his eyes glow brighter and densified my shield over him, trying to block the flare that wanted to rise up past where I had us protected.
Get ready, Revik sent grimly. I'm going to have to trigger the alarms...
My adrenaline spiked. What does that mean?
I didn't even have time to get well and truly scared.
Revik leapt across the aisle between us, landing precariously on the marble-topped counter and shifting his feet and arms to regain his balance. I'd barely taken a breath when he grabbed my wrist and pulled me to him, encasing me in his arms.
His light flared out before it occurred to me what his actions meant.
In the same instant he crushed me tighter against his chest, he threw up a shield so dense it blocked all but my faintest view of the room. A white, vein-filled egg showered down from somewhere above his head in a paint-like curtain, and for a brief instant, I experienced only a bright flash somewhere down by my feet.
Then a denser feeling of pressure.
Movement grew visible on the other side of the shell protecting us both, flowing streams that increased the pressure inside the small space we shared. Like watching water flow over a rock in a fast-moving river...or seeing a gale-force wind slide over the windshield of a car...I saw movement blur violently overhead without feeling any of it. I might have struggled to keep my balance on the counter, but the pressure made it impossible to move. I felt sandwiched there, more by that dense feeling of air compressed than even by Revik's arms.
Then, abruptly, I felt those arms tighten. Grunting, Revik held onto me as if for balance, and I saw his shield waver...then start to break apart.
Sound crashed down over us in the same instant, making me realize only then how silent it had been.
My lungs filled with smoke, forcing me to cough. Revik still held onto me, but I felt something different in his light. My hands searched for the source of the difference, only stopping when he winced violently, moving away from my probing fingers.
"Jesus..." The word spilled out of me, even as my fingers again touched the piece of metal I could feel embedded in his side. "Revik..."
"...I'm fine." Holding my hand, he nudged me with his light, telling me to get down off the counter.
But I was looking around us now, taking in the bank's reception area without completely believing what I saw. The space looked so different, I couldn't get my bearings. I stared at the overturned and debris-covered cluster of desks and cubicles where the bank managers and loan officers probably sat during the day, when a large chunk of the ceiling fell, crushing two of them and causing me to flinch into Revik. A long, L-shaped desk, cubicle walls and what looked like a photocopier fell through the hole in the ceiling with an even louder crash, raising more smoke and dust.
Revik nudged me again. That time I jumped down to the floor. Looking up at him when he didn't follow, I remembered the piece of shrapnel sticking out of his side, and held up my hands to grab his arm and steady him. He crouched, then climbed down slowly, stiff-backed and leaning on me. I scanned him again, more deliberately that time.
"You're hurt," I said, clenching my jaw and fighting to keep my voice level. "Not a little, either. Revik...this is serious."
"I'll be fine," he said. His eyes grew immovable when I glanced up, my mouth in a hard frown. "We're getting it, Allie...whatever it is. We won't get another chance."
I bit back my argument when I felt his light once more nudging mine. I looked at what he'd felt...a tremor in the construct that came from some place other than the bank itself, or even the seer partners who helped run things behind the scenes.
The Dreng lived in that light.
And something else, too, something that was growing increasingly familiar to me, although I didn't have a name for it yet.
"You were right, Allie," Revik said, softer. Gripping my hand, he kissed my cheek. "Don't stop now. Whatever it is, we
Get ready, Revik sent grimly. I'm going to have to trigger the alarms...
My adrenaline spiked. What does that mean?
I didn't even have time to get well and truly scared.
Revik leapt across the aisle between us, landing precariously on the marble-topped counter and shifting his feet and arms to regain his balance. I'd barely taken a breath when he grabbed my wrist and pulled me to him, encasing me in his arms.
His light flared out before it occurred to me what his actions meant.
In the same instant he crushed me tighter against his chest, he threw up a shield so dense it blocked all but my faintest view of the room. A white, vein-filled egg showered down from somewhere above his head in a paint-like curtain, and for a brief instant, I experienced only a bright flash somewhere down by my feet.
Then a denser feeling of pressure.
Movement grew visible on the other side of the shell protecting us both, flowing streams that increased the pressure inside the small space we shared. Like watching water flow over a rock in a fast-moving river...or seeing a gale-force wind slide over the windshield of a car...I saw movement blur violently overhead without feeling any of it. I might have struggled to keep my balance on the counter, but the pressure made it impossible to move. I felt sandwiched there, more by that dense feeling of air compressed than even by Revik's arms.
Then, abruptly, I felt those arms tighten. Grunting, Revik held onto me as if for balance, and I saw his shield waver...then start to break apart.
Sound crashed down over us in the same instant, making me realize only then how silent it had been.
My lungs filled with smoke, forcing me to cough. Revik still held onto me, but I felt something different in his light. My hands searched for the source of the difference, only stopping when he winced violently, moving away from my probing fingers.
"Jesus..." The word spilled out of me, even as my fingers again touched the piece of metal I could feel embedded in his side. "Revik..."
"...I'm fine." Holding my hand, he nudged me with his light, telling me to get down off the counter.
But I was looking around us now, taking in the bank's reception area without completely believing what I saw. The space looked so different, I couldn't get my bearings. I stared at the overturned and debris-covered cluster of desks and cubicles where the bank managers and loan officers probably sat during the day, when a large chunk of the ceiling fell, crushing two of them and causing me to flinch into Revik. A long, L-shaped desk, cubicle walls and what looked like a photocopier fell through the hole in the ceiling with an even louder crash, raising more smoke and dust.
Revik nudged me again. That time I jumped down to the floor. Looking up at him when he didn't follow, I remembered the piece of shrapnel sticking out of his side, and held up my hands to grab his arm and steady him. He crouched, then climbed down slowly, stiff-backed and leaning on me. I scanned him again, more deliberately that time.
"You're hurt," I said, clenching my jaw and fighting to keep my voice level. "Not a little, either. Revik...this is serious."
"I'll be fine," he said. His eyes grew immovable when I glanced up, my mouth in a hard frown. "We're getting it, Allie...whatever it is. We won't get another chance."
I bit back my argument when I felt his light once more nudging mine. I looked at what he'd felt...a tremor in the construct that came from some place other than the bank itself, or even the seer partners who helped run things behind the scenes.
The Dreng lived in that light.
And something else, too, something that was growing increasingly familiar to me, although I didn't have a name for it yet.
"You were right, Allie," Revik said, softer. Gripping my hand, he kissed my cheek. "Don't stop now. Whatever it is, we
Similar Books
