Kelley Armstrong - Stolen

"Hey," a voice said from the doorway. "Did I miss my party invitation?"

We all jumped. Leah stepped inside, yawning and raking her fingers through her sleep-mussed hair.

"Don't close that!" Bauer said, grabbing the cell door.

Did it matter now? Though I said nothing, I certainly didn't foresee another breakout attempt in our near future. While the opened cells may not have been a trap, they hadn't been a lucky break either. The opposite, in fact. My great escape plan had vanished in that hailstorm of bullets outside. Even if we got through this mess, Winsloe would only need to check the computer logs to realize I'd used Bauer to get past security. He'd make sure it never happened again. I tried not to think of the multitude of ways he could ensure that.

Leah walked to a chair and slumped into it. "Cut my damned foot walking down here. There's glass all over the floor. And how come the doors are open? Not that I'm complaining but-Whoa, what happened to you guys?"

"Flying glass," I said.

"Geez. Not sorry I missed it. Is anyone hurt? I know first aid."

"We're fine," Bauer said, moving to the bed.

While we talked, Savannah leaned out the doorway. "I don't see anyone. Are they all dead?"

"Dead?" Leah repeated as I yanked Savannah away from the open door. "Who's dead?"

I explained what had happened. As I spoke, Leah kept shooting discreet glances at Savannah, who'd collapsed onto the carpet and didn't seem to notice.

"… we should stay in here," I said. "Remain calm and hope they do the same. No sudden moves. Nothing to set them off."

Savannah pushed herself up from the floor. "I know this calming spell-"

"I'm sure you do, hon," Leah said. "But maybe that's not such a good idea."

Savannah's face fell. Leah put her arm around the girl's shoulders and gave her a squeeze.

"Elena and I can handle the guards," Leah said. "We'll find a safe place for you, hon, in case there's trouble when the guards arrive."

Slanting a look sideways, Leah directed my gaze from Savannah to the stray lightbulb pieces on the floor. My heart sank. Savannah. Who else could have been responsible for the whirlwind of flying glass? There'd been only three of us in that hallway and only one who'd been known to propel dangerous objects through the air. It was a big step up from hurling plates, but I'd already seen a demonstration of Savannah's increased powers with that lethal confusion spell. Of course, she hadn't done it deliberately-she'd been hurt as badly as any of us-but that wasn't the point. Whether she intended it or not, Savannah was dangerous. Put her under emotional stress and she reacted with violence.

"Good idea," I said. "We should get Savannah someplace safe." Safe for her and safe for us.

"Sondra, how about you go with Savannah?" Leah said. "My cell's open. Hide in there."

Bauer sat on the bed, knees pulled up, staring at the wall. Back to whimpering jellyfish.

"I'm fine," she whispered.

"You've had a rough go of it," Leah said. "Elena and I can handle this. How about you take Savannah and-"

"I'm fine!" Bauer snarled, head jerking up, lips curling. Then she froze, as if realizing what she'd done. She closed her eyes and shuddered. "I'm fine," she said firmly. "I want to help."

"Maybe we can talk to the guards," I said. "Explain what happened. Is there an intercom, Sondra? Some way we can communicate with them?"

Bauer shook her head.

Outside the cell, something thudded against the exit door. We all stopped to listen. Two more thuds in quick succession, then silence.

"They can't get in," Bauer whispered. "The exit door must have lost power or jammed."

"So much for hoping they were all dead," Leah said. "How many guards are there in total?"

"Three doz-no, thirty," Bauer said. "We-they started with thirty-six, but there's been casualties."

"Lousy odds. Well, let's get Savannah out of here before things get bad."

Leah reached for Savannah, but she ducked and ran to me.

"I want to help," she said, looking up at me.

As if I didn't feel guilty enough just suspecting Savannah of causing the flying glass. But if Leah and I were going to fight this, we had to get Savannah someplace safe where she could calm down.

"We aren't trying to shut you out, Savannah. I know you could help. That confusion spell"-I managed a wry smile-"well, I was impressed, I'll tell you that."

"But…" Savannah sighed, with the weary resignation of a child who could hear "but" coming a mile away.

"But if you stay, Leah and I will be too worried about you to concentrate on the danger."

"We'd be very concerned if you stayed," Leah said, sneaking me a look. "We'd all feel much better if you were someplace else… safe. I'll take you to my cell."

"Fine," Savannah said, in a voice that said our decision was anything but fine.

Leah reached for Savannah's hand, but the girl brushed her off and stalked out the door. Leah jogged after her.

Several minutes later, Leah hurried back. The guards were still beating at the exit door.

"She's in my cell," Leah said. "Hidden under the bed. I closed the door."

I started to nod, then stopped. "You closed the door? What if it jams? How will we get her out?"

"Right now I'm more worried about Savannah getting herself out. If I didn't lock her in, she'd be down here in two minutes flat, trying to help us. We don't need that kind of help." She glanced at the broken glass. "She's helped quite enough already."

"If Savannah made the glass fly, it wasn't intentional."

Leah shrugged. "You're probably right. Anyway, it's not her fault. What can you expect, with a mother like Eve."

"You think that's it? Just because her mother was into black magic doesn't necessarily mean-"

"Eve wasn't just a witch, Elena. Her father was a demon, meaning she was a half-demon/witch hybrid. A brutal combination. Now, I'm pretty laid-back. I don't scare easily. But Eve scared the crap out of me. Sondra, remember when she first got here-"

Bauer whirled to face us. "Who the fuck cares, Leah?! We have God knows how many armed guards pounding at the exit door and you're discussing Savannah's genealogy!"

"Chill out, Sondra. Elena and I have everything under control. We're used to this kind of stuff. All I'm saying, Elena, is to be careful around Savannah. Remember, she's a preteen girl, hormones kicking in and all that shit. It only makes things worse. Who knows-"

"Goddamn it!" Bauer shouted. "They're breaking down the fucking door!"

"You think they'll get in?" Leah asked me calmly, as if Bauer were some lunatic screaming inside a padded room.

"Eventually," I said.

She sighed. "Okay, then. Time to prepare the welcoming party."

When we'd finished planning, we turned off the light. With our night vision, Bauer and I would be fine, and Leah had decided that the overall advantages of darkness outweighed the personal disadvantage of limited vision.

We slipped into the hall, staying behind the corner in case the guards broke through, guns blazing.

"Hello!" Leah shouted. "We're trapped in here! Some of us are hurt! What's going on out there? Can you hear us?"

No one replied. As Bauer had warned, the door was soundproof. Leah tried a few more times, then I motioned her to silence and listened. I could hear only snatches of muffled voices.

"-when's that-getting here?"

"-other door-power out-"

"-radio-again-"

"-off-duty guys?-Matasumi, Winsloe?"

Leah leaned against my shoulder. "Can you tell how many there are?"

I shook my head. "Three, maybe four voices, plus those who aren't talking. Wait, I hear something else."

A loud hissing sounded from the other side of the exit. As I tried to identify the noise, it suddenly rose to a grating whir, loud enough even for a non-werewolf to hear.