We made our way back through the tunnel. Progress was slow, and the delay ate at my nerves. The longer we were stuck here, the more chance there was of the bitch escaping us.
Although if Azriel's theory was right, there was a good chance she already had. Our only hope lay in the fact that she hadn't yet figured out which of the four items she'd stashed in her case was the key in disguise.
We finally reached the pit. I stood near the outer ring of stakes and glared up at the floor high above us.
"I may be part werewolf, but even I can't leap that far."
"I'll boost you."
I raised an eyebrow as I glanced at him. "And how are you going to get up?"
"I'll jump. You'll catch me."
"You're putting a hell of a lot of faith in my catching skills."
"Because I figure you would not want the father of your child staked." He cupped his hands. "Up you go."
I stepped into his hands and, with a grunt of effort, he flung me high. I grabbed at the ragged ends of the pit and hauled myself onto solid ground, then hooked my feet on either side of the doorframe and leaned back over the hole.
"Okay, go for it."
He leapt up. A heartbeat later his outstretched hands were in mine. I gripped them fiercely, but his weight hit like a ton of bricks and just about ripped my arms from their sockets. I hissed in pain but slowly inched backward, drawing him with me. After a few seconds, he released one hand, caught the edge of the pit, and drew himself up beside me.
I rolled onto my back, breathed a sigh of relief, then scrambled upright. With the shield still in place, neither of us could shift to energy form within the building, so the sooner we got out, the better. I jumped over the loading bay railing, landed neatly, then ran for the gap in the door. Azriel followed me out, and a heartbeat later, we were standing in the burned-out remnants of my living room. I spun around, scanning the room, but couldn't see anything different. And the front door still appeared locked. Which meant either my father hadn't yet delivered on his promise, or it was sitting outside. I strode across the room, unlatched the door, then stepped out onto the metal landing to check. And there, tucked into the corner shadows of the top step, was a small brown box.
"Found something!"
Azriel appeared beside me as I opened the box. Inside were two black cords twined with a silverish thread that had an almost ghostly glow about it, and a note. I quickly unfolded it.