The Escape by Teyla Branton Page B

take me with you. I know shifting is limited to what you can carry, but if you’re linked with Mari and shifting together, the two of you should be able to take us at least to the next room.”
    During our practice the past few weeks, we’d been successful at doing that with Jace, but it hadn’t been easy. Alone, Mari hadn’t shifted Jace more than a few steps. “What if that’s not far enough? You can’t fight anyway. Not with that hole in you. What if you get us all killed?” Or worse, captured.
    Keene’s eyes narrowed. “I won’t. But if that’s the way you want to play it, good luck. Let me know how it goes.” He shut off his phone, put it in his pocket, and arose, the stiffness in his body belying the casual words.
    “What about the introduction?” Mari said.
    Keene smiled. “Only if I go with you.”
    “No,” I said at the same time Mari said, “Okay.”
    I glanced at Cort, lifting a hand in appeal, but he shook his head with obvious enjoyment. “I’ve given up trying to talk sense into him. He has never listened to his older and wiser brother.”
    “My ancient brother is too conservative,” Keene retorted. “Besides, you need me, Erin. There are certain handshakes and so forth that you don’t have time to learn.”
    I rolled my eyes. “What are they, Masons?”
    “Kind of.”
    I came to my feet, facing him. “You almost died last night. You should be in bed, not visiting Hunters. What if that Unbounded with Emerson attacks us?”
    Keene took a step. “Then I’ll watch you dispatch him.” He shook his head and blew out a sigh. “Look, with me there, nothing will go wrong—we’ll be their allies not their enemies. Besides, Dimitri patched me up great. I’m at least as well as I’d have normally been in three or four days with any ordinary doctor.”
    “Really?” This I put to Cort, because while Keene didn’t lie, he might not understand Dimitri’s ability.
    Cort nodded. “Dimitri is that good, and my brother is that stupid.”
    Mari let out an amused snort.
    “Besides,” Cort said, hesitating, “we also tried out some other things we’ve been working on with nanites and regeneration since he couldn’t protest.”
    It was Keene’s turn to roll his eyes. “Guess I’m a guinea pig. So what’s the verdict? Are you coming or am I doing this alone?”
    I could call Ava and she’d set this to rights in an instant, but I didn’t want to be someone who always went running to her. I had to learn to fight my own battles, and that meant weighing Keene’s stubbornness against my desire to fulfill the mission. The mission had to come first.
    “Okay,” I said. “You come. But after we’re in, you follow my lead. I’ll know what they’re thinking.”
    Was that worry emanating from Cort? Did he feel I’d made the wrong decision? Or was he simply tired of losing siblings?
    Cort caught my gaze and the emotions vanished. He had one of the strongest shields in our group, and if I wanted, he’d let me try to break in, but now wasn’t the time to practice.
    Grunting in approval, Keene swept up his coat from the couch and headed for the door. He moved carefully but without any visible sign of pain. His torso had more bulk than I remembered, probably from the layers of bandages under his shirt. Mari hurried after him.
    I followed them, pausing at the door. “You watching Oliver today?” I asked Cort.
    His mouth twitched. “Yes. We’re going to run through a few practice illusions before we take our turn at the compound.”
    “That’s actually something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about.” I glanced at Keene and Mari. “Can I have a moment? I need to run something past Cort. I’ll be right down.” Curiosity peeled from both of them, but neither voiced it, so I pretended not to notice.
    “Sure, I need to get a gun anyway,” Keene said.
    “And how about more of those nano knives?” Mari suggested.
    Keene shook his head. “I doubt he’ll have a metal detector, so