Page 50 of No Rest for the Wicked

Some of the ceiling lights went out, saving energy. That was fine. There was nothing back there in the dark anyway, or the lights would come back on.

I could wait.

Waiting was easy.

I tapped my fingers against my thigh.

Just had to sit tight. Right here. In the quiet, creepy corridor. Alone.

“Victor?” I whispered. He had great hearing, so he’d probably hear a whisper.

How long had it been?

Minutes?

Hours?

“Victor?!”

A rhythmic huffing noise shuffled from the way we’d come. I turned and squinted into the gloom. The lights were out. Vampiric night vision would have been useful right about now, but I was stuck with regular eyesight.

“Zee?”

The huffing beat came closer, but the lights still hadn’t turned on. Closer. I backed up a step, triggering the lights behind me to blink on, but not in front.

The huffing stopped.

Whatever it was, it was just a few steps away, shrouded in darkness.

Something was there. I could just make out a shape in the gloom.

The lights blazed on.

A yellow robotic dog stood in the middle of the corridor.

“Oh.” I chuckled. “It’s just you.” Kinda weird, but okay. “You had me worried there⁠—”

A whirring sounded, and a small black cylinder emerged from the robot dog’s back. A cylinder that looked a lot like . . .

The robot dog cocked its head, and its gun barked.

CHAPTER 12

I flung myself around a corner and tumbled to the floor, but with all the glass walls I had nowhere to hide. Rounds punched the glass, splattering weblike cracks. The dog plodded forward, unperturbed by my attempt to escape.

Being shot at by a robotic dog was new.

“Wait!”

It fired another blast of rounds. I scrabbled to my feet and ran. Heat clipped my side, almost tugging me from my stride. If I could get behind the dog it would be easy to snap in half, but I’d need to avoid its guns.

A door up ahead opened, and Zee stepped out. Surprise made his eyes big as he saw me running at him.

“Get back!” I plowed into him, shoving him back inside the room he’d just left. Victor—still inside—slammed the door.

“Murder dog!” I panted, clutching at Zee’s top.

Zee’s arm came around. “The fuck?”