Stolen (Otherworld #2)(57)

I slammed the door behind us. A few stray shards of glass fell harmlessly to the floor.
"What happened in there?" Savannah whispered.
"I don't know," I said. "Are you both all right?"
Savannah and Bauer nodded. Yes, every inch of our bare skin seemed to be bleeding, but no one had taken a piece to an eye or a major artery, so we seemed to realize that made us "all right."
Voices echoed from the other end of the hall. Savannah's head jerked up.
"We aren't going to make it," she whispered.
"Yes, we are," Bauer said. She straightened, brushing a trickle of blood from over her eye. "I am not going back in there. I'm out now and I'm staying out. Elena will take care of the guards. We'll stay here where it's safe."
From whimpering jellyfish to group leader in sixty seconds flat? Nice to see Bauer regain her poise, but this wasn't the sort of change I'd have wished for. Never mind. At least she wasn't cowering in a corner. Besides, I was the one who should go after the guards. Bauer would only get in my way. 
As I started forward, Savannah grabbed my shirt.
"I'll help," she whispered. "I'll cast a spell."
I hesitated, wanting to tell her not to bother, but realized that giving Savannah a chance to feel useful might calm her fears. Besides, she was only a twelve-year-old neophyte witch. She'd only know the simplest sort of spells.
"Okay," I said. "As long as you can cast it from here. Keep down and quiet."
As I crept forward, a crash shook the hallway. Then another. Then smashing glass, louder than the falling lightbulbs. Then pitch dark. Yes! This time I welcomed the blackness. It would give me an advantage… so long as the broken glass didn't start flying again.
"Goddamn it!" a voice-presumably a guard's-hissed. "First, exit one dies, then the camera at exit two, now this. A fucking power failure."
"I'll grab the flashlight," a second voice said.
"We both will. I'm not standing around in the dark."
So there were only two guards? Better and better. I quickened my pace to a lope, rounded the corner, and hit the elevator button. Then I headed for the guard station. Partway there, I stumbled over something and looked down to see a fluorescent light cover. I sidestepped and brought my stockinged foot down squarely on a shard of glass. Biting my cheek against a yelp, I brushed my foot left and right, clearing the path as I eased forward. Light darted from around the corner. The guards had found their flashlight. Damn.
Behind me, the elevator doors creaked open. A voice called out, not in front of me, but from the rear. I froze in mid-step. The guards rounded the corner, flashlight beam bouncing off the walls. Someone behind me shouted. I whirled, saw a gun, and dropped to the floor. Shots rang out from front and back. A bullet grazed my leg. I gasped and crawled to the side of the hall. A scream. A shout of rage. A curse. I glanced up. The guards were shooting at each other, the two from the station firing at three by the elevator. Two more lay on the floor, one screaming and writhing. Bullets whizzed past me. I got up on my hands and knees, pitched forward and ran doubled-over to the others. I raced right past the second group of guards. They didn't even notice.
"Go back! "I yelled to Savannah and Bauer. "Get inside! "
CORNERED

Bauer pushed past Savannah and flew through the security sequence. The exit opened and all three of us clambered through. I slammed the door behind us. Savannah shouted that the door was now open to the empty cell across from mine. We dove inside.
"I was peeking around the corner," Savannah said as I gulped air. "When the guards came with the flashlight, I saw the other ones get off the elevator. I cast a confusion spell so you could get past them. It worked pretty good, huh?"
"Very good," I said, not mentioning that I'd been nearly caught in the crossfire. What the hell had Ruth taught this kid? A twelve-year-old witch should be casting spells to calm frightened kittens, not making armed men blast one another to bits.
"Hey," a voice said from the doorway. "Did I miss my party invitation?"
We all jumped. Leah stepped inside, yawning and raking her fingers through her sleep-mussed hair.
"Don't close that!" Bauer said, grabbing the cell door.
Did it matter now? Though I said nothing, I certainly didn't foresee another breakout attempt in our near future. While the opened cells may not have been a trap, they hadn't been a lucky break either. The opposite, in fact. My great escape plan had vanished in that hailstorm of bullets outside. Even if we got through this mess, Winsloe would only need to check the computer logs to realize I'd used Bauer to get past security. He'd make sure it never happened again. I tried not to think of the multitude of ways he could ensure that.Leah walked to a chair and slumped into it. "Cut my damned foot walking down here. There's glass all over the floor. And how come the doors are open? Not that I'm complaining but-Whoa, what happened to you guys?"
