Page 30 of Revenant (Spirit Realm #2)

HICKS

W hen we reach the elevator, I press the button on the wall, but nothing happens. I’m not surprised Hershamn disabled the thing. It’s smart, something I would’ve done, and I scowl in annoyance at the delay it will cause.

“We can backtrack, slip through the tunnels, but it will bring us out behind the property.” Gunner glares at the elevator like it personally offended him. “The delay will cost us time and allow them a chance to flee with Rue. Not to mention we would have to break into the asylum without raising the alarm. The last thing we want is to be arrested before we can reach her.”

“So we use the stairs,” James mutters, already spinning on his heels.

“The stairs are out.” Ellis rubs his temples, his expression distracted. “There is no route to them that isn’t engulfed in flames. Same with the tunnels. Even if we do reach them, there is a fifty-fifty shot of the ceilings being caved in. If the tunnels haven’t collapsed yet, they will soon.”

I purse my lips, tempted to go after Rue anyway. While I’m confident the flames won’t touch me, I’m uncertain how much resistance I have to a full blaze. Nor do I like the idea of us splitting up. Leaving the guys is a risk, one that I’m not willing to take.

“Our options are limited.” I rest my hands on my hips and glance at the others. “Suggestions?”

“I’m trying to reconnect the power to this section of the building, but something is blocking me.” Ellis swipes at his nose, and his hand comes away smeared with blood. I fucking hate pushing him. Unfortunately, we don’t have a choice, not if we want to rescue Rue in time. So as much as it bothers me, I bite my tongue and stay quiet.

Ellis presses his hand against the elevator, his eyes falling closed, and a furrow appears between his brows. “No matter how much I push electricity into the mechanisms, the engine refuses to engage. The current is getting stuck somewhere along the way.”

“They cut the cords,” Jace mutters, crossing his arms as he studies the metal doors with a peculiar expression on his face.

That’s when I realize he’s not watching the elevator, but something beyond it.

“Ghosts?” I tilt my head, then squint, thinking I could see them if I concentrate hard enough.

“Bitch girl is sticking her head through the door.” Jace smirks for a second, but his humor falls away. “The power cables are cut.”

“Fuck,” I swear under my breath, my head dropping to my chest. “That means he is at least partially aware of what we can do. Maybe not how we can do anything yet, but it’s only a matter of time.”

That information can’t get out.

“I don’t see the problem.” James carelessly drops the girl he’s carrying, her body hitting the ground with a thump, then he stretches his arms over his head. “The guy is dead for touching my pookie. He won’t survive long enough to use the information.”

“If I can gain access to a computer connected to the network, I can hack into the mainframe and wipe the system of any mention of us or his experiments,” Ellis says confidently, and I have no doubt he’s telling the truth. “No one will carry on his sick experiments after he’s gone.”

I grunt in agreement, more than a little relieved he’s on the job. The man is thorough. He will ferret out every mention of this place and eradicate it. No one will ever find his research. And if I know Ellis, he’ll set a trap for those who try.

“We just need to catch the doctor first. To do that, we need to head topside.” I rub my hands along my jaw. “The fastest way to the surface is the elevator shaft.”

I stride toward the elevator, wedge my fingers into the gap, and grunt as I slowly pry the creaky metal doors open. Gunner chuffs behind me, then reaches over my head, slips his hands into the crack, and wrenches back with all his strength. Metal screeches in protest, the edges of the door crumble a bit, and it peels open as easily as crushing tinfoil.

Since we’re on the ground floor, the bottom pit of the shaft is a ten-inch drop to bare stone. Not waiting for the others, I jump into the shaft, then tip my head back, searching for the access ladder.

Much to my shock, I do find a route topside. It’s not much, just a simple stick ladder, but it’s more than I was expecting. Without hesitation, I head up. Gunner follows next…only to have the first rod he grabs bend under his grip.

He steps back with a scowl, hands on his hips, his eyes narrowed as he peers up the elevator shaft. After a few seconds, he sighs and heads toward the open doorway. He’s so large, he casually reaches up and begins climbing up the fucking walls. He barely has to stretch between the different floors.

“Damn, man, you’re climbing the side of a building, like in that movie where the giant ape kidnaps the girl,” James mutters in admiration, looking ready to follow him, when Jace nudges him toward the ladder.

“Play later,” he mutters, Crystal’s body draped over his shoulder this time. “Rue first.”

All interest in play vanishes, and he dutifully obeys.

Not surprisingly, Gunner reaches the top level first. He doesn’t even break out in a sweat when he braces himself in the doorway, the tips of his toes perched on the minuscule ledge. The vertical shaft isn’t big, maybe fifty feet max. When I glance down, I’m greeted by a bottomless black pit waiting to swallow us whole.

I grimace, and the muscles of my body quiver, threatening to lock up tight.

Fucking heights.

The only thing that has me prying my fingers off the ladder and climbing higher is knowing Rue is waiting for us. I won’t allow anything else to happen to her, not when I can stop it. When I reach the top, my fingers ache from my brutal grip. I nod for Gunner to open the doors, then allow flames to flicker to life. If anyone is waiting for us, they will regret it.

