“Will it be easier now that you know how to do it?”
“Yeah. I think I’ve got the knack of it,” Jake responded.
“We’d better get upstairs before anyone realizes what happened here,” Dave said.
Duncan nodded and they eased back into the stairwell. He brightened the sparks and everyone started climbing. Duncan ignored his weariness, knowing that Emma and Jake felt just as bad as he did. They were almost to the third floor when suddenly the door above slammed open and a man with a gun aimed a flashlight down the steps.
Emma flinched and fell back onto Duncan as the man squeezed off a round as soon as he spotted the intruders. Duncan’s energy instinctively flared into a shield, stretching out to cover the five of them. The bullet bounced off and hit the metal of the hand rail. Emma squeaked and he shoved her down as Charlie sprinted up the stairs.
“Charlie! No! I can’t cover you if you get too far away,” Duncan shouted but it was too late. The gunman didn’t miss. Jake groaned as Charlie went down. The gunman fired again and another bullet bounced off Duncan’s shield.
“Shit!” Emma tried to shove Duncan out of the way. “We have to get up there and help him!”
Duncan held her down. “No! You’ll get shot too. Let me try something.” He concentrated on his energy, making a hot spark flare in front of the shield, then sent it up at the man. It hit him in the chest and the man went rigid then fell down, his gun clattering over the edge of the landing. It looked like he’d shocked the man with lightning, and Duncan gagged as the smell of burnt skin penetrated the stairwell.
“I couldn’t knock him out,” Jake gasped, holding onto his head. “He had some sort of mental shield or something. I kept pushing but it was like hitting a brick wall over and over again.”
“It’s all right,” Emma said, stroking his arm. “He had a weird aura, like Eric’s. I think he was on the drug.”
Duncan slumped down on the steps, breathing heavy. Dave looked at them, then dashed up the stairs to see if Charlie would be okay. When Duncan looked up, Dave shook his head. Duncan felt a dart of grief well up, but he shoved it down ruthlessly. Someone must have heard the gunshots, and they had to be ready for anything. Sure enough, another man burst through the door a moment later. Jake looked up, face grim, and the man collapsed.
“There’s still two more up there,” Emma whispered. She looked sick and Duncan knew she felt the grief as sharply as he and Jake did. She shared their memories, after all.
“Let’s go.” Duncan heaved himself to his feet and joined Dave on the landing. “Can you sense anyone in the hall?”
Jake appeared by his side. He leaned on Duncan, rubbing his thumb into the skin of Duncan’s forearm. Duncan sent him some energy through Emma, ignoring the wave of vertigo that flickered across his vision.
“They’re in the rooms with the prisoners,” Jake gasped, letting go.
Emma stared down the hall through the open door. “Can you shield us if we go down there?”
Duncan nodded. “Yeah, but I can’t shield the prisoners. This is a hostage situation right now. They know someone is here and they’ve got nothing to lose.”
She turned to Jake. “You’re sure you can’t work through the walls?”
He grimaced. “I tried. I can’t do it. I think I need a direct visual.”
“What about if we link again? My aura sensing and your telepathy?”
“I’m not sure,” Jake began, his face serious. “Can you separate the auras of the prisoners from their kidnappers?”
Emma thought about it. “No. Not if they have a true bonding aura. Maybe if they’re on the drug. The auras of the people who take it are wrong, ugly.” She shuddered. “It’s sick. Ms. Brown was so horrified about the thought of bonding and here she is, creating a drug that’s made from bonding blood.”
Jake touched her arm comfortingly, and she closed her eyes while Duncan rubbed his face, disappointed. “We have to do something.” He thought about it for a moment. “I could light the door on fire. If I put enough energy into it, I could probably burn it to dust in a few seconds.”
Emma stared at him. Duncan could feel her surprise. He shrugged. He didn’t realize he could do that until the man in the stairwell started shooting at them. “I’ll have to do both doors at once. Will you and Jake be able to knock out the kidnappers in each room?”
Jake sighed, pushing his hands through his hair. “I don’t know, but we don’t have much choice.”
“What if they’ve used the drug?” Emma asked.
Duncan turned to her. Her hair was a mess and she was pale, probably from exhaustion. He moved closer and pulled her into a hug. “If they’ve used the drug, I’ll knock them out.” He didn’t mention that his version of knocking someone out usually involved death, but neither Emma nor Jake said anything. They already knew.
“We’ve got to get moving. I’m sure they’re waiting for us,” Dave said.
Jake nodded and inched down the hall against the wall. The two doors weren’t far, maybe twenty feet from the stairwell. Beyond the doors was another window. Duncan could see the light from the city winking through the dirty glass. When they were about halfway to the doors, he held out his arms and everyone stopped. Emma looked at him inquisitively.
“I can work from here.” Duncan took a deep breath, trying not to think about why they couldn’t hear anything from where they were. Eighteen people, he thought. Why aren’t they making any noise?
Focus, Jake sent. It’s not important.
Duncan nodded and closed his eyes as Jake and Emma clasped hands. He pulled on the energy as though he were drawing electricity up from some unfathomable well. He gathered it until it felt like his skin was crackling, then he opened his eyes and sent the power sparking through the air. The two doors exploded into flame, then vaporized. It took about a second. Duncan sagged against the wall as screams erupted in the rooms.
“Shit! They’ve got shields on their auras,” Emma muttered. Duncan tried to muster the energy again, but couldn’t find it. He felt the beginnings of panic when Jake suddenly cursed, and Duncan realized that his two lovers were trying to push past the guards’ resistance.
“It’s all twisted inside their brains,” Jake panted, hanging onto Emma’s hand. Duncan tried to hold them back, lifting a hand weakly, but they inched forward. Emma’s face was twisted, her concentration so tight Duncan couldn’t tell what she was thinking anymore.
“Hang on,” she gasped, then Jake moaned and Duncan watched his lover’s face blanch. Suddenly, the bond flared and he could hear them again.
Ms. Brown, Jake thought. Where did she go?
I don’t know. Emma’s mind-voice was tinged with despair. I think she got away, dammit! How? I didn’t see a thing!
I think she dropped out the window. She must have had a rope or something. She knew we were coming. I can’t sense her anymore, either. She must have some way to shield herself, Jake sent, anger coloring his thoughts. He strode down the hall to the open window and looked out.
“I can’t see anything.” He rubbed his eyes. I thought I saw a woman lurking outside your house with Eric the other night. Could that have been her too? Jake thought, his mind voice tinged with frustration.
Probably. Nothing we can do about it now, Emma responded.
Duncan pushed away from the wall. He was feeling a little better. Not enough to draw on the energy but enough to go see what happened. Dimly, he realized it had only been about a minute since he’d demolished the doors.