“You came!” she all but shouted. “Jace said you would.”
“Shhhh, Carli,” I said, wincing a little as her high-pitched squeal reverberated through my eardrums and along the silent halls. “We have to be quiet until we can get out of here.”
Her eyes went wide, and she whispered, “Sorry.”
“It’s okay.” I gave her a hug, then knelt. “Hold Sanat’s hand and let him look after you while I take care of the guard.”
She nodded, and offered her hand to Sanat. He wrapped his fingers around hers, looking pleased to have some responsibility.
I locked the door, then grabbed the guard again and staggered down to one of the empty cells. I dumped the guard on the far side of the bed, where hopefully he wouldn’t be seen. And just in case he woke, I tore some strips off the sheets and gagged him.
Then I closed the cell. I still needed him to get my mom out, but my first priority had to be the kids. If worse came to worst, Mom and I could call the loch and escape with the water. The kids didn’t have that choice.
I scooped up Carli, then we ran back down the hall to where Jace and Cooper were watching.
“Nothing,” Jace said, green eyes solemn as he looked at me. “And the noise has stopped upstairs.”
I nodded, and hoped like hell the silence didn’t mean something bad had happened to Trae. “This way. Quickly.”
I led them back through the guard’s box and down the old corridor. At the junction, I stopped long enough to pick up the heavy wrench, then we continued on.
The tunnel seemed to be climbing, and the air was less fresh—more full of mold and age. The younger boys huddled a little closer to me, but weren’t quite touching. Trying to be brave.
A gated doorway appeared. There was a padlock on the door, but it didn’t look new. More like one the scientists might have found.
I stopped and handed Carli to Sanat. “Jace and Cooper, keep your ears open. Tell me if you hear anything that sounds like they might be looking for us.”
They nodded. I raised the wrench and smashed it against the padlock. Sparks flew and sound rang through the darkness. The lock dented, but didn’t break. I tried it again. This time, splits appeared in the metal. The third time, it smashed open.
I blew out a relieved breath and opened the gate. Stairs ran upward, highlighted by moonlight that washed in at regular intervals from the arrow slits.
I looked back at the kids. “Okay, we’re going up a secret stairway to the roof. Although the scientists don’t know about the other gates, we still need to be as quiet as possible.” I looked at them all. “Okay?”
They nodded. Marco asked, eyes widening as he studied the darkness of the stairwell, “Why are we going to the roof?”
“We’re going to meet a friend there. He’s going to lead you to a safe place.” I stood back and waved them all through. Jace went through first, and the others were so used to following his lead that they didn’t even hesitate.
“Egan’s not here?” Cooper asked.
I hesitated. “No, Egan . . . couldn’t make it. But he sent his brother Trae. That’s him upstairs, making all the noise.”
With the kids all through, I closed the gate and put the lock back, so that at least it would appear locked from a distance. I picked up Carli and we began to climb. Up and up, through the dust and the cobwebs, our footsteps echoing quietly across the moonlit shadows and our breathing a rasping accompaniment.
Another explosion ripped through the night, and relief slithered through me. At least Trae wasn’t caught yet. We walked on, our pace slowed by the younger boys. None of the kids would have gotten much exercise in their cells, and their unfit state was telling on these stairs. I hoped to God they’d have the energy to fly once we got to the roof.
We passed the first floor, moved up to the second. The dust in the air was lessened here, the cobwebs not so thick, but the scent of smoke and oil and burning rubber was intense. We passed a wall that was fiercely hot, and as I ushered the kids to the other side, I wondered just how close the fire really was.
My legs were beginning to shake by the time we reached the door at the top. I put Carli down, making her hold Jace’s hand, then hefted the wrench and brought it down on the old lock. It shattered straightaway. I gripped the door handle and swung the door open.
The night was ablaze. Flames shot skyward, burning across the darkness and blotting out the stars. In the distance, the flashing lights of emergency vehicles could be seen, but they didn’t seem to be moving. Maybe they were having trouble getting through the gates. I wouldn’t have put it past the scientists to have kept them locked.
Screams and smoke filled the air, and the smell of burning rubber was more pungent out here. Flames licked one side of the building, washing brightness across the roofline. We’d have to keep low, otherwise we might be spotted. Surely twenty minutes had passed since he’d started the explosions, which meant he should be here soon.
“Okay,” I said, turning around to face the kids. “We’ve got to go out onto the roof to wait for Trae. There’s some flames on one side, and a bit of smoke, but nothing too dangerous. Everyone keep low, so they won’t spot us down below.”
They all nodded. I took Carli’s hand, and led the way out, keeping low as we moved to the center of the roof. Two seconds later, there was a scuffing sound from the left, a grunt of air, and Trae appeared, falling more than sliding over the roof battlements.
“That’s the good thing about old stone buildings,” he said, his grin all cheek as he rose and dusted off his hands. “Plenty of handgrips.”