It’s almost anticlimactic when Gunner pries the doors open…and nothing happens. No one is waiting. Gunner cautiously leans forward and peers into the hallway. After a moment, he signals the all clear before stepping out of the elevator shaft.

I swing over, then heave myself through the doorway. Leaving Gunner to help the others, I head toward the end of the hallway and guard our position. It doesn’t take long for my team to extract themselves, the small jaunt no more strenuous than our other jobs. The two girls and their men take longer, but they’re eager to be free of this place, so it keeps them motivated.

Alarms blare in the distance, the sounds muted.

Underneath the loud noise, the area is eerily quiet.

Too fucking quiet.

No stampeding of footsteps as people flee, no yelling to get out, no screams or murmurs of worried employees and fearful patients.

Just silence.

My skin heats, as if sensing some unseen danger, the sensation much like the hairs on the back of my neck lifting. The air is heavy with expectation, like a trap right before it springs, and everyone is quiet as they join me at my perch.

All except for James, and I pinch the bridge of my nose when the psycho boldly steps around everyone and saunters down the hallway like he knows where the fuck he’s going. And maybe he does. He studied the maps to this place more than any of us in his obsession to rescue Rue.

I shrug, guessing subtlety is out the window since we basically set fire to the place.

The lights are dim, the building on auxiliary power.

“The cameras are offline,” Ellis says as he joins me, fine lines creasing the corners of his eyes from the strain of constantly using his abilities. “Security in the entire building is down.”

I shoot him a sharp look, and he shakes his head. “Not by me.”

“It’s the fire,” Jace adds, his hand wrapped around Crystal’s ankle as he drags her behind him. No one protests, their tolerance level for the bitch gone. I’m actually surprised he didn’t toss her down the elevator shaft by “accident.”

He is more patient than I am, that’s for fucking sure.

“Right.” I scrub a hand down my face and nod. “It’s a safety measure. In case of a fire, all elevators open and all doors unlock. Hopefully, everyone is busy with the patients, and we can slip past them unnoticed.”

“That means we’re on a countdown,” Gunner warns, shifting on his feet, as if eager for the coming fight. “The hospital is located in the middle of nowhere. Their emergency services would’ve been alerted the instant the alarms went off.”

“The computers are down everywhere. I’m not able to access anything.” Ellis wears a scowl, his agitation obvious as he fiddles with his glasses. “Since it’s a government funded project, we can assume some security force is going to come for the doctor sooner rather than later.”

A beat of silence follows that ominous announcement.

“If we’re still here when they arrive, they will scrub the place of any evidence of their involvement. We will either be taken or eradicated. It wouldn’t do for them to leave signs of their crimes behind for someone to find.” I share a grim look with the others. “Since they only took Rue, my guess is the rest of us are expendable.”

“Then let’s not wait any longer,” Sue calls over her shoulder as she heads down the hallway after James. Her sister skips forward and lifts a baton in her grip like she’s ready to bash anyone they meet over the head. The two men with them fall into formation around the girls, one slightly ahead and one a step behind to guard them.

Their form isn’t bad, the group has potential, but it’s hard to guess how someone will react when under pressure. Life-or-death situations have a way of bringing out the best and worst in people.

We quickly overtake the small group, Gunner and Jace falling back to guard the rear, while Ellis and I catch up to James…and find one guard lying at his feet, his neck at an awkward angle. When I shoot him a sharp glance, he lifts his arms with an innocent expression and shrugs. “Oops.”

Ellis quickly crouches and riffles through the guard’s pockets. He tucks a gun into the back of his jeans, grabs the radio from the man’s belt, and pockets the keycard. Even with the electricity down, you never know when you might need it. He collects the baton last before rising to his feet.

The door the man was guarding is unlocked, and I glance at Brad and Dillon. “Which way?”

Instead of answering, they slip through the door and head right. To my surprise, they are so silent, I can’t hear them, even with my enhanced senses. No footsteps. No breathing. No rustling of clothing.

I’m impressed.

They move quickly, without any fuss, silently communicating with each other. They weave through the hallways, pausing when we come across guards, waiting without moving for them to pass. The farther we head into the building, the more the alarms fade into the background.

I would worry we’re heading in the wrong direction, but the number of guards increases with each hallway we pass. We come to an abrupt halt when we hear voices.

A quick glance reveals five guards protecting a single door. Even more revealing, the room beyond is glowing with lights. This wing is running on backup power, the small hum of generators filling the silence, and I know we have reached our destination.

Brad confirms it with a pointed nod. I duck back around the corner and face the rest of the group. “You did your job,” I say to Sue and her little army. “We can take it from here.”

The twin girls cross their arms in unison, matching scowls darkening their expressions. Much like Jace and James, they seem to communicate without words. Sue speaks for them both. “We’re not leaving without Rue. We made a promise. She kept her part of the deal, we will keep ours.”

I glance at her men, expecting them to convince the girls to leave, but they both remain stoic and silent. Maybe they know the futility of even trying. The girls are just as obstinate as Rue, and my respect for them rises a notch. “Are there any other routes into the room?”

