I follow right on his heels as we burrow into the brush. The landscape is wild and untouched. A deer leaps out before me, startling me. Bastien reaches back and tugs on my arm to get me moving again, reminding me of how little time we have left.
Our boots punch through the ice as we dig into a slight incline. By the time we reach the top, my legs are on fire and my lungs feel as if they might burst. Bastien pauses to get his bearings while I suck in gulps of air. When did I get to be so out of shape?
“This way.” He’s on the move again, ducking low as we shift left, heading straight toward the lighted sky.
As we draw near, I spy floodlights perched atop a guard tower, scanning the woods in sweeping patterns. We flatten to the ground as the nearest beam casts our location in white brilliance. Bastien presses himself over my back, shielding me. The light slowly moves on and I breathe a sigh of relief. “You ready for this?” he whispers into my ear.
I nod, knowing that is a flat-out lie. I’m not ready. I want to run, to head straight back to that truck and get the heck out of here before the lasers start flying and blood taints the snow, but I can’t.
Bastien grips my hand for a moment, squeezing tightly, and then he releases me and crawls forward on hands and knees. He drops flat as the light trails back toward us. Even at such a short distance, I struggle to see Bastien as he burrows into the snow, using the thick drifts to hide him.
I really need to talk to Kyan about designing some winter uniforms. I think as I rise and crawl to meet up with him.
Two guards are posted for the early morning shift at our entrance. We chose this gate because of its remote location near the back of the base. We’d hoped it would be lightly manned. For once, fate smiles on us.
My job is to slip up and take them out while remaining completely undetected. Too close to risk speaking, Bastien’s fingers walk against the snow, signaling me to move. I close my eyes and wrap my powers tightly around me. I can feel the cold blanket of invisibility settle over me. When Bastien’s gaze shifts, looking through me, I know I’m good to go. Rising to my feet, I leap in alternating directions to avoid the deepest sections of snow.
My random steps go unnoticed by the guards. I can hear their low murmur of conversation as they lean against the chain-link fence with their backs to me. A raucous burst of laughter masks my approach as my boots hit a firmer surface. I look down and realize I’m now on a gravel road layered with snow and ice. Perfect.
Crouching low, I feel the muscles in my legs coil and I spring into the air. I pull out of my somersault and grasp the top of the fence, hovering upside-down for a moment. I lock my knees together and swing down, both feet poised to strike, zeroing in on the stomach of the small guard.
The fence rattles as I send the guard careening back into it. A sickening crack of bones follows after. He emits a single groan before slumping.
His partner whirls around, braced for attack. The instant I’m on my feet, I lash out, shoving my fist straight up the man’s nose. Blood spurts from his shattered nose as his eyes roll back into his head. He collapses over his partner’s body, neither one ever having a chance to sound the alarm.
I reappear beside them and motion for Bastien to join me. He rushes forward, grinning from ear to ear. “That was brilliant. Don’t think I could’ve done better myself.”
“Thanks,” I grunt, clutching my hand to my chest. “Think I broke my hand.”
“Can you heal it?” he asks, dipping low to melt through the fence with his laser to join me on the other side.
“There’s no time.” We barely have a chance to snatch the two downed guards behind the guard shack before the floodlight swings back our way. Bastien drags the guards into the shadows and dumps them.
In a couple minutes, the Alpha team will be in position and cause a diversion at the southern end of the base, drawing attention away from the main hanger. With any luck, Bastien and I will be out of there before Drakon’s men even realize they’ve been robbed.
“Grab on to me,” Bastien hisses in my ear.
I thrust my good hand into his and run beside him, clinging to the shadows. We pause at the end of a squat metal building. “Can you give us some cover?” Bastien asks as he peers out at the landing field before us.
Gripping his hand tightly in mine, I throw up a cloak of invisibility over both of us. “That never gets old,” he mutters as he leads me up a steep embankment. At the top, we find ourselves in the middle of a tarmac. The concrete is cracked and shifted, rising in some places and sunken in others. Kyan told me this used to be an old military base. Jets used to race down to the other end and soar up into the skies. I would’ve liked the chance to see that.