THERE WAS A DIAGRAM on the wall that showed the heating and cooling infrastructure throughout the building. “See if you can figure out a route to the garage,” I suggested.
And then I took Bryce’s hand.
I was pretending bravado I didn’t feel, but as I bent over Bryce, I forgot my fears and focused on making him just a little bit better. I had to be careful; I would be no good to anyone if I let the healing sap too much of my strength. I needed only to keep Bryce conscious and alert.
For the first time ever, I was aware of holding back. I had said the words often enough that they came automatically to my lips, and I envisioned a barrier in my mind, a black velvet curtain lowering and sealing off most of my energy, releasing only enough of my gift to settle and calm Bryce’s overtaxed heart, to restore enough health to his lungs and throat that he could breathe and talk.
And then I pulled back. I sensed the gift returning to me, and swallowed the healing words.
But it had helped. Bryce’s skin looked better, and a downy fuzz of hair had appeared on his skull. His eyes were bright and alert, and he licked his lips and raised his hand to scratch at his neck. He no longer seemed to be drowning in pain.
“Mr. Safian,” I said carefully, worried that he would turn back into a ruthless maniac now that he was feeling better, “you must help Kaz now. You need to tell him the commands to wipe out your remote backups. Can you do that?”
For a moment he said nothing and I wondered what we would do if he refused. Now that I had brought him some relief from his suffering, I doubted he would be as cooperative. Not only might he have decided he no longer wanted to die-but he might be eager to protect his life’s work.
“I will do that,” he said, his voice sounding rusty from lack of use.
“It’s really important,” I said. “You have to make sure that-”
“No more,” Bryce rasped. “No more healing, no more zombies.” He pointed to himself. “I was wrong. I deserved to die. The things I have seen them do, since they brought me here-evil things. I never understood… I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
His hand lifted weakly off the floor and he pressed his fingers to my face. They were barely warm, but I didn’t pull away.
“How can I believe you?” I asked.
“Before, I wanted… money… power. Since I came here, I have wanted only to die. I never sleep, the pain keeps me awake, and I think of those young men… every one of them. They never leave me.”
I didn’t know what to say. His regret seemed genuine, the tears sparkling in his eyes real. I wanted to believe. But after everything he had done…
“Hailey, you have to go now,” Kaz said. “We’ll be fine here. Come take a look at this.”
He led me to the diagram and showed me that the garage was located directly above us, one floor below ground level.
“Look here,” Kaz said, pointing to a box with an X in the far corner of the square labeled “HVAC.” “This vent goes straight into the garage.”
He pointed to the corner of the room, where a large square grate had been installed in the ceiling.
“You want me to crawl up there?” I asked skeptically. “That’s got to be fifteen feet off the ground.”
Kaz pointed to the ladders.
At first the task seemed hopeless, even with the ladder we dragged over. My fingertips barely touched the grate. I could reach one of the clips holding the grate in place, but even if we moved the ladder so I could loosen each of them, I’d still have no way to get up there.
“I need your help,” I said. “A boost…”
I climbed down to the floor, and Kaz hoisted me onto his shoulders. I blushed when he grabbed my ankles to keep me steady, but he didn’t seem to mind. He climbed the ladder slowly, my hands wrapped tightly under his chin, until he was standing on the top step.
Now that I could reach all the clips, I worked at them frantically. Looking down was scary, and several times Kaz wavered and I almost lost my balance.
But Healers aren’t like ordinary people. We’re stronger, faster, hardier, and more coordinated, and when the last of the clips clattered to the floor, I reached up for one of the braces holding the ceiling in place. I gripped it tightly and swung myself up, sliding my feet into the opening and scooting into the tight space. I blinked away cobwebs and saw that beyond the opening was a large hollow vent.
“Go,” I said to Kaz. “You have to hurry.”
“Wait, Hailey.”
I turned, my hair falling in my face, and saw him framed in the opening, his gray eyes flickering with uncertainty.
“Just… be careful,” he finally said, and held up his hand. I reached back down, and our fingers touched for a second. I closed my eyes and let the energy travel between us, the attraction of the Banished, the strength of our blood and our history.
And then I pushed forward as though all our lives depended on it.