The Black Tide (Outcast 3)

I had a growing suspicion that we really shouldn’t.

Jonas—

We cannot move on her yet, he said. There is protocol to be followed, even when the crimes are as heinous as hers.

That protocol might just allow the bitch to escape.

That protocol gave us the time to save your life and gather the necessary evidence against her. His voice was grim. She won’t escape, I promise you that.

I didn’t reply. I didn’t even dare twitch. Because Dream’s gaze was now on me, and there was an oddly gloating glint in her eyes. She might be about to go down, but she wasn’t about to do so without taking me with her.

And that meant whatever she planned, it was more than just gunfire. Given how many soldiers Julius had bought into the room, the minute any of her people made a move toward their weapons, they’d quickly be dealt with.

Which meant it had to be something other than the sphere clinging to her fingertips. I had no idea what she intended with do with the thing, but given it felt similar to the rift shields, it most likely was some sort of barrier—though whether it was meant to protect her or do something else, I couldn’t say. But she was well aware that I could pass through the rift barriers unchecked, so I doubted it would be used against me.

No, there had to be something else here. Something that had been planted well before this court had come into session.

Cat, I said abruptly, do you want to check the area? Look for any so

rt of hidden weaponry. Look under chairs, nooks, and things like that.

Done.

As she raced away, I dropped my gaze to the cage’s floor. There didn’t seem to be anything out of the ordinary, and if she’d had something along the lines of a detonation plate installed, I surely would have heard the soft click of it being armed as I’d stepped into the cage.

I glanced briefly at the light screen. Dream was still holding Karlinda’s hand, but her form was now changing—shifting—to that of the woman still lying on the bed.

Movement caught my attention. I looked quickly back at Dream, but she remained in the exact same position.

But the foul ball was no longer wrapped around her fingers.

I swore softly and quickly looked around, trying to find the thing. After a moment, I caught its faint trail—it was tumbling through the air, heading straight toward the still open doors of the control room.

Jonas— I stopped abruptly as a soft click caught my attention. Nothing else immediately happened, but that creeping sense of doom became a flood.

Out of sheer instinct, I pushed through the soup restraining my powers and then started gathering threads of light to me. I didn’t immediately weave the shield but rather held them at the ready.

The foul ball hit the doors into the control room and then spread, a canker that clung weblike to the metal. No one else seemed to notice, but even as I thought that, I saw Nuri’s head snap around and her gaze narrow.

Energy stirred, its feel bright and clean, and the foul net began to quiver. It did not fall, however.

Another soft beep caught my attention.

Frowning, I studied the cage again and then looked up. Nothing. So where was that damn sound coming from?

I returned my gaze to Dream. She had one hand in her pocket and she was very obviously holding something. For several seconds we simply stared at each other—her eyes glinting with triumph while my gut churned with ever-increasing fear.

Then she silently mouthed, Goodbye.

At the same time, Cat screamed, Bomb!

I cast the shield around me, called to the shadows within my soul, and then threw myself out of the cage. But even as I did, a huge eruption of heated air clubbed me, battering me sideways and then sending me tumbling head over heels. I crashed into the corner of the dais near the rear wall, and was battered by a tidal wave of wood and metal and bloody bits of flesh. My head rang and the various parts of my body that hadn’t quite shifted pulsed with pain. Warmth flowed down my leg and neck, but it didn’t matter. I’d survived the blast.

Given the number of body parts around me, so many others hadn’t.

I released the light shield, regained full flesh form, and then pushed up onto my hands and knees. I couldn’t immediately see anything more than a blur of smoke. After a moment I realized why, and scrubbed a hand across my eyes to clear the blood clinging to my eyelashes.

And saw utter devastation.