Page 114 of A Touch of Treachery
I forced myself to move faster, even though I was doing little more than plodding through the snow, which had piled up past my ankles.
Four ...three ...two ...one ...
I threw myself forward, trying to put a few more precious feet between me and the explosion—
BOOM!
CHAPTER FORTY
DESMOND
Anexplosionrippedthroughthe clearing.
A massive fireball punched upward through the ground, blowing the hidden door to pieces and tossing the security light aside like a metal matchstick.The fireball boiled up and out like a mushroom cloud of red-hot death, and flames blasted through the clearing—heading straight for Charlotte.
She must have sensed the looming danger with her synesthesia, because her legs churned faster.At the last instant, right before the flames would have slammed into her back, Charlotte threw herself down into the snow.The fire zipped over her, and a muffled cry sounded.
“Charlotte!”I yelled.
I staggered to my feet and lunged forward, but Gabriel grabbed my arms and held me back.“There’s nothing you can do!”
“Let me go!”I yelled at him.“Let me go!”
But I was injured, and Gabriel wasn’t, and he clamped his arms tighter and held me still, despite my weak, flailing struggles.Helpless, all I could do was watch as the flames boiled up and out through the clearing, melting the snow, engulfing the nearby trees, and torching everything they touched ...
A minute passed, maybe two, although it seemed much longer than that before the fire finally died down.Acrid black smoke spewed up from the massive hole in the ground, and bits of ash swirled through the air along with the snowflakes still falling from the sky.
Gabriel finally loosened his grip.I shoved him away and dashed straight for Charlotte, who was lying face down in the snow.
I dropped to my knees beside her.The explosion had scorched the back of Charlotte’s coat, and I shoveled some icy slush onto the fabric to put out any hot patches.Then I gripped her shoulder and rolled her onto her back.
Her eyes were closed, but her skin was free of burns.The explosion hadn’t scalded her.A relieved breath hissed out between my teeth, and I gently shook her shoulder.
“Charlotte?Charlotte!”
Her eyes cracked open, and she squinted up at me.“I’m sorry,” she mumbled.“But I can’t hear you right now.My ears are ringing from the explosion.Why are fireballs always soloud?”
A laugh spewed out of my lips, and relief rushed through me, stronger than any current I had ever channeled with my galvanism.I helped Charlotte sit up, then leaned forward and wrapped her up in my arms.Charlotte hugged me back just as tightly, shuddering against my body.
Behind me, I could hear Joan and Gabriel hurrying in our direction and asking if we were okay.I ignored them, buried my face in Charlotte’s neck, and breathed in the blue of her while the trees burned, the snow melted, and the ground smoldered all around us.
Afewminuteslater,a Section strike team stormed into the clearing.Joan, Charlotte, and I all raised our hands, although the other agents lowered their weapons when they realized it was us.Gabriel had already vanished into the trees.I didn’t blame the former cleaner for leaving, and I envied his freedom.
Joan took command, telling the strike team leader what had happened.A stretcher was brought into the clearing, and Joan ordered the agents to load me onto it and carry me out of the woods.I held out my hand, and Charlotte threaded her fingers through mine.She walked by my side all the way back to the hotel.
After that, things happened quickly.I was given a couple of bags of IV fluids, along with a host of biomagical medicines, and a healing cream was spread on the many burns on my body.Charlotte and Joan took me back to the honeymoon suite, where we could have some privacy, and I channeled just enough of the hotel’s electricity to heal the deepest, most painful burns.Despite their protests that they were fine, I also channeled enough power to heal Charlotte’s and Joan’s bumps and bruises.
We were all still tired, dirty, and traumatized, but we would live.
Two hours later, Gia, Evelyn, and Diego arrived, along with my father.
Joan, Charlotte, and I were back in the first-floor library, which had once again been converted into a mobile command center by the strike team.Joan and Charlotte shot to their feet when Gia, Evelyn, Diego, and the General walked into the room, but I remained sprawled in a chair by the fireplace.
Gia, Evelyn, and Diego examined me from head to toe, their gazes lingering on the burns that remained on my hands and face.I could have used my galvanism to completely heal the ugly, shiny red marks, but I didn’t want to reveal the full extent of my power, just in case Henrika had a spy stationed at the hotel or was watching us through a hidden camera.
My father also peered at me, his lips pressing into a thin, angry line.His gaze cut to Charlotte, who lifted her chin and stared right back at him, daring him to say something negative.
The General sighed, then reluctantly tipped his head.Charlotte returned the gesture, although she kept eyeing him, and I could practically see the wheels turning in her mind.I didn’t know what questions or concerns she had about my father, and I was too tired to care.
