Risen: The Demontouched Saga (Book 6) by Douglas Wayne Page B

of the protection of the trucks to save their eyes. With them out of the way, she gets to work.
    I close my eyes in time for the area to be bathed in a bright white light. She moves her hands in a circle, sending a radiating heat sensation through my arm. With a final push, she sends a blast of cold into the joint, completely easing the pain.
    “How’s that feel?”
    I move the arm around slightly, trying to avoid a jarring pain that doesn’t come. Knowing she won’t settle for that, I break into full length arm circles to prove I have mobility. There is a slight twinge of pain the moment my arm is at the top of the circle, but fades after a few more.
    But she didn’t just heal my arm. With that last surge of cold, she awoke something inside of me. It’s hard to explain, but I can almost feel Eunie again. But this time something is blocking him. I don’t tell the pair of them, not wanting to get their hopes up.
    “You better, Princess?” Nal says, walking back in.
    “Much better.” I walk back to the edge of the vehicles looking north towards the battle. “You have a car close?”
    “A few. Why?”
    “There’s a huge fire where I parked mine.”

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
    - 2 -
     
     
     
     
     
    Easing into the parking lot, I’m careful not to hit any potholes. Call it intuition, but I don’t think this truck can handle too many more. Fixing the roadways were never a huge concern after the Rising. Hard to fix the roads when you rely on gas and diesel to do it. It’s one thing we didn’t feel was worth the resources once things got tight.
    It wouldn’t be that big of a deal, but out of all the vehicles parked near the command center the only one with keys in it was a busted up mid 70s Ford truck. While they built these trucks to last, I can’t help missing the comforts of my Expedition. Especially the shocks and struts.
    I drive through the parking lot slowly, watching all the entrances and the nearby buildings as I get close. There are a few cars parked in the lot, but most of them are well away from the entrance. Knowing how lazy people are, I doubt someone parked that far to talk inside. Seeing the front is clear, I drive around the back to make sure it is too.
    The rear of the theater is much like the front, without a single car to be found. A small raccoon jumps out of the dumpster as I drive close, but there isn’t anything else.
    “Looks clear,” I say to Sara, parking the truck in front of the main entrance.
    Once we are out of the truck, I pop the front seat forward to grab our weapons. I strap my angel blade and demon killing knife to my belt for easy access. Even without my powers, they can still be used to kill a demon or two. The only difference is I have to get close. I’ll have to remember to thank Zeke when I see him on the other side for training me with the sword.
    From there I grab a small pistol and a shot gun. Both loaded ready to go.
    “Doors are glass,” Sara says, placing a pistol in the small of her back while opting to carry an old hunting rifle.
    “That isn’t a good thing.” While the glass doors may give me a clear view of the wires he used to rig up the door, the glass will not give us any protection if the bombs blow.
    I approach the front entryway slowly. Inspecting the interior through the glass, I don’t see any wires. Knowing Nal, he thought about that problem and had the wires ran through the metal door frame above, where the explosives are probably set.
    Keys in hand, I pick one at random and place it in the lock.
    “Nothing,” I say, when the door fails to open. The next key is more of the same, leaving me with one last key to try.
    I place it in the lock and ease it to the side slowly.
    “Got it!,” I say when the lock budges. Not even a quarter turn later I hear a loud crack when the key breaks in my hand.
    “Oh no!” Sara says, taking a step back.
    I sigh. Out of all the things that could happen here, I would end up picking a bad lock. I try to