Chapter 15: BarrierThe wave of hope and joy that had washed over me during this extraction process was quenched by a wash of icy fear.
“Uh—what?”
Grendel stared at me, then into the bag again. He frowned, and I could see he was restraining his emotions—which in itself was scary.
“There was something, a device,” he said quietly. “It is for—short-circuiting their barrier crystals. It was the first item on the list I wrote, that you gave to Bruce.” He paused, and his expression changed, anger gone. “Perhaps they did not have them. But still, it is curious.”
I felt my face burning, and I swallowed. Every muscle in my body tensed in preparation for the moment he would look at me again. He was still searching the bag.
“And there is the other—” He stopped, and added, “And—”
He straightened
