Lucan: The Pendragon Legacy by Susan Kearney Read Free Book Online Page B

and tears trickled down her creeks. He had to be insane or the bravest man she knew to rush in there. “Lucan!”

    Blindly, he lumbered into her and she backed away. As soon as he passed through the door, she slammed it shut against the smoke and heat. Lucan crouched over, coughing, Sir Shaw draped over his shoulders.

    Shaw’s clothing reeked of smoke. The material was smudged with soot. He had several deep cuts. Blood soaked his back, and the handle of a knife protruded between his shoulder blades.

    In search of a pulse, she placed a finger at Shaw’s neck b D0 yut found nothing.

    Lucan gently eased the man facedown onto the floor. Papers spilled from Shaw’s lab coat pocket.

    “Son of a bitch,” Lucan cursed when he spied the knife, and his rage almost knocked her flat.

    As an empath she could easily be swamped by sensory overload, and she’d had to become adept at blocking human emotions. But as Lucan’s anger pounded her, her temples throbbed. She couldn’t block out his fury and could absorb only so much pain. The urge to reach out to him was so strong, she lifted her hand to his face.

    “Who would do this?” she asked.

    “Don’t know.” Still coughing, Lucan grabbed the hilt of the knife as if to withdraw it.

    Cael placed her hand over his. “Leave it. He’s lost too much blood. He’s gone.”

    “In the smoke…” Lucan’s words came out a harsh croak. He’d clearly breathed more fumes than he should have. Sweat poured over his face, and smudges of soot blackened his forehead. “I didn’t see the knife. If I’d known… maybe I could have stopped the bleeding.”

    She shook her head. “You did what you could. Did you see any of the others?”

    Lucan shook his head and placed his palm on the door. “It’s getting hotter. We have to leave.”

    She closed Shaw’s eyes and stood, a lump burning her throat. She hadn’t known the scientist long, but he’d been a fine leader. A decent man.

    Lucan’s anguish enhanced her own sorrow, until she felt as if she were drowning in despair. She had to regain control. Now was no time to let her empathic senses override her thinking.

    Lucan bent to pick up the body. Blocking his emotions while cornering and corralling hers, she stopped him. “We need to leave. Now. Shaw wouldn’t want us to die with him.”

    Lucan slowly straightened, suppressing his own grief. “You’re right.”

    Praying there weren’t other scientists trapped in the lab, she turned back the way they’d come. Already the hallway had grown uncomfortably hot.

    Still, she spared a few seconds to gather the papers that had fallen from Shaw’s lab coat and stuff them in her pocket. Had the man died protecting those papers?

    So many questions spiraled through her, but the fire was spreading, and the floor outside the door had begun to burn. She grabbed Lucan’s hand. “Let’s go.”

    They made their way toward the exit as explosions thundered around them. Flammable chemicals had begun to heat and burst from their containers. If Cael and Lucan couldn’t escape, they would die.

    Although his breath sounded labored, Lucan kept pace as she sprinted to the door. When he stumbled, he regained his balance. She tried to head back in the direction they’d come, but smoke and flames blocked her path, and she diverted to a different route.

="27"> “We have to get off the site. And hide until we figure out what to do.” Lucan’s voice was low and harsh from the smoke.
    Hiding wouldn’t be easy. Everyone on the moon recognized her face.

    One thing at a time.

    Behind her to the right, fire flared and shot hellish sparks into the charred ceiling. Automatically, she turned left down a hallway, but the burning wreckage of a collapsed ceiling blocked the way. At her sudden halt, Lucan ran into her, grabbed her waist to keep her from falling. “Sorry.”

    They couldn’t go right or left. The hallways were burning. The flames flaring. Fiery debris rained onto the floors.