and shifts around until he’s satisfied, then he tests pulling his lochaber out from under it and adjusts more.

“Ready?” I ask when he stops adjusting.

He looks at me, and I can see the gears turning behind his eyes. “Yes.”

I smile and touch his face. My heart swells with pride and love, but the only thing that’s going to save him is hopefully in one of these bags. I let him lead the way back to where we came in. Standing under the opening that he ripped through and looking up, my heart sinks. There is no way we’re going to get up there. It’s way far out of reach.

“Crap,” I say.

There are underground tunnels in the City. I spent a lot of time in them when I was working to get the electricity running, but I never found them to go this far out. If they do, then the entrance is well hidden.

I don’t think that’s likely. If you’re doing god-awful experiments on your own kind, then I doubt you’ll have easy access for anyone and everyone. At least I hope they were secret experiments. I can’t imagine the Zmaj men I know being okay with this kind of… well, torture is the only word that fits.

Why I didn’t think of this before dropping into this black pit, I don’t know. A moment of pure stupidity. Ugh. Okay, there has to be a way out. They didn’t tear open their roof to move things in and out, that’s only logical.

“We have to find a way out,” I say.

“Out,” Shidan repeats, so I nod.

“Out,” I repeat and point at the hole above. He looks up and shakes his head.

“Far.”

“Exactly,” I say.

This room is still dark, the lights were for the other room only. So I get out my torch and have Shidan light it again. One way or another, we’re not done yet. We’ll find a way out if for no other reason than we have to.

Shidan grunts, growls, and then heads off, not needing the torchlight. I follow him doing my best to hold to the last glimmers of hope that I’ll be back to Addison in time for him to