Free Destiny's Blood by Marie Bilodeau Page A

adjacent corridor and traded jokes, speaking ruefully of the colonel’s latest catch and what they would do to her if he left her in their care.
    Ardin withdrew and looked back, the girl’s face bright red despite the emerging bruises. He caught her eyes and smiled reassuringly, nodding towards the corridor.
    She understood right away and shouldered Lang, her face drawn but determined as they trekked down the metal hall. Ardin passed them and kept an eye out for more guards, his jaw tense with frustration. Gullwing’s guards certainly made up for their ill-discipline and lack of training with their sheer number.
    The blue lights multiplied on the metal walls, their glow weaker as the three trekked down the furthest corridors. Ardin heard a shuttle fly over them, the walls almost fully concealing the familiar noise. He took a deep breath and allowed himself a quick smile. They were nearing the shuttle bay.
    He cast a quick glance back. Lang’s left shoulder collided with the wall often as he stumbled forward, but he managed to keep pace. The girl, Lilac, kept a close eye on him, for which Ardin was grateful. One less thing for him to worry about.
    She looked forward and their eyes locked for a moment. In the cold room, her eyes had already proved striking, but here, in the blue light, her eyes seemed to be lit from within and without. Even her long lashes didn’t seem enough to break the reach of the light, as though it knew no end in her.
    Ardin forced himself to pull away, turning around just in time to see, in the reflection of the upcoming wall, two guards about to round the corner.
    No time to get away!  He aimed his gun and fired the second they crossed into the hallway, hitting the first guard in the knee. Blood exploded and he screamed in agony, throwing himself back. The second guard froze, his eyes wide as Ardin shot him in the shoulder. A clean shot, the bullet ripped through his flesh and ricocheted off the metal wall behind him.
    “This way!” he screamed, all hope of stealth now gone. He dashed down the corridor, turning toward the shuttle bay. The guards writhed and moaned but didn’t seem to care that their quarry was escaping.
    Ardin motioned for Lilac and Lang to move ahead. Lang’s features were drawn, but at least he was quiet as he leaned heavily on the girl. Ardin looked back at the two guards, his gun raised. He hissed as he heard their voices calling for backup, but could not bring himself to kill them in cold blood. Besides, all hopes of a clean escape were long gone, whether those two lived or died.
    “Faster!” Ardin called as he joined the other two, pulling out his comm device and sending a pre-set message. He stashed it again seconds before Lilac screamed in warning and threw herself down, dragging Lang with her. Bullets whizzed past where they had stood just moments before. Ardin crouched and returned fire, grabbing Lang by the belt and pulling him behind a low-set wall.
    Lilac ducked behind a nearby column, and Ardin wished he had a gun to give her. She had carried Lang this far without complaints despite her injuries, instilling Ardin with some trust in her. He checked his weapon and cursed. Although guards on Collar were entitled to more than the one bullet citizens were allowed, there still weren’t enough bullets to get them away safely.
    “Come out and you won’t be harmed.”
    Ardin and Lilac exchanged a sceptical look. Behind them, Ardin knew, the shuttle bay loomed, but all he could do was duck as more bullets flew overhead.
    He cursed and waited.
     

C HAPTER 7
    L ayela’s cheek was growing numb from the cold concrete column. Ardin and Lang were not far, hiding behind a low wall, merely feet away from the shuttle landing bay.
    “Come out and you won’t be harmed,” one of the guards screamed again. Ardin responded with a quick shot, followed by the sounds of ripping flesh and a scream.
    He reloaded his gun for the third time. Layela doubted he had many more rounds