The Cure by Teyla Branton

she would lose consciousness and any extended lack of air would kill her child, if the fight already hadn’t done irrevocable damage.
    Ritter was already halfway to her. No chance for me to fire now without hitting one of them. The other Unbounded woman raced toward Oliver, who’d regained his feet. He brought up an escrima stick to defend himself, but his apparent weakness and her solid bulk promised a short fight. I’d help him—after I saved the children.
    The mortal saw me coming and shifted his pistol in my direction. I was faster. Two shots and he was down.
    “Behind you!” Kathy shouted.
    I turned to see one of the wounded Unbounded men coming toward me, moving with a speed and agility that signaled his talent was combat. I pulled the trigger, but he was too fast and the shot went wide. A left hook sent me to the ground. I twisted as I fell, kicking out at him. He staggered, giving me enough time to get to my feet. I punched; he blocked. He punched; I ducked. Veins bulged in his neck, and his dark eyes were murderous. No matter how much I’d trained, this wasn’t a fight I could win.
    Behind the man, I glimpsed Ritter now fighting both female Unbounded. He moved with incredible speed, blocking before a punch was thrown, stepping out of reach at the last moment. At least one of the women was also gifted in combat. Probably both. It was a miracle Stella had been able to protect the others as long as she had. She wasn’t moving now.
    “Stop or I’ll kill her!” The mortal I’d shot had come to one elbow, his gun pointed toward Kathy. Max growled, but that was no defense against a bullet.
    Pain exploded in my head and in my ribs as my Unbounded opponent rewarded my distraction with the mortal. I fell, gasping for breath. The room spun around me. I struggled to my feet, half blinded.
    What should I do? I felt paralyzed. If we gave up, most of us were as good as dead anyway. My brother had forgiven me for the death of his wife, but losing his children—I didn’t know if either of us could recover from that.
    A sudden, strange pulse waved through the room, stealing what breath I had left with its intensity.
    “Police!” came a shout near the door.
    What? I jerked my head toward the door where a dozen armed men had appeared in SWAT clothing. They looked competent, dangerous, and willing to kill. Two near the front also looked familiar, but I couldn’t place them. Relief swept through me for an instant before I realized that something didn’t fit.
    There were no sparks of life forces, no feeling that marked one real person, much less a dozen determined men. If they were blocking, I’d still be able to at least sense their presence this close. So either they were all sensing Unbounded who could hide their presence from me, or they didn’t exist at all. Yet I caught a whiff of tobacco and gun oil. They even smelled real. It had to be some kind of a trick. An illusion meant to confuse. But whose? The Emporium Unbounded were every bit as surprised as I was, their shields wavering enough that I could sense their shock quite clearly. How could I use that to my advantage?
    I couldn’t. Not with that gun aimed at Kathy.
    Wait. It wasn’t quite aimed at her. The man, gaping at the police, had lowered it so the barrel pointed downward.
    Ritter’s mind was still dark, so there was no way for me to warn him that the policemen weren’t really there without also alerting the Emporium agents. Diving for my Sig, I rolled and came up shooting. First the mortal and then my Unbounded opponent. I emptied the rest of the magazine. If that didn’t do it, I had nothing left.
    Ritter was only a heartbeat behind me. One powerful blow took out the larger Unbounded
    woman. The other, seeing the change in the battle, backed away from him, glancing toward the officers near the door, who still looked tough and ready but unmoving. Even as we watched, they vanished, taking the smell of tobacco with them.
    The Emporium woman fled the