Penumbra (Spook Squad 3)

And after praying for such an occurrence all her life, it seemed someone was finally listening.

Mary was in the shower room with all the water taps turned on, so that she was surrounded by a ring of water. The heat was still enough to scald her skin and clothes, yet she was alive and awake and conscious. A miracle in itself, since the outside walls of this room were a maelstrom of destruction.

Mary’s expression was an odd mix of fear and hope as she spun around. “Josephine? What is happening? What have you done?”

“We’re doing what we promised we’d do. Escaping.” She hesitated and held out her hand. “Come with me. I’ll keep you safe.”

Mary studied her for a heartbeat, then her gaze went to the flames. “The heat alone will kill us.”

“No, it won’t,” said a voice from behind.

She turned and met her brother’s gaze. Saw both the fury and the understanding. “Don’t try to stop me, Josh. I have to do this.”

“Even at the risk of recapture?”

“Even at.” She hesitated. “But Lloyd is dead.”

“Lloyd will never be dead.” He smiled and touched a hand to her cheek. His fingertips were tinder hot, and yet inexplicably tender. “It seems you are not the weapon that either they or I might hope you to be. Not yet, anyway.” He glanced past her. “Mary, we don’t have much time. Move it.”

Though he was barely a teenager, Josh’s voice held a depth of command not even their trainers had achieved. Mary obeyed.

He caught Mary’s hand and said, “I have to do this for your own safety, so sorry in advance.” And before Mary or she realized what he was doing, he’d knocked the older woman unconscious. But he didn’t let her fall, catching her kinetically before glancing at Sam. “She’d have slowed us down, otherwise. You lead. I’ll keep the flames at bay.”

He did, but it was still close. He might be flame, but flames often gained a life of their own once given the freedom to run, and these flames had grown beyond the life—though maybe not the intent—of their creator.

They ran from the maelstrom into the dark, cold night. But it was a far-from-silent night—shouts, confusion and fear came from the many people who milled nearby. Some manned fire trucks, some hoses and some whatever came to hand—such as tractors scooping earth into the flames. But no one in the crowd saw the three of them leave. Night was their ally, their only friend, and even when lit by fire, it protected them from sight.

They ran up the hill and collapsed at the top, at the place where she and Joshua had spent so many nights staring at the stars and dreaming of this moment.

And, like when she’d confronted Lloyd, now that the moment was here, it didn’t feel as great as it was supposed to feel.

She listened to the sounds filling the night, to the screams of people and the groan of a building ready to collapse—sounds that were interspersed with the harshness of their own breathing. It was Josh who broke the silence.

“You must finish it.”

She closed her eyes, knowing that for those who still remained alive inside it was better to end it quickly, and yet not wanting to be the one who took their lives. “There are some who deserve death who are not in those buildings.”

He nodded. “Blaine, for one.”

“Yes.”

“I have plans for him—never fear.” His voice held the deadness that alway

s chilled her. This was not her brother, but rather the weapon the military had bred but could never fully control.

“And those plans do not include death? After all he has done?”

His smile was bitter, and yet so cold. So very cold. “No. Not as yet.”

A shiver ran down her spine. “If I do this, I want out. Totally out. I don’t even want to remember it.”

He glanced at her, his smoky blue eyes suddenly seeming blacker than the night itself. “Neither of us can escape what we are.”

“Maybe not, but I want the chance to live a normal life, Josh. Even if it’s just for a while.”

His gaze left hers. For several minutes he didn’t say anything, simply studied the confusion below them. Then he sighed. “It will be hard for both of us. We are two halves of one soul, Sammy.”

She smiled at his use of her nickname. It was the only one no one knew about, just as his secret name was one only she knew about, though it was one she rarely used. “I don’t share your desires. I want a life. I want to be normal.”