Beyond The Door by Phaedra Weldon Read Free Book Online

"What?" she said
softly.
    Daniel put up a hand. "Why don't we just get
him out of here and talk about dumb luck later?"
    Rhonda nodded, but the revelation nagged at
her. If they hadn't used magic to cross the yard and not set off
the alarms—then how had they?
    The whole thing gave her a sinking feeling.
Were they being watched? Had someone discovered what they were up
to?
    "He's in room 3B. He's not sedated or anything,
but he'll be slow to move. You guys ready?"
    "I can carry him," Daniel said. "I'm ready.
Just get us there."
    Rhonda gave him a smile before she moved them
back and stepped out in the hallway. Azrael, dressed in a gray tank
top and gray and black fatigues and black combat boots, turned to
face her. The outfit showed off his mighty physique. He still wore
his shades—and she was grateful. His white milky eyes freaked her
out.
    "Are we ready?"
    Rhonda nodded and felt them follow her down the
hall.
    "Where's Nona?" Joe said as they neared the
door.
    "She's not here tonight," Rhonda said. "I made
the schedule look like they were moving him tonight instead of
tomorrow. She wasn't allowed to be with him—but would come after he
was secured."
    Azrael snorted. "Secured. The guy's a freak'n
vegetable."
    "With a six-zillion ton bomb fused to his
soul," Daniel said. "We exercise caution with him."
    They stopped outside the room and Rhonda opened
the door with her key. She stepped back as they filed in and again
Azrael stayed in the hallway.
    Dags was dressed in a pair of black and white
plaid loungers and nothing else. He lay curled on his side, his
back to them as they approached. The  monitors were all under
her app's control so she put a finger to her lips and shook him
softly. "Darren…we need to go. I need you to get up and stand for
me."
    He moved and turned over. His eyes opened, gray
and dull, but he seemed to hear her. Like this, he only did what he
was told. No independent thought. Only sporadic movements. He
continued to look at her as he stood. His hair was askew, and stuck
up at odd angles a lot like Joe's did—only Joe's always looked like
that. He was losing weight and looked a little too thin to
her.
    But he was still beautiful.
    "Darren, Daniel is going to carry you out,
okay? So I want you do let him do that."
    Dags gave her a slow nod and waited.
    "He's like a zombie," Joe said. He seemed
fascinated.
    "He is in a way. Can only take commands, but
can't think for himself. If we didn't feed him, he'd never eat. Or
go to the bathroom. Or sleep. He'd just sit there and waste
away."
    "That sucks ass." Joe arched his eyebrows
you.
    Rhonda nodded. "Duh? Now you know why we needed
this kind of care for him round the clock."
    Daniel neared Dags and had just started to lean
in to pull Dags into a fireman's carry—
    The ground shook, dust fell from the ceiling
and the building alarm went off.
    "Damnit," Joe said as he checked the clip in
his gun. One in the barrel. "What the hell did TC do
now."
    "I didn't do a damn thing," he said as he came
into the room. "But I heard a lot of stomping and yelling before
that explosion. Something's happening top-side—and I don't think
it's got anything to do with them finding us."
    "Actually I think it's got a lot do with it,"
Daniel said. "I think the Ethereals discovered the truth in moving
Dags and the Virtues are attacking."
    "You mean like in a bombing?" Joe
said.
    "No, more like sending in lackeys. Someone else
is up there. Which is going to hinder our progress. It's a
distraction, but not the kind we need."
    "So what do we do?" Rhonda said and felt her
mind running fast ahead of her. They hadn't really made a
contingency plan—except fighting their way out of the situation as
usual.
    Someone knocked at the door.
    All of them but Dags turned their head as a
tall man in a Fulton county police officer's uniform stepped
through the door. He wore a hat and glasses and pointed at Dags.
"He ready?"
    Rhonda blinked. She knew that voice. And she
felt another