“Another exit,” the young kid says, his voice low so as to not attract attention. “But it will be guarded.”

“Perfect.” I smile as a battle plan forms in my head. It doesn’t take long for me to explain my idea, and we split up into two teams. Gunner leads the other group to the second entrance, while Ellis and the twins remain with me.

Everyone gets into place quickly.

Jace chucks Crystal’s body into a nearby closet, then we are ready. James is silent as he stretches his arms and neck, completely calm as he ramps himself up for battle. Not that he needs it, if the manic gleam on his face is any indication. Ellis waits at my side, the gun he stole resting comfortably in his hand from long practice.

Distant gunshots boom in the enclosed space, and sounds of battle echo in through the corridor. While the guards don’t rush off as I hoped, three of them do glance behind them at the distraction. Ellis slides into the hallway and starts shooting, easily able to pick off two of the guards, even while in motion.

I’m a step behind him, sprinting down the hall. Only two guards have time to lift their guns before I raise my arm and send a wave of heat toward them. The air ripples as the soldiers pull the trigger. When the two forces collide, it’s like hitting a wall. The projectiles don’t explode like I expected, but the impact is enough to alter their course and send the shots flying back toward the guards.

One bullet only grazes the arm of the first man. The second guard isn’t as lucky, and he takes a direct hit to the chest and crumples on the spot. Before the other soldiers can react, the wave of heat slams into them. The metal of their guns glow a cherry red. Before they can curse or drop their weapons, the wave hits their bodies next.

My mouth drops open when their clothes basically incinerate on contact, then their skin just sort of melts off them. Their flesh bubbles and liquefies before plopping to the ground with a splotch. Even their bones glow, the surface pitting, the heat eating away at it before they warp and twist. The poor fuckers don’t even have time to scream before they sort of crumble into a mess of gooey flesh and smoking bones.

The doors shudder when hit by the wave next, the walls blackening, and tendrils of smoke curl into the air from where the paint peels from the walls. The guys come to stand next to me, eyes wide as we watch the destruction.

Jace blinks in surprise but doesn’t otherwise react, Ellis studies the aftermath with a critical eye, while James pouts. “No fair! You didn’t even leave me one! Why do you get to have all the fun?”

He doesn’t wait for me to respond, just marching past me with an annoyed huff, shoulder checking me in his rush. I wobble from the impact, unsteady on my legs, grimacing when I realize the blast nearly depleted my energy reserves. My skin cools rapidly, and I shiver when all the delicious heat at my core vanishes abruptly.

I shake off my weakness, cursing myself for using all my energy with a single blast. Uncertain how long it will take me to recharge, I decide to rely on my fighting skills and conserve my energy in case I need it again later.

I follow James, my pace slow and measured, refusing to acknowledge my fatigue. When I open my mouth to warn James to be careful, it’s not needed. He barely pauses in his stride, just leans back on one leg and kicks the door open with a thunderous bang. While he might be a crazy SOB at the best of times, he’s smart enough to sense the danger and not touch the door.

The metal is brittle from the heat, and the locks shatter from the impact. The twin doors buckle, the metal creaking ominously before they fly open with a screech, leaving them dangling from the hinges.

We’re a step behind him when we charge into the room. Since the other team attacked first, the soldiers went to back them up, leaving us virtually alone, and we freeze in the entryway.

A second later, the other door bangs open and more people spill into the room, but I don’t turn away from the spectacle before us. The doctor hovers between two beds, his back toward us as he checks over his patients, undisturbed by our entrance. An older woman is in the first bed, cords and wires hooked up to her too pale, too still body.

Rue is in the second bed, just as pale, just as still. She’s hooked up to an IV, along with four pints of blood dangling from a medical pole. Several other cords hang from her arm, hooked up to machines that whirl ominously as they drain her blood faster than it can be replenished. The other end of the cord is attached to the older woman.

If that isn’t disturbing enough, a guard stands at the head of Rue’s bed, pressing a gun against her temple so hard that the barrel indents her flesh.

The fucker smirks, a vicious gleam in his eyes that says if I step out of line, he will pull the trigger and enjoy it. It’s the same psychopath that pitted us against each other in the training area with the hopes we would die.

I curl my hands into fists, struggling against the urge to turn him into a human candle. The guard notices, and his expression turns malicious. He digs the barrel of the gun against her temple so hard, her head is forced to the side. I wince, knowing that it will leave a bruise, and I’m barely able to swallow back my protest.

The fucker would only draw more pleasure from it.

Ellis mutters a curse when he takes in the scene, then the electricity flickers. The machines crunch and grind. Sparks snap and crackle in the room, and what can only be a dialysis machine dies in a puff of smoke.

“Ahhh, good, you made it in time.” The doctor straightens, then turns to face us, his expression almost jovial. He scowls at the dead machine before shrugging. “No worries, I managed to transfer enough. The transport will be here soon, and we don’t have much time before the potency of her blood degrades. I need you to wake Miss Rue and convince her to activate her abilities.” Irritation creases his face, and a disgruntled moue of annoyance twists his lips. “She’s being stubborn and won’t listen to me, but maybe she will pay attention to you.”