McEver

Page 17

"This is NOT the surprise I was talking about," Ewenn grunts from behind me. I hear the boom of his gun going off. I risk a glance over my shoulder. The beast--an energy hound, I assume--has its head poked through the gaping hole in the door. Ewenn's gun booms again, and it flinches. Blinks twice, the metal plates on the top and bottom of the eyes meeting for a split second. And then it growls.

And jumps.

Ewenn squeezes off another shot as he dives sideways through another doorway. I see the sparks, hear the tiny screeches of the individual lead pellets ricocheting off its chest, and it lands in the space Ewenn had occupied moments before, its claws gouging the wood on the floor as it turns its head to me.

Oh crap.

I shove through the first door I reach, slamming it behind me.

And I'm engulfed in darkness. Ewenn had left his lamp in the hallway, so that he could use both hands on his weapon.

My first step into the shadow--lands on nothing but air. I've found another staircase. And now I'm flopping down that staircase, head-over-heels. My head smacks against the landing, where the stairwell turns, and as I get my aching arms under myself so I can stand back up, I hear a scraping at the door above me. I'm not going to wait and see what happens.

I slide most of the way down the second half of the staircase, throw the door open, and step into another dark hall.

Well, not completely dark. There's a faint light to the right. My right hand snaps to the hilt of the dagger and I draw it out. I'm really lucky that I didn't lose it in my tumble, but I'm gonna have some killer bruises on my hip, it feels like.

I move toward the light, dagger held out in front of me. I've never fought with one of these. I don't know what I'm thinking. But I do know which end the sharp one is, and by God, if someone hurts Kaina, I know exactly where to stick him with this.

Unless it's an energy hound . . . in which case, I have no idea what to do.

But they've got to have a weakness somewhere, right? How about its belly? No good; Ewenn's shot bounced right off. Unless . . .

Noises ahead. I crouch, pressing against the wall. I can hear their footsteps. Yes, "their." Four sets. So, unless Antonin, Tilio, Kilyan, and Kaina all had a happy reunion, which I think is unlikely so soon . . .

Then these four probably aren't friendly.

They're almost to the corner of the hall. I back into a doorway, feel for the handle, turn it, slip inside, shut the door as silently as I can. I can see the light the intruders are carrying in the crack under the door. I hear their muffled voices, but I can't make out anything.

And then my heart skips a beat and I gasp, dropping the dagger involuntarily. A metal cylinder is pressed against the back of my neck. The dagger hits the floor loudly. The footsteps in the hall stop.

Then, a voice in my ear, soft as the wind: "Jean?" Oh my gosh, it's Kaina! "Sorry," she whispers. Relief floods over me, and I exhale as the girl lowers the pistol.

But then the panic comes back. "The sound came from this room," says the voice in the hall. The doorknob starts to turn.