The soldier’s eyes narrowed. “The nursery is on the third level.”
Robert let his smile turn sheepish. “The sentry told me it was down here.”
The two men looked at each other and laughed. Robert laughed along with them, wondering if they could see the sweat that had popped out on his forehead. Because he couldn’t think of a damn thing to say—because his Rebelian left something to be desired—he puffed hard on the cigarette, then doubled over in a fit of coughing.
Laughing, the younger man slapped him on the back. “Maybe you need women’s cigarettes.”
“Or mother’s milk,” the other man chimed in.
While they laughed Robert worked his hand into the breast pocket of the shirt he wore, then straightened. The younger man was still cutting up, but the older one was staring at the watch Robert held in his hand.
“What is that you have there?” he asked, his smile fading.
Grinning like an idiot, Robert leaned close to him. “You ever see a James Bond movie?”
“Sean Connery,” the younger soldier said, grinning.
“Pierce Brosnan,” Robert corrected.
The two men leaned close to the watch, looking curiously at it. He touched a tiny button at the crown of the watch’s face. The charge whistled. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the older man’s hand tighten around his rifle. An instant later, he pressed the face of the watch against the older man’s neck. One hundred thousand volts of electricity snapped, dropping him like dead weight.
The younger man lurched back, fumbling for his rifle. “What the hell?”
Robert lunged, tagged him with the watch. “Sorry, man,” he growled as electricity cracked through the air.
The young soldier hit the stone floor like a bag of potatoes. Looking left and then right, Robert stuffed the watch into his pocket. Knowing that in a matter of minutes the castle would be crawling with heavily armed soldiers, he sprinted to the stairwell and took the steps two at a time into the basement. According to the blueprints, the generator room was halfway down the corridor and to his right. Robert sprinted to the door, but it was locked. He backed up slightly, kicked the door and it flew open, banging hard against the stone wall. Heart pounding, Robert quickly located the generator at the rear and fished out two of the miniature explosive charges. He planted one on the underside of the generator. Because the castle also used natural gas, he searched for the feed pipe and planted the second device there, then set the timers for thirty seconds.
Knowing the blast was going to be huge because of the gas, he sprinted from the room, slamming the door behind him. He was halfway down the hall when the stone beneath his feet shuddered. An instant later the concussion struck him in the back like a giant fist and sent him flying. He saw debris, felt the heat of fire and hoped to God he could stay conscious long enough to find Lily.
Revulsion swamped her as DeBruzkya pressed his mouth against hers in a sick imitation of a kiss. Lily endured the contact but fought a greasy rise of nausea. Panic threatened, and she tried desperately to separate her mind from what was happening to her, from the very real fear that this could escalate into something horrible. Just when she thought she couldn’t bear it any longer, the floor shuddered beneath her feet, followed by an ominous rumble. At first she thought it was thunder from the coming storm, then the lights flickered and went out, plunging them into darkness.
“What the…” DeBruzkya pulled away, but he didn’t release her.
Insistent pounding sounded at the door. Lily could hear shouting beyond. DeBruzkya turned to her, his rodent’s eyes seeking hers. In the thin light cast by candlelight, Lily could see the hunger, the disappointment and thinly concealed cruelty etched into his features. Slowly, he released his grip on her arms, then ran his hands to her shoulders and squeezed hard enough to make her wince. “Stay here,” he said and started toward the door.
Lily sagged against the mantel, stunned, trying to decide what to do next. She watched DeBruzkya cross to the door and yank it open. She heard voices as he conversed with his men. She couldn’t make out the words, but in a sudden burst of insight she knew Robert had come for her and Jack. The realization filled her with hope and the strength to do what she needed to do next.