I shoved the injured giant out of my way and drew my own gun. I peered around the doorframe. Owen must have hit the giant in the leg, because he was hobbling into another room that branched off the hallway. But what worried me more were the four giants at the far end of the corridor. They spotted us and started shooting even as they raced in our direction. Bullets ping-ping-pinged off the walls, and the marble started to wail from this fresh assault on it.

There was only one thing left to do now: run.

I jerked my head at the exit door thirty feet to our left and handed Owen the key card to open it. “Stay behind me!” I screamed at him. “I’ll cover you!”

Owen nodded, realizing what I had in mind. I reached for my Stone magic, used it to harden my skin, and stepped out into the hallway, with Owen right behind me. While he ran for the door, I turned around, raised my gun, took aim at the giants, and pulled the trigger.

Crack!

Crack! Crack!

Crack!

My hail of gunfire slowed the giants down and made them duck for cover, but it didn’t stop them from returning my bullets with several shots of their own. One of the projectiles punched square into my chest, making me stumble back. The bullet would have bored right through my heart if I hadn’t been using my magic to protect myself. I kept backing up, heading toward the exit, and firing away until my clip was empty.

“Gin!” Owen shouted behind me, holding the door open. “Come on!”

I turned and raced toward him.

Crack!

Another shot rang out. In front of me, Owen grunted and staggered outside, leaving behind a smear of blood on the glass door.

“Owen? Owen!” I made it through the opening, let the door close behind me, and ran over to him.

He clutched his left shoulder. “I’m okay. I think they just winged me—”

Bullets slammed into the door behind us, cracking the glass and making us duck down.

I put my arm under Owen’s shoulder, and together we staggered down the stairs and headed for the shadows and sanctuary of the gardens.

* * *

I led Owen to the far western edge of the gardens, where the lush flowers gave way to the creeping briars. Despite the giants’ shouts behind us, I risked turning my flashlight on for a few seconds and swept it back and forth in front of a hedge of four-foot-tall briars. Finally, I found what looked like a small animal trail through the thorns. I clicked the flashlight off and turned to Owen.

“Can you go on a little farther?” I whispered.

He nodded, although he was still clutching his shoulder.