The Hot Zone (A Rainshadow Novel Book 3) Read Free Page B

happened with a ghost hunter. A Guild man who couldn’t control his talent was liable to do a lot of damage, especially down in the Underworld where there was so much energy.
    She took a deep breath, rezzed the flicker, and simultaneously pulled hard on her senses.
    Flames exploded in the atmosphere between her and the ghost. She fought to control the stormy currents of fire. This time it was easier. She had more control. Power swept through her. The flames obeyed her every command.
    A heady sensation threatened to overwhelm her. She was strong—stronger than she had ever been in her entire life.
    She marveled at her own creation. She’d possessed plenty of talent before that last job in the Underworld, but she’d never been able to do anything like this.
    “Wow, Lyle. Very high-rez, huh?”
    Lyle chortled and bounced a little on her shoulder.
    “What’s she doing?” Buzzkill whispered hoarsely.
    “Shit.” Hulk was clearly stunned. “She’s some kind of fire talent now. Everyone knows they’re psycho. I told you, she’s a total whackjob.”
    “A whackjob with nothing left to lose,” Sedona warned. A terrible excitement was flaring inside her. “Watch and learn, gentlemen. Watch and learn.”
    The firestorm she had created was in the direct path of the oncoming energy ghost. At any second the two would collide.
    “Oh, man, this is not good,” Buzzkill said. “I can feel the energy levels rising in here. There’s going to be an explosion. Stop her, damn it.”
    “I can’t stop her,” Hulk said. There was a panicky tightness in his voice. “That’s the biggest ghost I can pull. If you think you can do something, be my guest.”
    “We’ve got to get out of here.” Buzzkill sprinted toward the door. “This place is going to blow.”
    “What about the woman? You said yourself, we can’t lose her.”
    “There’s nothing more we can do,” Buzzkill yelled. He did not pause on his charge toward the door. “Blankenship can find himself another research subject. Stay here if you want. I’m leaving.”
    Sedona concluded that
nothing left to lose
had become her personal motto. She pulled more power. The firestorm surged.
    “You stupid, crazy bitch,” Hulk shouted. “You’re going to die if you don’t shut down that storm.”
    Sedona laughed.
    “Those damn experiments turned you into a real freak,” Hulk gasped.
    He gave up trying to control the ball of hot energy that he had generated. As soon as he stopped channeling his talent, the ghost fizzled and winked out of existence.
    Sedona sent the leaping flames of her firestorm toward Hulk. But he was already on the run, pounding toward the doorway. He followed Buzzkill out into the glowing green hall and was gone.
    Sedona waited a moment or two, savoring the exhilaration that had ignited her blood. She could have stood there for a long time, admiring the storm she had created. But Lyle chortled and reality slammed back.
    Reluctantly, she lowered her senses. The firestorm dissipated. An eerie silence descended on the lab.
    “Okay, that was a real rush,” she said softly.
    Lyle chortled. He was once again fully fluffed but all four eyes were still open.
    She opened her hand and stared at the shiny flicker. A shiver of dread replaced the fading euphoria.
    “What did Blankenship do to me?” she whispered.
    Lyle muttered, displaying some impatience.
    “Right.” Sedona steadied herself. “I can worry about the details later. Time to vacate the premises.”
    She crossed the room to the storage chest that held the few things she’d had on her when she was kidnapped. She found her pack. There wasn’t much inside it, just the usual emergency essentials that she always carried when she went down below into the tunnels on a job. There was also a cell phone but she knew it would not work until she got aboveground.
    Two items were missing.
    “They took my locator and my backup tuned amber,” she said to Lyle. “Bastards.”
    She looked at