wanted to know what those animals had done to him there.
She glanced down at her stomach. Well, she already knew at least one thing they had done to him… or rather one thing they’d taken from him.
Did he know? Had they told him about…?
She met his eyes. “Is this really what you look like?” The words barely emerged a whisper. “Or is this the illusion?” She desperately wanted this to be true.
This is really what I look like.
“It isn’t another trick… like the monster?”
This is my true appearance. I may be able to project images into your mind and make you see something else, but I can’t actually change my form. If you need confirmation, touch me.
Touch him where? He was riddled with wounds.
But she needed to know.
Reaching out, Lisa tentatively rested a trembling hand on his shoulder. His skin was cool and bore a light coating of perspiration. She drew her hand down over his biceps.
His Adam’s apple bobbed, and something she couldn’t identify flickered in his eyes.
“I’m sorry,” she said, her voice hushed while the alarm continued to blare. “Did I hurt you?”
No. It’s… You’re the first person who has touched me—not with intent to harm, but with kindness—in a very long time.
His words broke her heart.
Lisa leaned forward and began to work on the strap that held his head down. “Why don’t you talk out loud?” Was his species unable to?
I did—moments ago—and found it painful. I believe they have damaged my throat.
Had he? She couldn’t remember. She had lost her mind for a minute there while she’d imagined a slime-coated, razor-toothed creature clawing its way out of her belly when it was ready to be born.
The strap loosened. Lisa breathed a sigh of relief as she unfastened it and parted both sides.
A red mark traveled across his forehead, resulting from either his struggle against it or its being too tight.
“Thank you,” he croaked.
She nodded. “Don’t speak if it hurts.”
This way is easier for me at the moment.
“That’s fine. I don’t mind.” She shifted her attention to his wrists. Both bled from his struggles. “Is there a switch or something that releases these?” She tapped one manacle.
I believe there is a mechanism under the table.
Lisa dropped to her knees and searched for it as quickly as she could. A small raised nub caught her attention. “Is this it?” She pushed it. Clunk.
He sighed. Yes. Thank you.
She glanced at his feet. Manacles still confined both. Crawling to the foot of the table, she found the other release and pressed it. Clunk.
Thank you.
Gunfire sounded in the next hallway.
Rising, she shot the door a fearful look.
What’s happening out there?
She quickly tackled the leather straps at his elbows and knees, freeing him one limb at a time. “Brad told me they captured some vampires. More found out and have come to free them. It looks like they’re killing everyone who works here.”
What’s a vampire? A growl of pain escaped his chapped lips as he sat up.
“It’s—” A cramp ripped through her abdomen. Crying out, Lisa braced a hand next to his feet and cupped her belly with the other.
He clutched his chest. Blood oozed from the incision.
“What did they do to you?” The question left her lips without any forethought.
All that they could without killing me, he responded, his tone both angry and weary. He glanced at her stomach. What did they do to you?
Her heart began to pound. “You don’t know?”
His eyebrows drew together. No. Should I?
She looked away. The truth lodged in her throat and refused to climb any higher. She couldn’t tell him. Not here. Not now. Not like this.
She winced as another cramp struck.
Are you ill? What afflicts you?
“We’ll talk about it later. Right now we need to get the hell out of here while we still can.”
The floor continued to rumble and shake with those odd tremors. But earthquakes didn’t happen here.
Or did they? Was she still in Texas? Or had the Anomalous Cognition Research Institute moved her to California or some other seismically active state?
Taelon scooted to the edge of the table, then slid off onto his feet.
His knees buckled.
Lisa lunged forward and wrapped her arms around him. He was a lot taller than she was. And heavier with muscle. For a minute she thought they would both end up toppling to the floor. She was still weak from her coma, and he felt like he weighed a ton. But she braced her feet, locked her knees, and managed to keep him upright.
He gripped the