Page 111 of Heart of Dawn
Crap.
He really needed Basil. But I’d try. I’d?—
“Please state your password,” the robot voice said.
I looked up in the direction of Lab 8. “What’s going on?”
A replica stood on the edge of the hole, a small piece of floor left at the sealed door. Looking down at me, holding the fob.
He had the fob but couldn’t speak—a condition of being replicated.
I was the only one to get the door open.
But Miko…
The replica tapped the fob again.
“Please state your password.”
If I didn’t act now, there would be no Miko. This was our final chance. This all came down to me and the replicas. Two left, one of me.
Let’s do this…
I swept my anguish, fear, and every other negative emotion under a rug like dust to be dealt with later. Getting to my feet, I stepped on a pipe to give me some leverage out of the hole.
I felt a tap on my shoulder. I spun, expecting Dawn or one of the possessed pack members. But a replica smiled at me, offering a boost. He helped me onto the ledge with the other replica, this one helping me get steady on the narrow space.
He went to tap the fob again.
A pink blade cut his head off.
“Stars!” I cried.
Dawn howled with laughter, floating above the hole wearing Lance’s body, twirling a pink scythe. “I win. I win. I win.”
The replica melted away. I caught the fob before it vanished into the hole.
One more left.
Cate, Paige, and James were on their feet, fully under Dawn’s thrall. The final replica vaulted out of the hole, joining me.
Oh, stars. Oh, stars. Oh, stars.
Dawn’s elongated weapon retracted into its body, returning seconds later as a whip. “Impossible, cherry fae. This is all so impossible.”
I hated hearing that.
Adrenaline got me slamming the fob onto the panel.
“Please state your password.”
“Hayes, He?—”
The pink whip snapped taut around my neck, choking me off. Dawn yanked and I lost my footing.
“I win!”
The replica’s forceful hand locked around my arm, keeping me from crashing into the hole. The pack hissed below, scrambling forward.
