“Clavas.” She joyfully strode over to him, Enthara’s exoskeleton whirring with each step. “You’re Clavas, right?”
“How is this possible?” Clavas’ bruised eyes twitched. “How is she allowed to wear the exoskeleton?”
“Later.” Korben stared urgently at her. “My heras, we do not have time. You need to—”
Before he could finish, three guards darted into the room. Their eyes swept from left to right and they banged a wicked-looking mechanical spear against the bars. “Which one of you wants to be the first Plutonian we cut open today?”
“How about I cut you first?” Sara said, stepping forward and making herself known.
The guards’ eyes widened behind their masks. They lifted the spear, but Sara was already in the air. She landed on the first one and punched his face clear in so his bones cracked. Swinging around, she grabbed the other two and slammed their heads together with a roar. The Heronas slumped to the ground, completely still.
Silence fell on the dungeon. She turned and saw the Plutonians staring at her as if she’d grown horns.
Clavas leaned toward his brother and spoke with awe in his voice. “Great plan.”
“I’m Sara,” she said, wrapping her hands around Korben’s prison and using Enthara’s strength to pull the bars clean off. “It’s nice to finally meet my brother-in-law.”
“Your what?”
As soon as Korben stepped out, he leaned toward her. “I’m sucking your face as soon as we get out of here.”
She smiled softly at him, her heart melting.
“Ehem.” Lans gestured to himself. “A little help?”
“Enthara has a precision laser you can use to break this.” Korben lifted his bound hands.
Sara’s fingers trembled as she controlled Enthara’s laser weapon, but she managed to break Korben’s restraints without cutting his hand clean off.
Boots thumped from the floor above them.
Everyone glanced up, fear skittering into the air.
“Hurry,” Korben told her, running to Lans and Tiegan’s prison and helping to set him free.
Sara broke Clavas out of his cage and then stepped out of Enthara’s exoskeleton. The zapten returned to her dinosaur form, moaning when her head crashed against the ceiling.
“We’ll be out of here soon, girl.” Sara patted the zapten.
“This way.” Clavas stepped forward and pointed left. “The Healer is this way.”
Boots thumped closer and closer.
Lans and Tiegan glanced above, their eyes wide.
“Denizi, it sounds like an army’s up there.”
“Korben,” Clavas shook his hand urgently, “the Healer.”
Korben stared at his brother and then at Lans. “Where are they keeping the zaptens?”
“What?” Clavas shrieked.
He grabbed his brother’s shoulders. “If we try and find the Healer now, we’ll be caught by the Heronas army. The dungeon guards are one thing. Their infantry is another. Their weapons are dangerous and lethal. We will be putting the Healer in more harm if we try to fight without our guns and our zaptens.”
“So we just leave him?”
“Guys,” Sara said nervously, “we don’t have much time.”