Chapter 26
Chapter
Twenty-Six
Bart and I ran out the gate. I didn’t care who saw us; I pushed hard, using a tiny bit of berserker magic to funnel some of my panic into my legs. Bart struggled along next to me. He was fading fast. With a sinking heart, I realized I couldn’t rely on him to help me if it came to a fight.
Within two minutes, we were rounding the corner onto my old street.
There—my old house, Bayview Cottage. My heart gave a lurch when I saw it.
It looked the same as always, a beautiful heritage facade with gabled roof and blush cladding.
The front yard was still beautifully landscaped, an emerald-green lawn leading up to a little box hedge and a row of lilacs in front of it.
But now, the front of my house was dotted with men. Four, lingering near the letterbox, crouched behind the hedge, slouched on the lawn, leaning against my lavender door.
My eyes processed them quickly as we bolted up the street.
Connor’s men—supes from his Middle World army.
White men, two of them big, with obvious muscles, two lean and skinny, but no less dangerous looking.
They all wore plain black sweatpants and t-shirts—easy to move, easy to bust out of if they had to shift.
Not easy to pick out of a lineup. I’d have to handle this carefully.
I didn’t pause—I ran straight up to the gate. “The exchange has been made,” I puffed out. “I’m here for Martina.”
“Wait.” A big man stepped into my path—barrel chested and thick sandy hair streaked with silver. “He hasn’t called us yet.” He jerked his chin towards one of the skinny men. “Barry, check.”
The one called Barry rose up from his crouch on my lawn and pulled a phone out of his sweatpants. He checked the screen. “Nope. I’ll send him a message to make sure.” He tapped on his screen.
If my luck held, Connor would still be handcuffed in the back of the police car. At the very least, the police would have taken his phone off him. We had time.
Please, God, give us time.
I gave the big man a commanding stare. “I’m here, aren’t I? He told me where to go.”
The big man stared back. I could almost see the wheels turning in his mind. “He got the stone?”
“Yes.” My skin buzzed softly at my lie.
Bart wheezed next to me, puffing hard, hands on his knees, bent over. With a pang, I realized he was done. He hadn’t recovered from rescuing me earlier today—and he was dangerously close to losing it and having a heart attack.
I needed him out of this fight. For once, the universe agreed with me. The big man pointed at me. “You go in. The bear stays outside.”
Oh no, not outside. Bart was going home.
I turned to him. “Bart.”
He glanced up. His face was bright-red, and he was panting so hard he couldn’t get the words out.
“I’ve got this.” I lowered my voice but kept it fully audible. “I’ll get Martina and meet you at the portal, and we’ll go into the berserker realm together, and join the others. We need to get this spark stone to safety, and they’re the only ones that can protect us.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a triumphant grin flash on the skinny man’s face. He tapped on his phone again.
I held back my exhale of relief. The trap had been set.
Bart shook his head. “I’m not leaving you, Sue.”
“Please, Bart.”
“No chance.”
I clenched my fists. “Goddamnit, Bart.” For a fraction of a second, I considered using my siren command on him to make him go home. There was nobody around. I felt for the heat in my gut, the deep well of magic within.
Then, I remembered that was not who I was. I didn’t command my friends.
But I could do it to my enemies.
I nodded. “Okay.”
I turned to the big man in front of me and moved some of the heat in my belly up to my throat. Sleep.
His eyes rolled back in his head immediately, and he crumbled to the ground.
The skinny man jerked forward. “Hey?—”
Sleep.
He crumpled to the ground.
The other two men lurched towards us. “Sleep…” I dug deep, but my siren magic was too depleted; I had none left. Frantically, I pulled at the power in my gut and jerked my hand up at the other thin man as he ran forward, hissing like an angry ferret. “Up.”
He rose six inches into the air, arms and legs wiggling frantically, as the last big man barreled towards Bart.
Bart held out his hand. There was a loud crack, and the man fell to the ground. Lumbering forward, Bart held out his hand again. A spark flew, and the thin man jerked wildly in mid-air.
Oh. Bart had a taser. “You could have mentioned that, you know.”
He grinned at me. “I never go anywhere without it.”
I quickly glanced at the sleeping bodies, wondering what to do with them. These idiots wouldn’t be out for long, but I didn’t have the stomach to murder them in cold blood. Not while they were unconscious.
Not on my front lawn, anyway. We just had to get inside, find Martina, and get her to safety. We had a few minutes, at least. “Come on.”
We ran up the steps and bolted inside. I slammed the door shut and locked it behind us with a familiar well-practiced snap.
Bart gasped.
I turned, and froze.
Seraphina stood in the hallway, holding a gun. She pointed it at me.