“What happened here? This is horrible.” Oh please, let them be okay.
“This is dire,” said Kale, his face etched with concern.
“Where are they?” I took another step.
Kale moved in front of me. “Careful. We have to assess the situation.”
A loud crack reverberated throughout the apartment. Both Kale and I spun around looking for its origin. It sounded again above our heads, and I glanced up, plaster showering my face. With a final groan, the ceiling crashed down on us.
I lay on top of the shield strapped to my back, clawing frantically at the ceiling debris burying me. Powder choked my throat and suffocated my nose. Panic seared my mind and I willed myself to stay calm. I reached out, trying to grab onto something.
Two hands clamped onto my wrists and dragged me out of the rubble grave. I coughed, spitting plaster chunks and blowing powder out of my nose.
Kale dusted me off. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” I managed to say, shaking debris from my hair. I winced as I pulled a tiny shard of glass out of my cheek. Blood trickled from the cut, and I smeared it away with my fingertips. My head throbbed.
“Arik—Lei—Sinead!” Kale yelled.
“We’re in here!” Lei shouted from the kitchen. “Arik’s been stunned!”
Kale and I hurried through the narrow kitchen entry. Arik’s head lay on Sinead’s lap.
I sucked in a scared breath. His face was pale; his chest rose and fell, laboring for air. My hand flew to my mouth. Oh no!
Kale kneeled across from Sinead. “Did you see the bleeder who stunned him?”
Lei shook her head. “I only saw the globe whiz by. I didn’t see who sent it.”
“If you saw a globe, it had to be a Sentinel, and mine should counter the stun.” Kale raised his hand, forming a purple sphere. With a turn of his wrist, the globe dropped onto Arik’s chest, and his body glowed violet.
Arik blinked. His hand twitched. He gasped and coughed, gulping at the air. Kale guided him into a sitting position.
He’s okay! I expelled a relieved breath.
“Don’t try to fill your lungs all at once,” instructed Kale. “Do you remember where you are?”
“Of course I remember where I am. What happened?”
“I released my globe,” Lei said nervously.
“What were you thinking? The ceiling fell down on us.” Kale aided Arik to his feet. “You can’t set off lightning in this small a space.”
“I panicked. And so what? I stopped those Writhes.” Lei walked over to the kitchen window that overlooked the fire escape. She pushed the curtain aside and peered outside. “The street is quiet. We should go.”
“Wait a minute,” Kale said. “What are Sentinels doing with Writhes?”
“Before one of the fried Writhes died, I got him to talk.” Lei kept her gaze on the window. “The Writhes have joined Conemar in Esteril.”
Conemar? I gasped. “Oh, no. Merl said he was sending help to the Writhes.”
Arik stared at me until he realized what I was getting at. “It’s an ambush. We must contact Merl.” He reached into his breast pocket, dragged out the window rod, and pulled the rods apart. Static ran across the blue glow, and it suddenly went black. “Bloody hell. It’s damaged.”
Lei turned from her patrol at the window. “I’ll try mine.” She retrieved hers from her pocket and opened it. The space between the rods kindled. She put her mouth close to the screen and spoke Merl’s name. Her screen blinked out. “No blooming connection.”
“All right, then,” Arik said with resignation. “We have to get to the others. We’ll come up with a plan once we’re in the library.” He thumped out of the kitchen. Gone was his smooth stride. He was obviously struggling to rebound from the attack.
Lei hurried past Kale, her small hand brushing his arm. When Kale glanced around to see if anyone noticed the exchange, I looked away in Sinead’s direction.
“Deidre is fine,” I told her.
Sinead smiled. “Thank you.”
“Did any of you see my cat?” I gasped and glanced around. “Cleo!” I called.
“When the fight broke out, she darted out the window,” Sinead said. “I’m sorry. You’ll have to leave her.”
“As long as she didn’t get fried, she’ll be fine.” I sighed. “She’ll stay with Mr. Navarro. He likes to feed her tuna.” I crossed the kitchen, stopping to lift a chair and push it up against the table. It was silly, I knew. Everything was destroyed so why do that? I was doubtful the apartment could be returned to normal even with the Cleaners. I wasn’t sure anything