"There's only one way out," Tyler described. "A metal door is on the right and there's like, upside down stairs beside it."
"Upside down stairs?"
"Like the side of the stairs you see if you're hiding under them."
They must be in a basement of some sort. The whole setup seemed as though it had been intended as a temporary holding area pushed into long term service. The boy must be near the exit. Maybe that's why he was tied and she wasn't. There were no stairs anywhere in Kassie's space.
Kassie pushed on the wall experimentally and found it as flimsy as it looked. The lower part of the wood had softened and blackened with repeated exposure to excessive moisture. Maybe she could break through it and get to the side with the exit. She would need a quick way to deal with the maybe-locked exit door first, though.
"What does the bottom of the wall look like on your side, Tyler?"
After a bit of scuffling and grunting, he said, "Kinda black and crummy."
"Shhh! Stop talking or they'll come!" The new small-sounding male voice came from behind Kassie's cubicle.
"Who's there? What do you mean?" She tried a couple more times to learn who this third person was but he took his own warning seriously. Judging by the amount of fear in the voice, whoever they were was really bad news.
Kassie leaned close to the wall next to Tyler. "Did you hear what that person said?"
"Yes." His barely audible whisper held more fear than his voice had earlier.
"We have to be quiet. Look for anything we can use to get out of here. If you need me, tap on the wall here, softly."
"Okay."
Now what? Kassie looked around. Nothing on the damp grime-coated floor looked helpful. On hands and knees, she looked closer, crawling to inspect every inch of the concrete with her fingertips. Other than a spot in one corner that had softened a little from the dampness, she didn't find anything out of the ordinary.
She sighed and sat back, trying to force her brain to come up with something. Part of her wanted to kick and scream and demand answers, but common sense put a damper on the tantrum. As much as she hated to admit it, waiting to see what would happen was starting to seem like the only sensible option. Probably she should wait and just do whatever their captors wanted. That could be her only chance for survival, and despite her resignation, the fighter in her wouldn't let her just give up and die nicely.
A distant rumble, like thunder far off across the plains, insinuated itself into her awareness. A storm? If so it was coming closer, the sound developing into a vibration over her head.
One of the captives near her let out a high-pitched keening wail, the sound swelling in volume until it drowned out the creaks and groans above.
Kassie stood and turned, trying to pinpoint what the hell it was. As near she could figure, the sound came from that exit Tyler described on his side of their hell.
****
"Lyght!"
The heavy hand on his shoulder stopped him in his fast track to Earth. His wings tinkled faintly with the abrupt down-stroke required to hover. The uncomfortable heat increase in his diamond components signaled Toren's touch. "I'm in a hurry." A change in temperature, sometimes intense, always accompanied physical contact with the Mercury Warrior. And Toren's mood determined the degree—extremely hot meant extremely pissed.
"Yes, I know." Toren's tone held barely contained humor, belying the heat in his hand. "Just a couple of last minute points. You know our time is cut in half now, so you're allowed to appear to your human without miraculous interventions."
Lyght bristled with annoyance. "Yes, yes, I know." Was the mercury bastard deliberately trying to aggravate him? He raised his wings for the sweep that would send him hurtling once more toward Earth.
Toren cleared his throat. "And you can't take the boy."
Lyght partially folded his wings and spun to face him. "But she's—"
"Wavered."
Frustration colored Lyght's wings dull purple and he growled. He should have gone faster, should have got to her before she could lose one iota of such an unquestioningly pure faith. How could he forgive himself this failure?
Toren clapped him on the shoulder. "She's scared Brother. Nothing unusual about that."
His diamond shield amplified the negative energies of his attitude and the urge to smash things leached into his system. "She could gain strength." The pathetic attempt to improve his mood and energy was laughable. Lame or not, it better fool his shield because he didn't have time to waste antagonizing Toren and getting his ass justifiably kicked. But if his diamond shield continued to jack up his aggravation that was exactly how it would end up.
Toren nodded, bringing Lyght back to the conversation. "Yes, she could, and if so, you're free to bring the boy, of course. But you know how Uriel likes to be prepared for the worst. He wants to know what your plan is if her faith isn't restored."