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“No! That’s horrible.”

Another dart sailed past, nearly clipping Paige before smacking into the stone behind her.

Paige winced, hauling Emma’s body up in front of her as she stood. “This is awful. Hurry up!”

“I’m trying, I’m trying,” Dewey said. “I can’t help it. I can’t find anything here. It’s–“

His voice cut off as he sailed sharply to the left. “Damn pixies. Find the shooter and take him out!”

“What?” Paige cried, still huddled behind Emma’s limp body.

“Find the shooter and take him out,” Dewey repeated. “Drag Emily with you as a shield.”

“Emma. Her name is Emma. And are you kidding me?”

Another dart jetted their way and smacked Emma in the forehead.

Paige grimaced and tugged the dart from her skin, throwing it down. “Okay, I’ll find him.”

She wrapped her arms around Emma’s listless form, letting the woman’s head rest against her shoulder, and shuffled toward the direction from where the darts came. A buzzing sound fluttered past her along with a slight breeze. She spun in a circle, searching behind her for the small creature.

“Where are you, you little jerk?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” a tiny voice called.

“Yes, I would. Why don’t you show yourself, and we’ll finish this like men…women…whatever. Just come out.”

“Hard pass, Paige Turner. You may have beaten us to the Holigramium, but you’re not winning this round.”

“Like hell I’m not,” Paige said, still slinking around the room with Emma in front of her.

Her foot smacked into a large wire snaking across the floor. She stumbled, glancing down at it as an idea formed in her head.

She squinted into the dim light filtering from the flashlight Dewey held across the chamber. A tiny winged creature, about as high as a ruler, perched on the edge of a spotlight.

Another dart sailed her way, and she sidestepped to avoid it as she continued to use her foot to trace along the cord.

After a few seconds of working backward, her foot trampled across the plug. She twisted to glance behind her, searching for the power source. She spotted the square generator near the stone steps leading out of the chamber.

“Paige, I found something,” Dewey said, darting around in the air to avoid the darts flying his way.

“Okay, just a second,” Paige called, dragging Emma’s body backward toward the generator before she ducked behind it.

She eased Emma to the floor, then started the generator before rushing forward toward the plug and jamming it into the generator’s cable.

The lights sprang to life, brightening the room. Paige squinted against them as she sprinted forward toward the spotlight. The pixie fluttered into the air when the lights heated quickly, burning his tiny feet.

Paige whipped off the carrier and swung it in the air. The pixie darted out of the way. Paige swung again, this time catching the pixie inside the open carrier. He smacked against the bottom, pinned there by the force Paige used to swing the container.

She tugged it closer to her, zipping it shut.

“Let me go,” the tiny voice shouted.

“No!” Paige said as the buzzing of wings filled the air again.

She scanned the room in search of the source of the sound.

“Hurry, Paige! The reinforcements are coming,” Dewey shouted, waving his arm in the air toward the new opening in the stone.