Cursing my luck, I try to think quickly as I hear the man walk steadily towards us. Not wanting Shara to get caught, I jump onto the desk, scattering papers and odds and ends everywhere when I land.
The man stops suddenly, his face red with rage.
I recognize him from the last conclave that was held at the city center. The nephew of the current Fireside Head Elite is tall, at least six foot three, with wavy black hair and deep brown eyes. Normally he's extremely handsome, but with his face contorted in anger, he looks more like a mad bull.
Just as his holler for the Collectors echoes around me, I jump straight at him, hoping I can knock him over and make my escape. There's also the added bonus that while they're chasing me, Shara will wake up and get out before they think to look around.
Our bodies collide with a solid 'thump' and we both go down, his arms trying to wrap around me before we hit the floor. Just like a cat, I leap off his chest and race for the door, running through it as fast as I can before sprinting to the servant's stairs that Shara had led me up.
Just before I reach the door, it bursts open, a mountain of a man in a Collectors uniform standing in the entryway. Skidding to a halt, I backpedal and turn to look for another exit. The place is full of body's, every doorway out blocked by a person in a Collectors' uniform or a servant answering their master's call.
Running at a skinny servant in hopes that I can pull off the same maneuver as before, I'm surprised when he sidesteps my charge. A tug on my hair has my teeth clenching, but there's nothing I can do about losing my wig and binding right now. A gasp sounds behind me as my ears shoot up from where I'd had them laying flat under my disguise.
A bedroom in rich colors and even richer furnishings greets me, but I don't have time to admire the four-poster bed as I try desperately to look for an exit. A large window open to the night air is my only option. Steeling my nerve at the drop I know is coming, I start running.
A sharp pinch in my neck has my hand flying up to encounter a small pin stuck in my skin. At the edge of the window, my vision starts to swim, and my limbs feel heavy while time slows to a crawl.
'What a f*cked up way to die,' I think as pain shoots through my body from my forehead smacking into the window sill and I black out.