I turn back to Syd. “I know it has to be weird for you, but trust me, this isn't a bad thing.”
Her gaze travels around the room. Over the artifacts that probably date back to the time of Al-Jamila, and then to Larry's unconscious form, Karl's covered corpse, and Silvia's silent body on the floor next to her.
She looks at me again. “Did you finish watching that movie?”
I raise my eyebrows. “The what?”
“Aladdin. With the genie.” She smirks. “The funny one.”
“No, but if you want me to … ”
She flinches, and I laugh, as inappropriate of a time as it is. “Too soon?”
Her smirk fades back into a frown. Then she crosses the room in a few paces and stops in front of me.
Her clothes are torn and dirty. Her hair is a mess. Her black makeup is streaked down her cheeks. The sadness, the hurt in her eyes is vivid.
I know her, finally. And I can't imagine anyone more worthy of the master bond.
My life is going to be pretty damn good here out. I mean, Syd is kind of stuck with me now too. Maybe this is her lost.
She reaches up and touches my cheek. My skin is sore, like it had been singed, but too soon she pulls her hand away.
“Dimitri.” A smile plays on her lips. A sad smile, but a resolute one. “I want you to be free. This I wish.”
The words don't make sense for a moment. Then I realize what she did, and I tense. She gives me an inquisitive look.
I wait, trying to hear or feel something different.
“Nothing.” I force a smile, leaning in to kiss her cheek. “It was a good try.”
We stand in silence. She looks dejected, but I can't bring myself to share her disappointment. I've escaped a slew of horrible fates in the last twelve hours and wound back up with my woman. Despite standing among a scene of carnage, I have never felt a bubble of happiness in my chest like this.
“Let's go find Zoe and get out of here.” I head for the far door.
Syd calls behind me, “Dimitri?”
I halt and turn to her. “Come on, I'm sure Zoe's around here somewhere.”
I don't add that I'm worried we won't find her before something ignites this bonfire. There's an awful lot of thermite.
Syd stays rooted in place, next to Larry's body. “Dimitri, I want you to get me a glass of wine. This I wish.”
I give her a puzzled look. “Really, Syd? Really? We need to—”
I stop, then I look down and focus on listening. She didn't wish correctly. Learning curve, maybe. Except … she had already tried it out with the phone. And succeeded.
She comes closer.
“Nothing, right?” Her expression clears and, for the first time in forever, she has an honest smile. “Tell me!”
I shake my head. There's no way. We're missing something vital. I'm afraid to even think right now.
“Let's find Zoe.” I glance at the dead guards, then head out the door.
Syd is right behind me.
Two steps into the foyer, I freeze, dust pluming around my shoes. Thermite covers as far as I can see, like gray snow. Larry had been busy for a while before interrupting the family reunion.
“Uh, yeah,” I say, because words really can't describe standing in a field of thermite.
Syd turns in a half-circle. “Holy shit.”
Okay, maybe words can describe it.
We take off across the mansion, screaming for Zoe. I don't know if she's here, or if she's even alive. All the other bodies have been recovered so far, though. Something tells me Karl would have planted her corpse as a token of endearment if he had killed her.
We scramble down the thermite-filled corridors and work our way across the mansion, scoping out one room after another. If the mansion had never been crossed end to end before, it soon will be. The doors are already open and the explosive powder waits in mounds in each room. A window in one of the guest suites is open, the curtain billowing with a warm breeze that stirs the thermite on the carpet.
No Zoe. No anybody. Karl had been plotting something terrible if he had dismissed all the staff for the day. I imagine it would have involved a lot of blood and screaming.
My stomach churns a little at the thought, and a lot more at the realization Zoe is gone.
Syd keeps it together. I, however, am about to lose it.
I kidnapped Zoe.
I took her from Syd.
As much as I would like to check every corner and closet again, we can't hang around. Thermite is difficult to ignite—I remember that lesson—but it packs a universe-creating bang.
“We've looked in all the rooms, Syd.” I take her by the arm and direct her toward the front of the mansion.
She bites her lips, eyes darting around like she expects to find a secret passage. Pretty sure Karl wasn't that cool.
I pull her closer as we trudge through the thermite mounds and out the front door, into the night. I pick up my pace toward the Corolla still parked in the driveway.