The Pyramid Chronicles: Fortuna Guard (#2)

Chapter Forty-One: Light it Up

Scorpion's altered formed a wall in front of the Fortuna Guard, backed by soldiers. Veronica's eyes narrowed. "What the hell are you doing?" she demanded.

Summer's grip tightened on her bat. "Yeah, the bomb only has minutes left!"

"And there's a monster running around," Eric added.

There were a few moments of tense silence before anyone responded. "We should get out," a Scorpion girl mumbled.

Another chimed in. "But Claudia's orders..."

Panic squeezed Veronica's chest. They didn't have time for this. She let her powers surface. The kids in Scorpion jackets lifted into the air.

"Forget that, Claudia won't mean anything if you're dead!" Summer exclaimed.

"We can't let them get away," a Scorpion boy said, wildly swinging his arms in an attempt to get back to the ground.

"Hey, how's this sound?" Summer rested a hand on her hip. "Let's all leave the doomed building, and we'll give you a fair fight out there."

"Summer!" Veronica hissed in alarm.

"Oh, come on, it's better than getting blown up."

Veronica considered it for a moment. "All right, fair enough." She let the kids fall back to the ground. "You all good with that?"

A few nods and murmurs of agreement came from Scorpion's kids as they climbed to their feet. One of them ordered the soldiers to go on ahead.

The crowd moved down to the first floor. The hole in the wall awaited them.

Summer hopped through first. "Look out," she called as Eric moved to follow. "It's—"

Eric's foot hit the muddy ground outside the building. He slipped and landed hard on his back with a grunt of pain.

"—slippery," Summer finished.

Eric groaned and sat up as others exited the building.

"You good?" Veronica asked as she passed. He nodded.

A drop of rain hit Veronica's nose. Another found the back of her hand. She glanced back and located Sam as he stepped out. "What about you?"

"I'm fine." Sam turned around. "I'm going to double check that the building's empty."

Scorpion's kids formed a loose circle around the Fortuna Guard, but no one seemed to want to make the first move. The soldiers stood by, waiting for orders.

"Veronica," Sam said. "Lower gravity next to the building, below the window closest to us."

"On it," Veronica told him. No time for questions.

The window shattered. Three kids drifted out, one shouting in panic. Sam's hands trembled. "Can I let them go?"

"Go ahead."

The kids drifted to the ground under Veronica's steady gaze. Other than the mud that splattered across their jackets on landing, they were fine.

"That's everyone," Sam said. "Building's clear, except for a few soldiers."

"Any idea where the Apex is?" Eric asked.

"Fifth floor. It was running in this direction. So, we should probably get going."

"Not so fast." A Scorpion boy stepped forward and ignited his hand. "You owe us a fight."

Veronica glanced at Summer. "I have a better idea."

"Yeah." Summer said. She turned. "Run!"

Lightning flashed overhead, quickly followed by a clap of thunder. The soldiers and Scorpion's altered surged toward the Fortuna Guard as they began their escape, and with everyone in varying states of exhaustion, Veronica wasn't sure they could run for long. There was no way they were going to make it all the way back to the jetchoppers before their pursuers caught up. Still, they started.