Into Darkness

17

FOUR

In the split second before the unearthly detonation shattered the quiet and a blast of heated air knocked him off his feet, the hunter on the roof across the street who’d watched Lumina Bohn enter the Hospice sucked in his breath sharply, frozen by the almost s****l pleasure from the burst of power that crackled over his skin. He closed his eyes on a blissful shudder.

Holy mother of God. She’s even stronger than—

An orange fireball erupted from the Hospice. It blew out all the windows and destroyed the roof in a fantastic, deafening display that glowed hellish bright against the dark night sky. The shockwave sent him tumbling back, but he quickly recovered, leaping to his feet in a lightning-fast move and steadying himself with a hand gripped around a satellite antennae.

Though this could only be an unmitigated disaster, he felt for a moment the insane urge to laugh. She was so strong. Her power, in spite of its terrible fury, was so refined.

The urge to laugh quickly fled as people began pouring from the building, screaming.

Some of them were on fire.

He ran with long, even strides across the peak of the roof, never losing his balance, his gaze narrowed on the rain gutter at the opposite end. It had detached, a long length drooping down toward the shorter building adjacent. He leapt on it without hesitation, using his weight and speed to propel him far enough over the alley below that he could drop to the roof of the lower building just as the metal gutter gave way with a groan and buckled. He let go, landed in a crouch, and was up and running again before the ruined length of gutter had even hit the ground.

Sirens screamed from far off in the night. He didn’t have much time.

The building he’d landed on was some kind of office complex. He sped over the roof, hurtling skylights and skirting air vents, until he reached the far edge. Looking down, he judged the distance—about one hundred feet from the ground—and, without hesitation, jumped.

He landed soundlessly, his legs accustomed to absorbing the shock of high falls. It only took a moment to reorient, then he was off and running again, darting down an alleyway that led directly to the street and the chaos beyond.

Just as he emerged from between the two buildings, Lumina Bohn flew out the front door of the Hospice, running so fast she was only a streak of painted light against the darkness.

Directly behind her, dodging debris on the ground and the burning chunks of wood and plastic still raining from the sky, a dozen men in black suits followed.

There could only be one place she was headed. The hunter muttered a curse, then set off in pursuit.

“Father!” Lu screamed, bursting through the front door with such force it came unhinged and tore away from the frame with a shriek of crumpling metal. “Father!”

She looked around for him wildly. Not downstairs, not in the kitchen, not in his chair near the front window. She bounded up the stairs, calling his name, knowing it was still a while before his shift in the fields, knowing he’d never go anywhere else. He had to be here. He had to be!

She could run faster than any human, but the Grand Minister’s men weren’t far behind. They only had minutes to get the bug-out bags and leave. Possibly less than minutes. Every second counted, every—

She skidded to a halt outside the doorway of her father’s bedroom. Her entire body began to shake, and bile rose in her throat. “No,” she whispered, choked and horrified. “No!”

He lay still on the floor in the middle of the room, staring at the ceiling, his beloved fedora knocked off his head and tipped over forlornly in the corner. One shoe had been knocked off, too, and even from where she stood she could see the swelling and bruising on his face.

Beneath him on the wood floor glistened a slowly widening pool of blood.

He turned his head, caught sight of her in the doorway, and smiled.

Lu cried out and ran to him, throwing herself to her knees. She embraced him, sobbing into his neck, her pain so great it felt as if her chest would explode from it.