Anomaly (Causal Enchantment #4)(61)

“I found her wandering the streets,” I hollered, a rash of butterflies suddenly stirring in my belly. There was no need to be nervous, given I was in full disguise and helping the girl—not killing her—and yet I knew that if there were any Sentinel in this group and they grew suspicious, this could set off alarms we didn’t need triggered. “She was hiding in a basement.”

“She’s covered in blood,” the soldier on the left said.

“Dried blood. Not hers, from the looks of it,” I was quick to point out.

Susan stood still, her hand gripping my arm as her eyes drifted to their guns, her heart racing.

“It’s okay. You’re okay now,” I soothed as Caden and the others stepped into the light. It drew the soldiers’ attention—and guns—in their direction. “They’re with me.” Only four figures in suits appeared. I assumed Mage, Sofie, and Lilly were hanging in the shadows with Max. That was fine. This would only take a minute.

I gave Susan a slight push, urging her forward. Finally, her worn navy-blue sneakers dragged along the pavement as she took several steps forward, her arms coiled around her chest tightly. “You’ll be fine. They’ll get you somewhere safe,” I assured her. When a soldier appeared from the truck with a gray woolen blanket to quickly wrap her up, her pulse finally slowed.

I watched them lead her away, my heart full for one brief moment because I’d been able to save one person and it’d been so easy. Spinning on my heels, I took quick steps toward Caden, anxious to be out of the spotlight.

“Why are you off the search grid?” One of them called out.

I faltered for one … two … three beats, unprepared for that answer. Apparently that was too long. Several clicks set my hairs on end.

Lilly stepped into the light beside me, her suit at least four sizes too big for her. Still, she managed to carry herself with an air of authority that surprised even me. “Who said we’re off the search grid? And why are you pointing guns at us?” she demanded.

“Sorry. The sergeant major’s got us keepin’ our eyes peeled for anything suspicious. Where’s your truck?”

“We just delivered a survivor to you. I’d say that’s quite unsuspicious. Why don’t you get her to safety,” Lilly calmly suggested, ignoring the last question.

“Right. Okay.” The gun muzzles lowered. It appeared that the threat had been squashed.

“Nibbs!” The driver ushered the soldier we were speaking to over with a wave. The soldier—Nibbs, I presumed—sidestepped over and leaned in close. With the truck’s engine purring loudly and the voices muffled, it was difficult to interpret what was being said. I heard “eight” and “movement” and “no heat.”

And then Nibbs’ raised his gun and pulled the trigger.

I watched the bullet sail through the air as if in slow motion, a sizeable missile-looking thing aimed for my chest. It was nothing to avoid it, letting it continue on until it hit a brick wall across the street and detonated.

In that brief time, though, the rest of the soldiers raised their guns and fired into the darkness.

Now we had a problem. We could easily run and avoid the bullets. But something had made them fire on us. This would be reported, and the witches would be notified.

I watched with trepidation as everyone—Sofie and Mage included—descended on the armed soldiers. In seconds, none stood. The engine on the truck revved as if to pull away but one of us reached into the driver’s seat, ready to dispatch the driver as well.

“Wait!” I cried out, rushing forward to find the soldier’s head pressed back against the seat, his neck vulnerable to the twist of an expert hand. “We need him to take Susan back.” As if on cue, Susan whimpered softly in the back. “Compel him.”

There was a pause and then Sofie pulled her mask off.

She tore the man’s gloves off, revealing an angled cross tattoo. “We can’t compel him. The witches have somehow blocked my ability.” She paused. “Care to do the honors?” I couldn’t tell if she was pissed at me for veering off the plan, but her tone certainly didn’t leave me feeling warm.

I removed my mask again and gripped the man’s chin, surprised at how quickly his heart raced, how afraid he was. I’d already disassociated the Sentinel from the innocent human population, seeing them as cold, villainous creatures who needed to be stopped. But he was human. He probably had a family somewhere. He probably thought he was fighting for a good cause.

Maybe he was.

“You will drive the girl back to the barricades and ensure that she is safe. You will say nothing about this.” I paused, taking in the bodies. “If someone asks where your group is, say … say they’re investigating a building where they heard people yelling.” I knew it wouldn’t be convincing but it might buy us some time.

His head bobbed sluggishly, that cloudy haze swirling within his irises. “I think it worked,” I said to Sofie. Mage, her mask also off, climbed into the passenger side.

“I think it did,” she echoed, her suspicious gaze flickering to me.

What did they see when they looked at me? Was there a pink glow around me when I healed Susan? If I was wielding magic, I hadn’t the foggiest clue how I was doing it. As much as I didn’t want to admit it, I still needed Sofie very much. There would be a time and place to ask those kinds of questions.