the burden of leading this mission will be off my shoulders.”
“You’d better hope his loyalty to this lord is as strong as you think it is.”
“It has to be. The fate of my people is tied to House Athelstan. As it falls, so does my race. Others, too. Cal’s family would have no place in a world ruled by Farrenheil. The enemy wishes to control every aspect of their subjects’ lives. Dissidents and scholars disappear and are never heard from again. They use magic to torture and kill. Nations like this exist everywhere, even here. Aandor, for all its flaws, stands in opposition to this type of regime.”
They heard a police call again and checked Cal’s radio, which was still off. They followed the chatter to the police car up ahead in front of the three-story brick building the MacDonnells resided in. A uniformed cop in the driver’s seat was unconscious, as was a detective on the ground by the rear tire.
The front door to the building was smashed in. Broken glass littered the walk, which they realized came from the window above the fire escape.
Lelani’s terrified face said it all—she had miscalculated the enemy’s intentions.
Gunshots thundered above.
Lelani bolted up the stairs with Cal mysteriously clinging to her back. Although unhindered, Seth could not keep pace with the redhead, even as he wondered whether following her was a smart choice.
When Seth reached the second floor, he cautiously peered into the apartment. There was a living room on the left where Cal had been unceremoniously dumped on the couch. Some vanilla candles were lit in the kitchen on the far right. Vociferous noises, high winds, and a special effects light show emanated from a room down a short hallway in the back of the apartment. Seth sat on the couch back above the unconscious cop; after all, someone had to stay out front and guard him. He noticed the gun in Cal’s holster and drew it.
The banging in the back room rattled the building. Seth imagined the rest of the building coming awake and a slew of noisy neighbors to contend with. A sound ripped through the air that could only be described as Chewbacca getting his leg amputated. Each footstep shook the floor; the china clanged, porcelain cracked, furniture hopped and crashed back to earth with loud thuds as the giant tread heavily from the bedroom toward Seth.
The gun shook in Seth’s hand as he aimed at the running behemoth. He squeezed the trigger, but the safety was on. Seth shut his eyes expecting an impact, only to hear Hesz run past him as he bolted from the apartment. The hallway stairs splintered as Hesz blundered down them. Seth could hear his heart beat in his ears. He was shocked to be alive. It took him a few moments to spot the trail of blood leading from the bedroom and out the front door.
Seth stood, shaking. His first thought was to leave. It occurred to him that hulk could be on the sidewalk waiting to come back. He looked around the small apartment for a place to lay low. A rustling in the bedroom caught his attention. Lelani, he thought. Slowly he walked toward the back, past what looked like a child’s room. A dog lay on the floor, its head at a sick angle. He played with the gun’s latches until he was sure he had released the trigger. The master bedroom was at an angle to the hall, so he couldn’t see inside unless he stepped through it.
“Lelani?”
He poked his head around the corner. The room looked like it had been put through a Cuisinart. A hasty exit was set in the wall where a window used to be. The cop’s wife was helping a dazed Lelani stand. Then she spotted Seth, grabbed her gun off the floor, and aimed at him.
“I’m the good guy,” Seth said, holding his hands up. He forgot he had the pistol.
“Drop it,” the wife said.
“No, really. Your husband’s on the couch.”
“He’s with me,” Lelani said.
The woman kept her gun focused on Seth.
“If you’re her friend, where were you when she was fighting those
“You’d better hope his loyalty to this lord is as strong as you think it is.”
“It has to be. The fate of my people is tied to House Athelstan. As it falls, so does my race. Others, too. Cal’s family would have no place in a world ruled by Farrenheil. The enemy wishes to control every aspect of their subjects’ lives. Dissidents and scholars disappear and are never heard from again. They use magic to torture and kill. Nations like this exist everywhere, even here. Aandor, for all its flaws, stands in opposition to this type of regime.”
They heard a police call again and checked Cal’s radio, which was still off. They followed the chatter to the police car up ahead in front of the three-story brick building the MacDonnells resided in. A uniformed cop in the driver’s seat was unconscious, as was a detective on the ground by the rear tire.
The front door to the building was smashed in. Broken glass littered the walk, which they realized came from the window above the fire escape.
Lelani’s terrified face said it all—she had miscalculated the enemy’s intentions.
Gunshots thundered above.
Lelani bolted up the stairs with Cal mysteriously clinging to her back. Although unhindered, Seth could not keep pace with the redhead, even as he wondered whether following her was a smart choice.
When Seth reached the second floor, he cautiously peered into the apartment. There was a living room on the left where Cal had been unceremoniously dumped on the couch. Some vanilla candles were lit in the kitchen on the far right. Vociferous noises, high winds, and a special effects light show emanated from a room down a short hallway in the back of the apartment. Seth sat on the couch back above the unconscious cop; after all, someone had to stay out front and guard him. He noticed the gun in Cal’s holster and drew it.
The banging in the back room rattled the building. Seth imagined the rest of the building coming awake and a slew of noisy neighbors to contend with. A sound ripped through the air that could only be described as Chewbacca getting his leg amputated. Each footstep shook the floor; the china clanged, porcelain cracked, furniture hopped and crashed back to earth with loud thuds as the giant tread heavily from the bedroom toward Seth.
The gun shook in Seth’s hand as he aimed at the running behemoth. He squeezed the trigger, but the safety was on. Seth shut his eyes expecting an impact, only to hear Hesz run past him as he bolted from the apartment. The hallway stairs splintered as Hesz blundered down them. Seth could hear his heart beat in his ears. He was shocked to be alive. It took him a few moments to spot the trail of blood leading from the bedroom and out the front door.
Seth stood, shaking. His first thought was to leave. It occurred to him that hulk could be on the sidewalk waiting to come back. He looked around the small apartment for a place to lay low. A rustling in the bedroom caught his attention. Lelani, he thought. Slowly he walked toward the back, past what looked like a child’s room. A dog lay on the floor, its head at a sick angle. He played with the gun’s latches until he was sure he had released the trigger. The master bedroom was at an angle to the hall, so he couldn’t see inside unless he stepped through it.
“Lelani?”
He poked his head around the corner. The room looked like it had been put through a Cuisinart. A hasty exit was set in the wall where a window used to be. The cop’s wife was helping a dazed Lelani stand. Then she spotted Seth, grabbed her gun off the floor, and aimed at him.
“I’m the good guy,” Seth said, holding his hands up. He forgot he had the pistol.
“Drop it,” the wife said.
“No, really. Your husband’s on the couch.”
“He’s with me,” Lelani said.
The woman kept her gun focused on Seth.
“If you’re her friend, where were you when she was fighting those
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