"Flying glass," I said.
"Geez. Not sorry I missed it. Is anyone hurt? I know first aid."
"We're fine," Bauer said, moving to the bed.
While we talked, Savannah leaned out the doorway. "I don't see anyone. Are they all dead?"
"Dead?" Leah repeated as I yanked Savannah away from the open door. "Who's dead?"
I explained what had happened. As I spoke, Leah kept shooting discreet glances at Savannah, who'd collapsed onto the carpet and didn't seem to notice.
"… we should stay in here," I said. "Remain calm and hope they do the same. No sudden moves. Nothing to set them off."
Savannah pushed herself up from the floor. "I know this calming spell-"
"I'm sure you do, hon," Leah said. "But maybe that's not such a good idea."
Savannah's face fell. Leah put her arm around the girl's shoulders and gave her a squeeze.
"Elena and I can handle the guards," Leah said. "We'll find a safe place for you, hon, in case there's trouble when the guards arrive."
Slanting a look sideways, Leah directed my gaze from Savannah to the stray lightbulb pieces on the floor. My heart sank. Savannah. Who else could have been responsible for the whirlwind of flying glass? There'd been only three of us in that hallway and only one who'd been known to propel dangerous objects through the air. It was a big step up from hurling plates, but I'd already seen a demonstration of Savannah's increased powers with that lethal confusion spell. Of course, she hadn't done it deliberately-she'd been hurt as badly as any of us-but that wasn't the point. Whether she intended it or not, Savannah was dangerous. Put her under emotional stress and she reacted with violence.
"Good idea," I said. "We should get Savannah someplace safe." Safe for her and safe for us.
"Sondra, how about you go with Savannah?" Leah said. "My cell's open. Hide in there."
Bauer sat on the bed, knees pulled up, staring at the wall. Back to whimpering jellyfish.
"I'm fine," she whispered.
"You've had a rough go of it," Leah said. "Elena and I can handle this. How about you take Savannah and-"
"I'm fine!" Bauer snarled, head jerking up, lips curling. Then she froze, as if realizing what she'd done. She closed her eyes and shuddered. "I'm fine," she said firmly. "I want to help." 
"Maybe we can talk to the guards," I said. "Explain what happened. Is there an intercom, Sondra? Some way we can communicate with them?"
Bauer shook her head.
Outside the cell, something thudded against the exit door. We all stopped to listen. Two more thuds in quick succession, then silence.
"They can't get in," Bauer whispered. "The exit door must have lost power or jammed."
"So much for hoping they were all dead," Leah said. "How many guards are there in total?"
"Three doz-no, thirty," Bauer said. "We-they started with thirty-six, but there's been casualties."
"Lousy odds. Well, let's get Savannah out of here before things get bad."
Leah reached for Savannah, but she ducked and ran to me.
"I want to help," she said, looking up at me.
As if I didn't feel guilty enough just suspecting Savannah of causing the flying glass. But if Leah and I were going to fight this, we had to get Savannah someplace safe where she could calm down.
"We aren't trying to shut you out, Savannah. I know you could help. That confusion spell"-I managed a wry smile-"well, I was impressed, I'll tell you that."
"But…" Savannah sighed, with the weary resignation of a child who could hear "but" coming a mile away.
"But if you stay, Leah and I will be too worried about you to concentrate on the danger."
"We'd be very concerned if you stayed," Leah said, sneaking me a look. "We'd all feel much better if you were someplace else… safe. I'll take you to my cell."
"Fine," Savannah said, in a voice that said our decision was anything but fine.
Leah reached for Savannah's hand, but the girl brushed her off and stalked out the door. Leah jogged after her.
***
Several minutes later, Leah hurried back. The guards were still beating at the exit door.
"She's in my cell," Leah said. "Hidden under the bed. I closed the door."
I started to nod, then stopped. "You closed the door? What if it jams? How will we get her out?"
"Right now I'm more worried about Savannah getting herself out. If I didn't lock her in, she'd be down here in two minutes flat, trying to help us. We don't need that kind of help." She glanced at the broken glass. "She's helped quite enough already."