Slade’s eyes went wide. “But that makes no sense. Caleb doesn’t let anyone just leave the Shadow Kings. You should see the things he and Talbot made us do to guys who tried to run away.…”
I could believe, actually. The first demon I’d ever killed was a Gelal who’d left the Shadow Kings, and I’d been used as a pawn by Talbot to punish him.
“If Caleb knows exactly where to find us, then why hasn’t he attacked yet?” Slade asked. “What is he waiting for?”
“That’s a really good question,” I said.
And now I was the one waiting for the ax to fall.
FIVE MINUTES LATER
I didn’t have to wait long.
Only, the ax that fell wasn’t the one I’d been worried about.
I was headed to the front door with Jude’s warmed-up dinner, when a bright light filled the front window, making me shield my eyes with my hand. I heard Dad shout from the front yard. It almost sounded like he was saying my name, and then something like, “Run!”
“What the … ?”
The front door burst open. Strange light flooded the entryway as Mom, Jude, April, and Charity came into the house. Dad followed, shouting mine and Daniel’s names. When he saw me, he grabbed me so hard it knocked the plate of food from my hands. “They’re here! They’ve come for you. Get out of here. Run!”
Daniel rushed into the hall by way of the kitchen. Talbot and Ryan were right on his tail. The other boys who had been sleeping sprang to attention when they saw Daniel. No doubt Dad’s screams had awoken them.
“The Shadow Kings?” I asked.
“No.” Dad clenched my arm. “Sirhan and his pack. His entire pack is here, from the looks of it.”
“What?” Daniel bolted for the door to get a look outside. Dad tried to stop him.
“Don’t go out there. Take Grace and get as far away as you can.”
“And then what?” Daniel asked. “If they want to find us, they’ll find us.”
Daniel went through the front door. The boys followed after him like his sentinels and fanned out on the porch. My father tightened his near-death-grip hold on my arm, trying to prevent me from following.
“You can’t stop me, Daddy.”
His nostrils flared. “I’m just trying to protect you.”
“You can’t. Not anymore. Not in this world.”
Dad stared at me, the fear in his eyes moving from panic to sadness as he bowed his head. “I know. I’ve known for a long time the day would come when I couldn’t anymore.”
“Then let me go.”
Dad released my arm. I followed the boys out onto the porch and stood side by side with Daniel. My father followed and stood in the doorway behind us. Jude stood next to him.
In the piercing light, I made out the outline of what looked like at least ten black cars—probably SUVs, from the size of most of them—facing the front of the house, their brights shining in our faces.
I kept my hand level with my eyes, wishing my superhuman vision wasn’t quite so sensitive.
“They’re trying to put us at a disadvantage,” Ryan said, shielding his eyes.
“It’s working rather well,” Brent said.
Ryan punched him in the arm.
“I was just making a comment.” Brent punched him back.
“Cool it!” I snapped. Brent and Ryan stood at attention now, except for their hands guarding their eyes.
Daniel was the only one who stood with his arms at his sides—as if he weren’t hindered by the light.
“How do you know it’s Sirhan?” I asked Dad. “That could be anyone. It could be the SKs.”
“Because I recognized the insignia on the cars. You can’t see it now, but I saw it when they first pulled up. There’s a medallion of a wolf’s head on their front grille. I was shoved into one of those cars by Sirhan’s guards when they found me trespassing on their land. And that car”—Dad pointed at the outline of a smaller vehicle in the middle of the line—“belongs to Sirhan himself. He personally escorted Gabriel and me from the compound property after he decided to let me go … Which is apparently when he decided he wanted you—”