Page 55 of Dark Night of the Soul

“You’re five minutes from doing permanent damage,” he said. “We don’t have time for this.”

He worked the first lock. It clicked open in seconds. The cuff fell away. My wrist screamed, but I shoved it down. I’d deal with that later.

“The guard?” I asked.

“Handled.” He started on the second cuff. “Fifteen minutes once the alarm sounds.”

“Where is she?”

“Medical wing. Recovery floor.” The second lock gave. Iron dropped. “They’re moving her soon.”

I pulled my hands free. Flexed my fingers. Everything worked—enough.

“Which room?”

“Don’t know. You’ll have to find her.” He handed me a guard jacket. Dark. Unmarked. “She’s sedated. Attacked a nurse a few hours ago. They had to put her under.”

I went still.

Anna didn’t attack unprovoked. Not unless she’d been pushed.

“What did they do to her?”

They’re trying to weaponize me, she’d said. Had they succeeded?

“I don’t know.” He removed the knife sheath from his belt. Extended it toward me. “But she’s unconscious. You’ll have to carry her out.”

I took it. Clipped it to my belt.

“Carrying an unconscious woman through a hostile fortress,” I said. “That’s the plan?”

“You have a better one?”

I didn’t.

“Fire alarm. East wing. Draws the guards that direction. You go west to medical, find her, maintenance corridor on the lower level. Car waiting outside. You have three days at the safe house. I don’t contact, move.”

“And you?”

“I disappear.” His mouth twisted. “They’ll hunt you. Not me.”

I pulled on the jacket. Tight across the shoulders but it would work in chaos.

“How long?”

Silas checked his watch. “Three minutes.”

He slipped into the corridor. I followed, stepping over the guard slumped against the wall.

Three minutes until chaos.

And then we’d see if the Brotherhood had taught me well enough to steal back what they’d taken.

I was halfway to the medical wing when the alarm hit.

Lights flashed red. The sound was piercing, designed to drive people into motion. It worked. Doors opened. Guards poured into the corridors, most of them heading east like Silas predicted.

Most. Not all.