Mercury went into the alley ahead of me and she was fast, faster than she had any right to be after everything that night had already taken out of her. Boots striking the uneven ground. Breath tearing. The dark took her shape and gave it back in pieces.
My right palm hung down toward the concrete, charge bleeding out of it in a low steady wash, throwing white light up the walls ahead of her so she had something to run on. The light was clean and hard and cost me with every metre. It ate at me to spend it. I spent it anyway. A twisted ankle in there cost us more than the charge ever could.
"Did they turn?" she called back. The words bounced once off the close brick and came back thinner.
"No." I got it out between strides. The walls took the rest of the air. "They were still… facing… the building."
