Anomaly (Causal Enchantment #4)(57)
Three more figures crested that same ridge then, and my relief faded. Were they chasing her? I couldn’t tell, but they were moving fast. Too fast to be human. Would fledglings chase? Would Lilly run from them?
“Who are they?” Panic set in. It was only amplified seconds later as a blur of movement trailed them—not human figures, not nearly as fast, but certainly approaching.
Caden and I raced to the main floor. Out of habit, I hollered, “Sofie!” as we stormed out the front door, down the rickety old stairs, flying forward. Everyone was coming after us in seconds, Bishop in only pants.
Sofie and Mage appeared immediately to join us in our charge down the long driveway. We crossed paths with Lilly where the mile-long driveway met an old dirt road. “Weapons!” she announced, slinging a duffel bag almost as long as she was tall off her back.
“Lilly, you’re being followed,” Sofie rushed, her green eyes narrowing as she searched the landscape.
“I know.” Her tiny face split into a broad smile. There was no need to provide an explanation, though. We understood immediately when three tall, military-looking men came into view. The three living members of Lilly’s council. They had made it off the submarine after all.
Bishop’s laughter bellowed in the quiet morning. “You found them?”
“They found me. They figured I’d be skulking around the action.” Lilly giggled, her genuine happiness a bright light in our gloom.
Without a word, they smoothly dropped their own duffel bags with thuds.
“Hazmat suits,” Lilly explained. “Everyone’s wearing them. It’ll help get through the lines without drawing attention.”
“Lilly, who else followed you here?” Mage asked, her shrewd black eyes dissecting the empty fields ahead.
“Wolves,” Isaac announced in a deep voice, proving to me that he could in fact talk. His stony expression didn’t ease as he added, “They are slow.”
Sofie’s eyes lit up with that news.
“Kiril’s and Ivan’s men tailed the witches up from Boston,” Lilly elaborated. “They’ll be here soon.” Her smile fell with her next words. “They didn’t know about Kiril and the others.”
We shared an impromptu moment of silence for the group who’d probably suffered the most in all of this.
“Are they still willing to work with us?” Sofie asked, her words hesitant.
“Yes. They are. In honor of Kiril and Ivan.”
Sofie dipped her head once in response.
“So the witches have their hooks in the military,” Mage stated, her tone clearly not a questioning one.
“The leaders, yes,” Lilly confirmed.
Sofie and Mage shared a hard look.
“Did they figure out that you were there?” Mage asked.
Lilly’s face flashed with the look of a petulant child. I pursed my lips to keep from laughing out loud. “No one ever knows when I’m there, unless I want them to.”
Sofie sighed. “You are invaluable, Lilly. Thank you.” She turned back toward the house but then stopped. “We’re going in tonight, at nightfall.” She scanned all of our faces, resting on mine for a moment longer than the others. “Let’s decide on our strategy. Together.” She didn’t wait for our agreement before beginning the long trek, her steps slow and lackluster.
Chapter Nineteen – Sofie
“I will burn every last one of those sorceresses where they stand,” I growled, launching the wobbly kitchen chair against the cupboards. Wood splintered in every direction, the loud crack like a gunshot in the silence.
“We need to be smart,” Mage counseled, sliding her own chair out calmly, unperturbed by my tantrum. “They may have figured out that we were behind the bombing, but they do not know whether we’re going to venture into the city again. The last thing we want to do is let them know that we’re going back in. They’ll be the ones to push the button this time.”
Air hissed through my teeth. A second bombing? Would they do that? Yes, they would. I’d never tested my magic against a nuclear weapon, but I think I could safely say it wasn’t strong enough to stop it.
“Perhaps we should send another bomb in to eliminate any remaining fledglings,” Mage muttered, the front door banging against its frame in the background. “If the ones in the tunnels have broken free, it could be an easier way to rid ourselves of them.”
“No!” Julian barked as the long processional of bodies filled the spacious kitchen. “What if Amelie is still alive! What if she’s trying to get out? So help me, Sofie, if you do something so callous again, I will rip your—”
“We have lost the opportunity, regardless,” Lilly cut in sharply, disrupting Julian’s very clear threat. “The ballistics submarine was flagged as compromised and destroyed eight minutes after the release of the bomb. Isaac barely got off.”
“There are more submarines.” Mage said, brow arched. I knew what she was trying to communicate. “See? This is why you can’t have a democracy when impossible decisions need to be made. Too many emotions involved.” Little did she know that I was done making the impossible decisions on my own. The long night sitting at the kitchen table had allowed me time for silent reflection. It is where I realized that losing Evangeline was more than I could bear. Perhaps this silent vow makes me weak and selfish. Perhaps Terra should not have selected me as her player if she had any intention of winning. I would gladly wear those labels if it meant not losing Evangeline forever.