Alphas - Origins by Ilona Andrews Page B

her.
    They were twenty feet away from the porch when the siren ripped the quiet into shreds.

CHAPTER 7
    Karina pulled Emily off the bear-dog and into her arms.
    â€œStay close,” Lucas barked as he turned and ran back up the path. She followed him, trying not to stumble. They pounded over the bridge they’d crossed on the way in.
    â€œWhat’s happening, Mommy?”
    â€œI don’t know, baby. Hold on tight.”
    Emily was so heavy. Karina never remembered her being that heavy. It was like all of the strength had somehow gone out of her arms.
    They cleared the garden and burst into the open space between the two spires, Lucas ahead and she, out of breath, a few dozen yards behind. A group of people stood by the spires, where the road out of the settlement rolled down the hill. A familiar face looked at her with merciless sky eyes. Arthur. Daniel’s golden mane swung into view. He grinned at her, a deranged wild grin that had too much mirth. On the periphery a few yards away, Henry stood with his eyes closed, tense, his face raised to the sky. A young girl, barely a teenager, stood next to him in an identical pose. To the right an older, dark-skinned woman and another man, tall and gaunt, imitated them.
    â€œGood of you to join us,” Arthur said.
    Lucas walked up to stand next to him.
    A huge sound came from the distance, deep, booming, as if someone was playing a foghorn like a trumpet.
    The girl at Henry’s side inhaled sharply and dropped to her knees, breathing in ragged, painful gasps. Henry’s eyes snapped open. He thrust his hand out and clenched it into a fist. “Oh no, you don’t.”
    A desperate scream of pure pain came from the distance.
    Henry smiled. His face glowed with vicious joy, so shocking that Karina took a step back. He stared into the distance. “Not as fun to pick on someone your own size?”
    The scream kept ringing higher and higher, pausing for the mere fraction of a second that it took the agonized being that was making it to gulp some air.
    Behind Henry the fallen girl opened her eyes and rose to her feet. The older couple awakened from their trance.
    Henry twisted his fist and jerked it, as if ripping something in half.
    The scream died.
    â€œThank you,” the girl said.
    â€œIt’s all right. Next time remember to cloak.” Henry turned to Arthur. “They have two hundred civs, fifty pigs, two heavy field artillery batteries, six squads of twenty-five men each, and seven Mind Benders. Minus one.”
    He’d killed an enemy Mind Bender, Karina realized. Kind, shy Henry crushed him, but not before he made him suffer.
    â€œToo many,” someone muttered.
    â€œIt’s overkill,” Daniel said.
    â€œThere is at least one Demon, too,” Henry said.
    Lucas laughed, a bitter, self-assured chuckle.
    They had a Demon like Lucas. Lucas would fight it. She saw it in his face. She didn’t want him to die.
    Something climbed over the crest of the distant hill, spilling onto the prairie. Karina squinted. What in the world . . .
    Arthur’s face remained serene. “Begin immediate full base evacuation.”
    A dark-haired woman on Karina’s left held out binoculars to her. “Here. Looks like I won’t need them.”
    â€œThank you.” Karina lowered Emily to the ground and took the binoculars. “Stay with me, baby.”
    The woman turned and ran, back toward the garden. A moment later the alarm sounded again, but this time in two short bursts.
    People peeled off from the group and headed back, deeper into the base. Now was her chance. If she could slip away and go through the gate, she could get away. Nobody would find her in the confusion . . .
    â€œLady Karina,” Arthur’s voice rang out.
    She snapped back to look at him.
    The gaze of his blue eyes bore into her. “Stay close. We must hold until the evacuation is complete. Lucas may have need of your services.”
    His