Page 124 of Resolve
It’s an easy target.
Reid teleports to their level and starts killing everyone.
I push off the ground and aim for what looks like the power cord, slashing it with one of my larger blades.
It keeps running.
A battery backup?
A quick search reveals a wide panel in the back. I carve into the groove with my knife and force it open. Then slice through the wires with one hand and yank them out with the other. Electricity arcs through the panel, singeing my hand. A wire zaps, and I push it against another. The smell of burning precedes a loudpop, and then the panel catches fire. I stoke it with just enough air to feed it until I know the fire will keep burning without it.
I move to the rest of the machine, ripping it apart piece by piece. Destroying whatever I find. Carving out holes and weak points on every side. Then I grab the first gallon of gasoline I’d brought with me to chuck into those holes and around the outside. I empty it and do the same with the second gallon.
“You’re going to blow the whole building with that,” Reid remarks, suddenly at my side and covering his nose with his arm. He’s covered in blood, but breathing easily. Killing the others hardly took any effort. They were worker bees, though, not agents.
Smiling, I reply, “That’s the plan.” I pull a matchbox from my pocket. Thumb the box and extract three matches.
Reid shakes his head and disappears. His task of getting me here is finished, so now he needs to meet up with Tinsley to get Tobias to safety. All that’s left is the distraction and clearing the rest of the island. Kellan should already be on the latter part. I’ll join him as soon as this is done. And then…
Rejoin Raegan.
I’ll be there soon, little one.
No one will ever understand the way we feel about each other. It’s more than love, lust, or obsession. It’s a sort of bond that transcends all that. A soul connection. Where our lives are so intertwined that my heart beats in time with hers. Her happiness is mine. Her rage, mine. I’m her weapon, her beast, her monster.
I’ll kill her enemies wherever they are and then return to her side.
I won’t let her fight Charles without me. We’ll keep this quick.
In and out.
Hopping to the nearest piece of furniture, I send a burst of air under me to keep propelling me higher. To the top of a shelving unit. To the edge of the balcony railing.
That should do it.
Flick the matches.
Deep breath.
Sulfur invades my lungs, and I get a burst of adrenaline. Of excitement. The flames flicker from the vents pushing air in here, so Icreate a bubble around them. A partial vacuum with enough air for it to stay alive until it reaches the machine without blowing out on the fall.
I toss them down.
They land with a soft tap on the gasoline, and the fire spreads in an instant.
Three.
Two.
One.
The machine explodes, metal and parts flying everywhere as a plume of smoke bursts free—destroying the floor above it. I shield myself with air to toss aside anything flying toward me. Whatever hasn’t been caught in the blast catches sparks and ignites. The fire spreads, devouring the building. There will be nothing left when it’s finished.
Now that my task’s complete, I jump-fly up the stairs to the surface, then to the edge of the open roof to seek out Kellan. Guild members are fighting agents in one area. They don’t appear to need my help, so I move on. A few more fights, but no Kellan. I take off to the nearest palm tree. If he’s found a strong agent, then I’ll help kill him so we can leave.
I start throwing knives as I soar from roofs and treetops, thinning the herd of agents.
The air shifts behind me.
