Page 50 of Artificial Moon

They have to leave.

Chapter Twenty-seven

I weigh my options.

I could return to the cabin with my family in tow and unleash unholy hell, all in the hopes of teleporting Norm out. But people would get hurt. Maybe even someone I love.

I can’t risk it.

I just need to find Norm and haul him out.

And now that I know the layout, I don’t need Allison anymore.

I leave her on the couch and stand in the center of her living room.

“You’re going back there,” she says.

“I am.”

“Please be safe.”

“I will. I’ll be there for only a second or two,” I promise, texting Andrew to have his surgeons ready. Norm would be coming in hot.

I close my eyes and summon the single flame. Within it, the ruined living room takes shape—the smashed-up computer, the shambles of furniture. Norm is still on the table. Wires are still tangled in his skull; looks like the surgeon hadn’t finished the job.

No matter. I’m bringing him straight to surgery.

The vamps, weres, and armed men are still milling around.

The real question: can I appear, grab Norm, and jump out before anyone has a chance to react?

I think I can. I’ve gotten pretty good at this teleporting business.

I focus on a spot beside the table and teleport.

One instant, I’m standing in Allison’s living room. The next, I’m beside the most wanted man in America.

Norm flinches and tries to pull away, but my grip is ironclad.

“Time to get that thing out of your head,” I murmur.

I summon the single flame again, locking onto Neural-Link’s surgical suite.

Movement—two shapes lunging toward me.

Too late.

We jump.

We arrive in the bright, sterile operating room.

The surgeons close in immediately, faces grim and unreadable.

I shove Norm onto the table. One of them is already prepping the anesthesia.

Norm tries to scream, but it’s useless.

This time, there is no escape.

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