The footsteps were still a ways down the hall when I finally realized that I’d mis-analyzed our situation. It was the breathing that gave it away. The heavy breathing of our impending opponents led me to notice their quickened pulses—their hearts were racing after running up several flights of stairs. Except a mere effort like that should have been nothing for most parahumans.
“Oh, for the love of . . .” I resisted smacking myself in the head, but only barely. “Those wards affected everyone who came in the building, right? Even if it was someone who was in cahoots with the dragon?”
“Unless they had enough juice to be considered comparable, or were apparently carting around dragon blood,” Bubba confirmed.
“Little less talking would be nice while I try to unravel the secrets of an ancient arcane lock.” Amy had made it halfway around the cube, causing her voice to echo off the surrounding walls, tinny and distant.
“That means whoever these people are, they’re probably close to human too.”
“Right, but given your usual attitude toward spillin’ blood, I can’t imagine that will work too much in our favor,” Bubba said.
“We don’t have to fight them; we just have to stop them. And if they’re almost human, then I know exactly how to do just that.” I raced forward, all too aware of how close our enemy had drawn, and grabbed the door. I slammed it shut, then turned around and braced myself against the seam where it would have connected to the lock.
“This thing is reinforced. I’m betting they can’t punch through it,” I declared. “At least, not in five minutes.”
“Down to four, actually,” Amy called from somewhere on the other side of the cube.
Bubba stared at me for a moment, then rushed across the room, throwing his bulk against the door right before a huge force struck it from the other side. I was so taken by surprise that I bucked forward, my smooth-soled shoes slipping against the dull gray carpet beneath them. Luckily, Bubba’s own strike was enough to hold the door shut, and I quickly put myself back in position.
Whoever was on the other side slammed against the door with constant, frantic blows. They were powerful, even with the runes reducing their power, but between my vampiric strength and Bubba’s hefty body, we were able to keep the door shut through the first wave of attack.
“Damn, I’m really missing my weresteed form right about now,” Bubba panted from my side. He was bracing the door with his arms, heels dug into the carpet and sweat already beginning to drip down his face. “Nobody moves a horse that don’t want to be moved.”
A huge slam hit the door as one of the would-be intruders threw their entire body at it. The door held, thankfully, though I had to wonder how much more the frame could take. Sooner or later, they’d knock it off its hinges. All I could do was hope it would be later.
“I’m missing your weresteed form too. I’m no good at this sort of job.”
Bubba snorted and shook his head. “Coulda fooled me. Seems like at least once a month you’re yanking somebody out of trouble.”
“I assure you—” Another huge blow struck the door, followed immediately by a second, and Bubba and I both focused on keeping our only barrier of safety in place.
“I assure you, it’s almost always happenstance and coincidence.”
“Whatever you say.” Bubba didn’t seem like he believed me, but his face was red from effort and sweat poured freely down his collar. Arguing, clearly, was a luxury he could not spare the energy for.
Amy emerged from the opposite side of the cube, a faint halo of swirling, colored lights around her head. “I’ve got a mixed bag of news. Pretty sure I found a way to open a gate in this thing, but I’m equally sure it’s not going to let in anyone but a dragon. Also, I’m going to be dropping in about another minute here, so it’s doubtful I’ll figure out any other entrance.”
“That really seems like all bad news,” I told her, gritting my teeth as another shower of attacks fell on the door at my back.
“It probably is, but we do have one shot: that dragon blood in you has kept you safe from suppressing runes and draconic auras. There’s a fair chance that you might be able to pass through whatever gate I can open.”
“Well then, sure, let’s give that a try.”
“Hang on, wasn’t done,” Amy said. “It might let you through, but remember what I said about dragon magic being unpredictable? Trying to pass through the warded gate might also blow you up, or turn you into a bunny, or any other of a million possibilities. One drop of blood does not a dragon make.”
“Forget it, we’ll just have to tear the damn thing apart the old-fashioned way,” Bubba grunted, face still staring at the floor.
He wouldn’t hold much longer; neither would the door, for that matter. Amy was going to be passed out and helpless in under a minute, and even if I were in any way good at fighting, there was still no way I could look out for both of them in that sort of situation. If I’d had time to think about it, I certainly would have tried to find a solution that posed less risk, but in that moment, the most hard-wired piece of my mind took over: the accountant.
Two of my friends’ lives, plus Gideon’s, plus the ones up in the gala, all weighed against my own. The math was simple.
“Open the gate,” I told Amy, readjusting my feet to keep the door in place for what I hoped would be long enough.
“On it.” Amy scrambled over to the cube, running her fingers along it in patterns I didn’t recognize. Having her consciousness on a clock helped her understand the urgency of the situation. Bubba, however, was not so inclined to accept my decision.
“Fred, don’t be an idiot. Gettin’ yourself destroyed doesn’t do a damn thing to help anyone.”
“Amy said I could pass through.”
“Amy said you might be able to pass through. Maybe. As in, there is some chance,” Bubba said. “And even if it does work, you have no idea what’s through there. For all we know, you could end up trapped just like Gideon.”
“I’m aware of the risks.”
“Then why are you doing this?” Bubba’s words were somewhere between a yell and a groan as he pressed against the warped frame of the door with all his might, driving back the attackers who’d started to gain ground.
“I don’t know!” I was yelling too, trying to be heard over the steady thundering of our adversary’s attacks. “I don’t have a good reason. I’m not stupid; I know it’s probably going to backfire or mess me up. I know I’m not the guy who saves the day. But . . . but I guess I’m also not the guy who can do nothing while the people he loves gets hurt.”
“Fred!” Amy hollered from her position across the room. “It’s go time!” As she spoke, a panel in the cube slid away, revealing a rectangle filled with orange light. Not even my enhanced vision could make out what was on the other side—which didn’t surprise me in the slightest.
I started to move forward, then felt the door buckle behind me. I’d nearly forgotten that without me holding the door, they’d easily overpower Bubba. That would leave both him and Amy completely defenseless.
“Go. I got this,” Bubba snapped. He took a long, deep breath, and then shuffled over slightly, putting himself dead center on the door.
“Bubba, not even you can—”
“I got this. Trust me.”
For a moment, I hesitated. Then I saw the look in his eye—more ferocious and determined than I’d glimpsed even a hint of before. He was telling the truth. He would hold this door with everything he had. It was on me to make it back in time.
“Thank you,” I said.
Then I was off, dashing through the room before I had a chance to think about any of it. If I let my brain kick into gear, it would find a reason to take me off course. It always did. The only shot I had (that any of us had) was my body moving before my brain really understood was going on.
I tore through the room at top speed, passing Amy as she settled on the floor and the lights around her head started to fade. I didn’t slow down—not for her, not even when I got close to the orange doorway in the middle of the cube. There was no slowing down, no stopping. This was all or nothing.
I hit the doorway still going top speed. All the sound from the room died out instantly as I hurdled through what felt like an eternal, empty orange void. Come what may, I was across the threshold.
Everything dissolved, and I fell into nothingness.