I moved closer, just to be sure my eyes weren’t playing tricks on me or I wasn’t hallucinating.
“Surprised to see me?” asked the bird, turning his head to the side to an angle that would have been painful for humans.
Even in my astonishment at seeing the bird again, I still found a moment to revel in his sleek and regal beauty.
As if the bird sensed my awe, he flapped his expansive wings and tipped up his beak.
“Surprise doesn’t begin to describe what I’m feeling. Sick to my stomach might be a better description,” I mumbled.
“You must hurry. I’ve taken care of the guards, but we don’t have much time.”
My lips turned down at the corners. “How did you—? I don’t understand … You did what?”
If a bird could roll its eyes, Blink had just done so. “We only have time for the CliffsNotes version. The pollen I used on the guards has an expiration. It will keep them comatose long enough for you and Blondie to slip away.”
My mouth was still agape. “How are you here? How could you possibly know my plan?”
He scoffed. “Lack of plan more likely. You sent me.”
“No I didn’t.” I would most definitely have remembered.
“Not the you now; the you from the future.”
Oh yeah, that totally made more sense. “Uh, if you say so.”
“Charlotte. We must go. Where is the girl?”
This whole future-me nonsense sent me tripping. During another time and in another place I might try to wrap my head around it, but for now, I folded my arms across my chest. “Okay, I got it. Don’t ruffle your feathers.”
The bird made a disgruntled noise in the back of his throat.
I’d never met an animal with more attitude and entitlement, but he’d provided me with an opportunity I couldn’t pass up, assuming he wasn’t lying. I hadn’t forgotten Dash’s mistrust of the Blinken. This could be a test set up by the Institute, not that it mattered much to me at the moment. I was doing this. Tonight.
Grabbing my canvas bag off the bed, I tossed it over my shoulder.
“Ticktock,” Blink clucked.
I shot him a peeved glare. “She’ll be here.”
“Who are you talking to?”
I spun around. “Jesus, you scared me, Star. You really need to learn to make some noise when you enter a room.”
“I thought the whole point was to be inconspicuous,” she whispered.
“It is. You’re just too damn good at it.”
“Were you talking to yourself?”
“Um, sort of.” I made a quick decision not to tell her about Blink. He had made himself scarce, and I took that as an indication he didn’t want to be seen. Not to mention, even in my head a conversation about a talking bird seemed batty.
Star had pulled her long blonde hair into a ponytail. “Please don’t tell me you’re going crazy. I mean, crazier than you already are.”
My mental stability could definitely be questionable at the moment. “Let’s go.”
Shouldering her pack, Star followed me to the door. “Now that I’m here, I’m not sure I can do this.”
I glanced over my shoulder. “You can. I happen to know for a fact that you are stronger than you think you are. We can do this. Together.”
She nodded. “I’m afraid, but I’m more afraid to stay here.”
“I know what you mean,” I muttered, moving out into the hallway toward the elevators. Here goes nothing.
“This way.” Star grabbed my arm, spinning me around in the opposite direction of the elevator.
I gave her a funny look.
“We can take the service stairs. It isn’t manned by guards at this time of night.”
Just what we needed. Star didn’t give herself enough credit. Who the heck knew? Star and I might just pull this off.
Sprinting down the hall, we came to a dead end. There was nothing but a blank wall. “I thought you said there was a service stairs exit. Where the hell is the door?”
“Here,” she whispered. Her fingers ran along a crack in the wall I hadn’t seen, and a split second later, the wall disappeared, like a sliding door, and vanished into a cavity. Voilà. A set of stairs appeared.
“Neat trick.” How many other hidden passages did Diamond Towers have?
It was a heck of a trek down all those stairs, but by some grace of God, we made it to the first floor without running into anyone. Most of the staff must have been in their living quarters. Another hidden sliding door opened to the west side of the building, just outside the courtyard.
It was so easy, it almost felt wrong, but we kept going.
Now was the moment of truth. We were about to find out whether or not Blink had really fairy-dusted the guards to sleep.
As I pushed open the door that led outside, I held my breath, waiting for a tripped alarm to go off. The only sounds were the crunching of our footsteps, the chirping of crickitoes, and the flapping of wings.
Blink.
He perched on a tree in the center of the courtyard, looking pleased with himself. All around the lush grounds lay bodies. The glowing golden eyes of the bird met mine, and he gave a tiny jerk of his head, telling me I needed to quit gawking and move on.
Star inhaled sharply behind me. “What’s wrong with them?”
“Just a sleeping spell. They’ll be fine… I hope, but we don’t want to be lingering around when they wake up on the ground with a mother of all headaches. Come on. We need to keep moving.”
“I can’t believe we’re actually doing this.”
Me neither. “Stay in the shadows,” I murmured.
“What if they wake?” Star inquired as we crept past another comatose body.
“All the more reason to hurry.” I bent down and snatched one of the guard’s stun guns. You never knew when it might come in handy out in the Heights.
We ran through the courtyard, past the guard’s station, the center fountain, and right up to the front gate. Easy-peasy…
I might have spoken too soon.
Blink squawked from the sky, and I knew he was telling me something was wrong.
“And where do the two of you think you’re going this late?” Blink must have missed a guard. Oops.
“Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God,” Star started chanting in a panic.
“I know who you are,” the guard so obviously pointed out. I could see the little dots starting to connect.
“Good. Then you know how this is going to end.” I whipped up the stun gun clutched in my hand.
“I’m not letting you out of here,” he said, lunging forward. He caught my arm in both hands, twisting it over my head. I was no match for his strength to my utter frustration.
I had to do something or risk everything we’d done so far. Any second, I expected the alarms to be tripped. Powering up, I let the flow of electricity in the air fill my veins. Lightning impaled the night, setting it aglow. The guard knew what was coming and hastily released his hold on me, his pupils dilating with fear. I don’t know what happened next. My brain kicked into survival mode. The gun in my hand went off, and since a Taser utilizes bolts of electricity, my power amplified the charge, lighting up the air.
His body started twitching as if he was seizing, and I waited for him to go down, but he somehow managed to stay on his feet.