water vanished as soon as it hit his fingers. His arms blurred as he spun, ducked, and jumped in an intricate dance that had Dani staring in grudging admiration. He moved gracefully, always balanced, nearly precognizant of where the next attack would come from. She and Ben stood a few feet away, but remained untouched by a single drop.
After half a minute of the barrage, the janitors tossed the bottles aside, their reservoirs depleted. A few exchanged worried glances, but none retreated.
“Shall we continue with this tiresome game?” Sydney asked.
A janitor wielding dual squeegees sprinted at the mage, weapons raised. He slashed down. Sydney dodged and snapped a kick into the man’s near elbow. The janitor cried out, and the squeegee flew from his hand and spun past Dani’s ear. She turned and her heart hiccupped as the edge sliced into the wall and stuck there.
Why didn’t anyone warn her about this sort of thing?
The janitor recovered and struck out again. Sydney swiveled on a heel and snatched the remaining tool from his attacker. The squeegee crumbled into black dust.
Sydney grabbed the man’s collar as he staggered off balance. The jumpsuit puffed away and left him standing in nothing but his boots. His eyes widened and he hunched to cover himself. Sydney smiled in apology before laying the man out with an uppercut.
Dani almost clapped, impressed despite herself. As if sensing her approval, however, Sydney glanced back and grinned, which cooled her enthusiasm immediately.
Ben put a hand on Sydney’s shoulder and drew him back.
“C’mon, Lu,” he said. “It don’t gotta be like this.”
The woman shuffled forward, mop raised. “Ascendants will be here soon.”
“So stop wastin’ our time. Just stand aside and no one gets hurt.”
She yelled and motioned for the others to attack as she did. Ben lunged to intercept. He caught the striking mop on a raised arm. The cloth tendrils of the mop coiled around his forearm and tightened. However, he braced and used the connection to yank Lucy his way. The woman stumbled into his arms. She started to rear back, but Ben grabbed her around the back and hugged her to him. As her face rose, he kissed her hard.
Dani stood dumbstruck. The other charging Cleaners all stopped as well to stare at the lip-locked janitors.
When Ben released her, Lucy clutched at her throat, face pale and strained. She sank to her knees. Gurgling noises bubbled out of her wide mouth and froth spotted her lips. Her chest heaved. Her eyes rolled up in their sockets and she slumped over.
A watery blob flowed out of her lips and back over to Ben. It crawled up to his left hand, where it reformed into a transparent glove.
They looked at the remaining janitors, who drew back after seeing two of their number dropped so quickly.
Ben glanced her way. “Dani? Showtime.”
Dani showed off her meanest, most sadistic grin as she strode forward. The janitors stumbled over their own carts in their haste to escape.
She pouted at their scramble. “I don’t know whether to be relieved or insulted.”
“They was just delayin’ us,” Ben said. “The real fight’s waitin’.”
“How many should we expect?” Sydney asked.
Ben grabbed the nearest cart and shoved it ahead as they left the room. As Dani snagged a pair of gloves off the cart, she noticed he winced with each step and favored his right arm.
“Except for our escort back here,” he said, “Destin and Francis took most of the local Ascendants along for the fun. Even if they got the message out, reinforcements are gonna take time to arrive.”
They ran into the main hall leading up to the elevator. Dani paused in the process of tugging the gloves on.
“Uh … Ben? There’s nobody here.”
Ben’s eyes narrowed. The mess he’d made by releasing the imprisoned creatures had been cleaned up except for a few scorch marks along one wall and an inky blotch dripping from the ceiling. The elevator stood open, inviting them in.
“Up we go, then.”
“Tally-ho,” Sydney murmured. “The windmills await.”
Dani shot him a glare, but received a charming smile in return.
They rode the elevator in silence, each tensed for what waited above. As the doors opened, Dani took in the scene in a glance.
The white-tiled hall stretched out wide before them. The glass panels on either side had frosted over, blocking sight of the cells and cages on the lower levels. Halfway down, another blockade had been set up, consisting of plastic yellow Wet Floor signs strung together by red-hot bands of crackling energy that