Rinse [manxman]

Chapter Seventeen

The tunnel leading to the basement of the Qizadian Conference Hall was small, dark, and damp. The farther I crawled, the more grateful I was that I'd come alone. It was much easier to maneuver by myself than it would've been with Lebeaux behind me.

Of course, navigation simplicity wasn't my reason for going alone, but it was a perk. Meeting Boone and keeping everyone else out of the way during that encounter was my goal. So far, it seemed to be going well. After my argument that I'd be less likely to leave a blood trail, everyone seemed convinced that I was the best fit for going into the basement. Dakota stationed everyone else on the ground floor or the roof.

The only person that had the possibility of witnessing what was about to happen with Boone was Lebeaux, but I had a plan in place for that too. Dakota and I had decided to leave him behind and take Holly instead. So, while Lebeaux was back at the safe house in his lab, he was still able to tap into the conference hall's security system and wire us so he could provide directions and updates. He also had cameras on us so he could serve as backup to each of us.

Once I got to the basement and was confronted with Boone, though, I intended to have a technology glitch. I would break the lens on the camera, but keep the earpiece in and let him know that I was alive and didn't need help. The last thing I needed would be backup if everything went the way I predicted.

"Bly and Dakota are in," Lebeaux said, his voice clear in my ear. "The guards are going to start letting people inside in about two minutes. Considering where you are in the tunnel, you shouldn't have any trouble making it in time."

"Do you have any visuals on the basement?" I asked.

"No. There are cameras there, but they've been disabled."

So, Boone was prepared. It didn't surprise me; it pleased me. Disabling the basement's surveillance cameras was one less thing I would have to do.

"Like you said in the meeting, though, you should be able to handle the handful of guards that might be down there."

"Yeah," I said. "How much time do I have now?"

"One minute and forty-five seconds."

"Let me know thirty seconds before the doors open. I need a moment."

"All right. I'll check in with Luca, Holly, and Katya."

Silence replaced Lebeaux's voice, allowing me to take a deep breath and stare straight ahead, into the darkness.

Deep breaths. In and out. Focus on the blackness. It was all that was in front of me, all that was behind me. It encompassed me. It was all that existed.

There was a black shroud around me, separating me from the rest of the world. There was nothing else. Pain, love, fear, humiliation... none of it was there.

I closed my eyes. Blood rushed through my veins; magic sparked at the tips of my fingers, in the center of my chest. The sparks rose, cracking a little louder, spreading a little farther. I embraced it—the cracks just beneath my skin, the searing heat of it. The cracks and pops began to die down, and when I opened my eyes, I saw through the blackness clearly.

"Thirty seconds," Lebeaux said.

"I'm going in." I went forward, straight to the entryway, and pushed it open just enough to slide through. As I climbed through the door, I scraped the camera against the siding, shattering the lens.

"What was that noise? What happened?" Lebeaux's questions fired off in my ear.

"The camera hit the siding," I said. "Everything is fine."