Erica flung herself in front of us.

"Get back!" I felt what was left of her power gather. "I'll distract it. When it's away from the exit, you run!"

"We're not leaving you," Quaid and I said together.

"That's another order," she shot at us. "I mean it." But I could tell she didn't. Not really. She shook so much I wondered if she would be able to bring her magic under control enough to fight the thing and not hurt herself in the process.

I gripped her ...