"He's a bartender at Slam downtown," the human said. He coughed, and more blood came up.
Nessa backed away from the mess. "Did he say why?"
"Nope. Just offered us a grand each." The guy wiped off his mouth, spreading blood over his chin even while his nose continued to spurt. "It's just darts. Frank said they'd only knock you out and give you a hellacious hangover. Something about a boyfriend you cheated on."
For Pete's sake. Nessa moved around him and gingerly picked up the dart gun.
The guy started chuckling with an odd wheezing sound.
She paused. "What?"
"We're not alone, lady."
Her eyes widened. A bizarre buzzing sound came from outside, and she slowly turned her head toward the window. Panic shook her. Her muscles bunched and she turned to run for Bear, her head down. "Run," she yelled.
He was already in motion, grabbing her and rushing for the exit. They reached the double door just as the window shattered and something landed on the coffee table to bounce loudly with resonating tings. A grenade?
Bear wrapped his arms around her waist and propelled them both into the hallway. The grenade blew, and the atmosphere changed, electrifying with energy that threw them both high into the air. They flew several yards. Bear twisted at the last moment, reversing their positions and landing on his back with Nessa on top of him.
She landed hard, the air knocked out of her. Pain detonated in her head when her forehead hit his chin. Red and white sparked behind her eyes, and she whimpered, the sound muffled against his shirt.
Human shouts of fear sounded from behind closed doors.
Then she was up and the walls were flying by, smoke chasing them and fire crackling in their wake. Bear had a tight hold around her waist and was all but carrying her, his speed amazing. A light fixture dropped from the ceiling, and he sidestepped it, not losing momentum.
She regained her faculties and pushed his ribs. "I can run."
"Okay." He set her on her feet without missing a stride. "Elevators are probably safer than the stairs."
True. The attack force would cover the stairs. "They might have taken the control room to access the elevators," she gasped, hunching over to avoid falling debris.
He stopped and punched the down button at the elevator bank. "We'll have to risk it."
She set her hands on her knees, bending over, trying to pant in air. Her face hurt, her ribs ached, and now her lungs burned. "The first wave was just a decoy," she coughed.
"Yes." He pushed the button several more times. "Human ones."
"These might be human, too." Trained with explosives. Where was the elevator? At the far end of the hallway, the stairwell door burst wide.
The elevator door slid open, and Bear yanked her inside, repeatedly pushing the lobby button and the close-door button.
Three men came into view, running toward them, all dressed in black gear. Two had dart guns. The one in front fired rapidly. Bear whirled and put his body between the darts and Nessa just as the door closed.
"Fuck," he muttered, looking over his shoulder at his back. He turned around. "Can you take these out without touching the poison?"
She gulped over a lump in her throat. Her hands shook as she reached quickly for him.
"Wait." He stepped away. The elevator started to descend. "Don't panic. Apollo doesn't hurt me, and the darts are just a nuisance. They'll kill you. So make sure you can take them out without harming yourself. I need you at full speed."
"You don't feel anything?" she asked.
"Just the prick of the dart. PK and Apollo only harm witches and humans. The poison won't affect me."
Yeah, but he was part dragon. But he seemed fine. She eyed the five darts sticking out of his back. "The flight and shaft are safe for me." Even the barrel was probably fine for her to touch. "I just need to avoid the point."
"The flight and shaft? Lady, you know your darts."
She gingerly reached for the first shaft and yanked out the dart with one smooth motion. "We know all about darts, with Apollo on the loose." Tossing the first one aside, she pulled out the remaining darts, keeping just one. The flight was a hard plastic, with the shaft and barrel made of steel. Bear turned around just as Nessa lifted it to her nose and sniffed. A very mild smell of spiced oranges and sulfur burned her nose. She threw the dart on the floor with the others. "It's Apollo."
"How does a mineral have a smell?" Bear asked, looking up at the numbers atop the door. Soot covered his cheekbone, and a cut above his left eye bled down his rugged face.