Chapter 18

“Here,” Luke said, and opened a panel in the wall.

Inside was a collection of weapons. All sizes of blasters and other arrays of arms.

“Stock up,” he said, putting his back to her.

She put a blaster on her hip and stuck a fresh charge in a pocket.

She glanced at him. “Why are you not arming yourself?”

He met her gaze and then glanced at his still outstretched hand that was starting to have more movement. “If I have access to a weapon, I might use it on you.”

She nodded. “Let’s move.” She turned toward the apartment’s entrance and gestured for him to lead the way.

“Stay behind me,” he said. “I have marginally more control if I can’t see you.”

Marginally wasn’t the best word, but she’d take what she could get. His hand was moving again, but he wasn’t trying to choke her, so that was good. His arm, however, was still stuck straight out. That could be from her freezing the joints.

He was leading then, though he looked like a zombie trying to find brains.

She had maybe another blast of the freezing gas to stop him if she had to. She didn’t know if knocking him out would serve any purpose. If the systems were in his head, could knocking him out allow the system a hard reset? Or would it be worse—that he’d have no control over the data commands.

And right now, he was struggling with control. Anything that gave the cybernetic parts more control could make things far worse.

The only thing she was certain about was that she had to get him out of here and away from Dumol. That was imperative.

Mori took a deep breath as they entered the tunnel. She held her weapons out, ready for someone lying in wait for them.

She couldn’t tell exactly how many attackers were out there, but it was more than three, for certain.

What she wouldn’t give for her Novian powers. Even her wings would have been appreciated at this point.

The smell was getting stronger—which meant they were getting closer.

She gestured to the right because they smelled like they were to the left.

Luke shook his head, gesturing back to the left.

She leaned in. “They’re coming from that way.”

“Door,” he said.

His arm was starting to unfreeze itself. They didn’t have a lot of time.

“Hurry,” she said, and he led the way. With every step, they were closing in on whoever was down here looking for them. The adrenaline pumped, and she kept glancing from point to point, looking for someone—anyone—to come around a corner.

It didn’t take long.

The door Cadell wanted was up ahead. The indentation a shadow in the rock wall indicated the spot.

Cadell held up his functioning hand to signal a stop. She raised her weapons, ready for attack.

The smell was enveloping, now. They were close.

Two men—Transdot officers came around the corner. Blasters at the ready.

Cadell and Mori pressed against the wall behind a bulkhead in an attempt to stay out of sight.

“Think they saw us?” Cadell asked.

The blue ray of a gun fired toward them.

“Think so,” she said as she twisted her wrist with her sword. The blade shifted to a shield, and she held it out to protect them. She pulled her own gun and glanced down, measuring the terrain in her mind and calculating how long they needed to get to the door.

And the attackers fired, the ray just missing her hair, but she saw what she needed to.

Cadell jerked her back. “Careful,” he said. “Got a plan?”

She smiled. “I’m an angel of war. Of course, I have a plan.”

It wasn’t terribly complicated.

As the Transdot officers closed in, she took aim.

And shot six hard and fast shots.

The shots hit the wall.

“You missed,” Cadell said.

“Wait.”

The rocks fell to the floor.

She grabbed his arm. “Go, now.” She squeezed her other sword, and it transformed into a dagger.

They darted forward as the ceiling collapsed, stopping the Transdot officers. They still fired their weapons, but it did no good.

Cadell opened the door. Mori shoved him through. She followed, the door sealing behind her.

For good measure, she shoved her knife into the control panel. Sparks shot out, and she got a bit of a shock from it.

But it worked.

“That’ll keep them back for a while,” Cadell said.

She nodded. “Now, let’s get you sorted.” She noticed his arm was all the way down. “How are you doing?”

“I’ll lead,” he said.

He didn’t look at her anymore as he headed through the new tunnel.