Then again, no one could really prepare for a pissed-off berserker.
I gave myself over to that side of me, to my anger, to my fear for Hera, for Knox, even for Wade. After so long holding back, fearing this part of myself, controlling it, I gave in fully.
The roar I released as my body shifted would have chilled the blood of any person, but for me? It sounded like home, like a long-lost friend.
My head clouded, my thoughts turning simple, as I held on to the only things that matter.
Destroy the generators.
Protect my mate.
* * * *
Hera
Taking out the communications servers had turned out easier than expected. The second the lock flickered to green, proving Wade had released the virus, I unleashed a blast of my powers. It only took a minute until the room filled with smoke and darkness, every bit of technology in there in pieces. Right after, I directed a smaller wave of my power at my cuffs, popping the metal around my wrists so they fell to the floor.
Just after that, the lights went out, plunging the room into darkness.
I rushed from the room and headed for the stairs. With the power out, I couldn’t use the elevators. I pushed the door open for the stairway when a roarechoed through the space. It wasn’t from close to me but still shook the walls.
It had to be one of the Corrander shades, and I couldn’t stop the fear that swamped me at it. I recalled their vacant gazes and Gerald‘s warning.
I pushed myself, rushing up the stairs as fast as I could. I needed to get across the bridge and to our rally point. I needed to warn Brax and the others about what was coming, about what I’d released.
My legs burned, but I didn’t let it slow me. I took the stairs two steps at a time, hauling myself up as fast as I could. When I reached the top floor, more sounds came from beneath me, as if others had entered the stairway. Voices of guards yelled in confusion, and the inhuman sounds of shades, full of violence, followed me.
I went through the stairway door at the top floor, then rushed toward the bridge. The top floor sat empty, a near copy of the ones on the other floors, with large glass windows. It even had the benches along the sides, but I had to guess it was for the scientists and staff since no shades got to walk around.
The other buildings remained dark, telling me Brax had successfully taken out all the power. Because of the isolation of Larkwood, even outside the walls sat only darkness as far as I could see. It was eerie, but I didn’t have time to dwell. I pushed myself forward, toward the bridge, ignoring the burning in my legs and the way my bare feet ached from the run.
When I reached the door that usually kept the North Tower closed from the main building, the door to the stairwell slammed open.
No, it didn’t slam open—It broke, shattering out. A shade I didn’t recognize stood there, his eyes empty.
So this is one of Lilianna’s toys?
I stepped backward, afraid to take my eyes off him. The shade was a man who appeared in his forties. He shimmered, with other forms swirling around him like ghosts.
He held his hands out, palms up, not smiling or showing even signs of anger. It was as if he were just driven forward out of a desire of someone else’s.
Which did not reassure me. If someone was angry, if they wanted something, I could negotiate with them. If they acted only on the orders of someone else, if only the commands of another mattered to them, then I couldn’t talk them out of it.
I backed away, then lifted my hands and shoved a wave of my power toward him. He lifted his arms and somehow blocked it, as if he’d created a knife that split the wave around him.
I swallowed hard as he advanced, those other forms around him catching my attention as much as he did. They appeared like spirits, and when he shot a hand toward me, one of them rushed forward.
I tried to jerk out of the way, but I couldn’t avoid it. The place the apparition struck me, when it passed through me, felt as though something pulled all my energy from me. I gasped and stumbled against the glass wall of the bridge. The spirit retreated, returning to the man.
Did it just give him whatever it had stolen from me?
The man shuddered, and when he opened his eyes again, they shone brighter, as if a flashlight was directed through them.
Which meant that not only couldn’t I hurt him but he’d grow more powerful each time I weakened.
I recalled what Gerald had told me, that they were monsters, that they had nothing left inside them.Lilianna’s words came back to me as well, how she’d turned them into toys with no will of their own beyond what the Warden wanted. They were shade killers, plain and simple.
I couldn’t talk my way out of this, couldn’t get him to understand. I continued to back away, holding on to the wall since my body still dragged.