Free Exalted by Ella James Page A

dodge,” Drew said, grabbing
both their arms. He pulled them through the open doorway of the vacant cell,
and they filled the small, mud hall.
    Carlin sniffed the stale air, wrinkling her nose. “I hate
this place.”
    Meredith felt the same way, and she thought she might hate
it worse because of how they'd gotten there. Even after they escaped—and they
would escape, with Julia—she would still remember the feeling she'd had when
she'd come around the side of the mountain peak and seen Nathan waiting in that
van.
    That was betrayal. She still felt it like a knife.
    In fact, if she wasn't doing something, such as digging out
of that cell Nathan had locked them in, her default emotion was pain .
    Pain over the loss of Julia. Pain that she'd played such a
large role in their capture. Pain over...everything.
    Thankful that none of her friends shared her
emotion-sensing gift, Meredith put her hand on Carlin's shoulder, and the three
of them moved down the narrow hall like an awkward, six-legged worm.
    “Where do we go?” Carlin asked.
    “We need to find Julia,” Drew said, “so probably down. I
bet The Three's lair is at the bottom of the pyramid.”
    "Why?"
    He shrugged. "Isn't that where they put
pharaohs?"
    Meredith nodded. “It's as good a plan as any, I guess, but
how do we know which way is down?”
    Drew wiggled his brows. “Trial and error.”
    With Drew at the front, Carlin clutching his hand, and
Meredith clutching Carlin's, the three of them hustled down the hall, ducking
inside a pale stone door when they thought they heard echoing footfall.
    Meredith almost hoped they had. She wanted to see Nathan
again. She wanted to punch him in the nose. Then she thought about Julia, and
she prayed they didn't get caught.
    The door led to another hall, this one clearly ascending;
it had rough stone floors and walls that were decorated with the funky
ruby-colored glowing stuff that seemed to be everywhere. Leave it to The Three
to use creeptastic glowing mold to light their lair.
    After a few minutes on the hall, they heard definite
footfall—lots of it. Several people were walking toward them.
    Shit!
    Meredith looked over her shoulder, but Carlin tugged her
forward, into a run.
    The footsteps grew louder, and soon there were voices. They
sounded angry, and Meredith was sure she heard Nathan's name.
    Something about “...pompous asshole."
    Then Dizzy's squeaky croak. “I'd like to kill them, one by
one.”
    The footfall had slowed, but the three friends were
struggling to stay ahead of it without making noises of their own. Drew tugged
Carlin, who tugged Meredith again, hard, and she almost tripped. She swallowed
back a “humph!” and kept her legs moving, realizing, with frustration, that
their path was still slanting up, probably back toward the commons.
    They turned a corner, and waiting for them were Thierry and
Adam.
    “Did you idiots forget about Catalina?” Adam asked.
    Carlin shrieked, and Drew threw out his arm in front of her
and Mer, as Meredith's stomach bottomed out.
    Thierry smiled. “She found you without any problem, even
when you were on the protected level.”
    He took a step forward, and Meredith looked over her
shoulder, behind her, where Dizzy's voice was growing louder.
    “You should have stayed where Nathan put you,” Adam said.
    “He put us there to protect us from crazies like you! You
assholes need to leave us alone!” Meredith snapped.
    But Adam's dark eyes were hard; he looked grave, and
Thierry looked energized.
    “How ya doing, Drew?” Thierry reached for Drew, and Carlin
jerked him back, out of Thierry's arm's length.   "I'd rather take my chances with
Dizzy," she cried, and they dashed back the way they'd come.
    Drew, Carlin, and Meredith spun and started running back
down the hall, toward Dizzy and whoever else. At least they couldn't spirit
anyone away, Meredith thought.
    They had only gotten a few steps when Drew stopped. Carlin
screamed, but Drew was pressing against a