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He practically hoith fury Glass shatters Water erupts

Things flop on the floor and screech as the scorpion monsters are separated from their victims I can’t tell which explosions and screae as he de left to s around for lass and lab supplies aside and stares down at so it up, he drags it over to me

It’s his sword He maneuvers me so he can slide it into the scabbard that’s still on ainst me, but it’s barely perceptible as it slides into the scabbard

Then he picks me up in his arms The pain has plateaued, but I’le limply like a fresh corpse’s

He shoves his way out through the door to the stairs and we head up toward the explosions

CHAPTER 44

At first Raffe staggers, always on the verge of collapsing I can’t tell if his stuery or froe

He has cuts on his neck and ear that have already stopped bleeding; healing before er with every step, but his breathing is labored and uneven

At one point, he leans against the side of the stairs and pulls me up into an eainst et you killed I just never thought it would be your loyalty to me that would do it"

Another explosion rocks the stairs and wethat lies on the stairs It’s been torn out of the wall The walls on both sides are punched and shredded with ragged holes

We finally reach the top Raffe leans into the door and we push out onto the ground floor

It’s a war zone

Everyone who isn’t shooting see off their dress coats at one end of the foyer, getting a running start to the front door and leaping into the air as soon as they get outside But one out of every three coain in a bloody heap of feathers, as bullets find their els in a barrel since there’s only the one big exit on this side

Chunks ofexplodes

Dust and debris shower us as the building is riddled with gunshots

People scatter in every direction Many of the wolass I swear so the other way They’re having to step over people and angels who are lying liround

Raffe is s spread out to keep the us Even in their panic, everyone stares at us as they run by

More than a few angels stop and stare for a ht of recognition and shock in soainst Raffe, it’s getting a major boost in the polls Raffe and I are like a des I worry about ill happen to hiet out of this madness

I try to look forin this chaos when I still can’t els decide to take their chances at being trapped indoors and run away from the front doors They’re probably headed to the elevator area where they can fly up and out froives , to see these aliens stripping off their highbrow costu for their lives

What’s left of the front doors blows apart in an blast of shrapnel

Everything sounds lass, and several of the people running in robes and bare feet are having a hard time of it

I want to run to the doors and shout that we’re huet out of there, just like hostages on TV But even if I could, there’s not a cell into pause their attack just so we can go free The days of bending over backward to preserve life for its own sake have been over for weeks Human life is now the cheapest coels lie side by side with hu dolls strewn about the scene

We ives us a wide berth

At the elevator lobby, there is a carpet of discarded formal jackets and ripped dress shirts Theybound by clothes, even if those clothes were custom-made for theels The one, and it’s a free-for-all of flapping wings