An Outcast and an Ally (A Soldier and a Liar #2) - Caitlin Lochner Page 0,1
as they pass. So. The Council is trying to give its men the home advantage by intentionally leaving this place in the dark. Smart—except the Councilors forget they’re dealing with Nytes.
Once the guards are gone, Erik and I slip out of our hiding space and down the hall to the left, the way they came from. Even though my eyes have somewhat adjusted to the dark, it’s still hard not to run into anything. Rubble litters the floor, along with broken bits of furniture, scattered files and papers, shattered glass. It crunches under our boots, and I cringe at the noise. Jay guides us through the building and out of the way of the guards.
We’ve just reached the safe room, the most likely place anything important would be kept, when Jay’s thoughts burst in. They’ve extinguished the fire. Johann’s started another, but they’ve caught on that someone is doing this intentionally. They’re looking for her—and doubling back into the building to search for intruders.
Shit. Got it.
“We have to hurry,” I whisper to Erik. “They’re coming.”
Erik waves his hand, and the bent metal door propped against the doorframe in front of us lifts into the air as easily as a piece of paper and sets itself back down out of our way. “Good thing we’re here.”
“Close your eyes.” I reach for my necklace and touch one of the power crystals hanging from it. Syon’s power crystal is small and electric-yellow, no bigger than my thumbnail. When I draw out his gift from it, light immediately floods the safe room, blinding if you didn’t have your eyes closed to the initial intensity of it. As soon as the light calms down, I open my eyes.
Before us is a space no bigger than our old bedrooms back in the military. The walls are solid metal, dented and scorched in multiple places. Cracks streak the linoleum floor. A few overturned filing cabinets are the only furniture, but whatever contents they might’ve once held have clearly been emptied out. The drawers hang open at awkward angles, the locks snapped clean off. Erik lifts them into the air with his gift anyway, shakes them, but nothing falls out. There’s nothing else here.
Erik looks at me. “Lai.”
“No,” I say. “This can’t be it. There has to be something.”
“Lai, whatever was here, the rebels have it now.”
“No. They must have left something behind. Why else would the Council be guarding this place?”
“How should I know? Maybe they’re just trying to keep people out for their own good. This place is a wreck.”
Three guards headed your way. You need to get out of there, now.
I bite my lip.
Erik catches it. “Message from Jay?”
“Three guards incoming.”
“Then we need to go.”
“But—”
“Lai.” His voice is sharp. “There’s nothing here.”
“The rebels stole whatever was in this room, but what if there’s something else the Council is hiding out here?”
“You’re the one who stole the blueprints of this place. You said yourself there were no other secured rooms in these buildings.”
“But what if—”
Lai. Go. Now.
I choke back my aggravation. With heavy feet, I turn to the empty doorframe. “Let’s go.”
Erik and I make it about five steps before shouts of discovery ricochet through the hall. No use for stealth now. We run.
Our boots pound over rocks and glass, the noise echoed by the guards pursuing us.
Jay, how many behind us?
Four for now, but more converging on your location.
The words have barely entered my head when a blaring alarm rings through the building.
“Great,” Erik mutters. “Just what we needed.”
“Better look alive,” I say as two guards rush in front of us from an intersecting hallway. I pull a black metal cylinder from my belt and click the button on its side. Metal pieces unfold from inside it and snap into place until I’m holding a double-headed spear. I don’t slow down, just keep running until I’m right in front of one of the guards. She thrusts her sword forward, but I duck to the side, grab her wrist, and twist it until she drops her weapon. A knee to her gut, and she’s on the ground clutching her stomach. The other guard swings an axe toward me, but before it gets anywhere close, he’s flying back through the air. He crashes against the wall with a whoosh of lost breath.
Erik rolls his wrist easily as he runs past me. “No sweat.”
I roll my eyes as I fall in beside him. “Must be nice to have such an overpowered gift.”