Anomaly (Causal Enchantment #4)(62)

“What is this?” Mage demanded to know, tapping at the screen mounted on the dashboard.

Still in a haze, the man explained, “Motion detectors … infrared scanners … sound monitors …”

It clicked—his warning to Nibbs, just before the soldier shot at me. Eight, he’d said. Their scanners picked up our movements. And no heat. Right. We didn’t emit body heat. That made sense.

“Do all vehicles have these?” Mage pressed.

“Yes.”

“Does this feed into anything at the base?”

“No.”

“Did you radio this in before you called Nibbs over?”

“No.”

The three of us released a collective breath. It didn’t last long, though.

“I tripped the emergency switch to tell them we needed urgent back up.” The admission came a split second before Bishop’s bellow.

“We’ve gotta go!” Lights appeared on the horizon, bouncing up and down as they raced over debris.

Susan had folded herself into a crevice behind the passenger seat and was shaking uncontrollably. Leaving the girl like that made me sick with guilt but we didn’t have a choice. “Nobody will hurt you. Just stay in here until someone asks you to come out.”

I didn’t wait for her answer.

We escaped down the street and around the corner just as the sounds of squeaky brakes and boots hitting pavement carried through the night’s silence.

“Lilly? Check in with Isaac!” Mage called out, peering back around the corner. We could’ve easily outrun the trucks but I knew what Mage was worried about. Attracting the witches’ attention.

Lilly’s gloved hand raised as if asking for silence; her other hand pressed against her ear. “No alarms yet.” She tore her mask off. “Well, at least we learned something. Perhaps we stick to the plan, going forward?”

Was she referring to the Sentinel’s tactics or my abilities?

Sofie’s next words told me what she was focused on. “You healed that girl.” It was a statement, not a question.

“I guess I did.” I paused, and then the panic bubbled. “Do you think they could see it? The witches, I mean.” I hadn’t even given it any thought before. We still had to somehow get to the thousands of fledglings in the tunnels before they broke free! Had I just screwed up our entire plan because of my impulsiveness?

“No,” Sofie quickly confirmed. “That’s not sorceress magic you’re channeling.”

Not the same magic? What other kind of magic was there? “What does that mean?” Déjà vu washed over me. Hadn’t we been here before, so many times? Hadn’t I asked her this question so many times? The only difference was I trusted Sofie then.

“I’m not sure yet,” she whispered. I so desperately wanted to believe her soft words. But I knew better.

“It means that the witches cannot sense it, either,” Mage said. “That could be a big advantage for us out there. Evangeline, if you learned how to wield it properly, if you figured out your limitations, this could help us tremendously.”

“I doubt anything that the Fates have done will help anyone but the Fates,” Caden interjected, his tone sharp and so very readable. Don’t trust what they’re saying, he was reminding me.

“But what if you could turn this war around?” Mage said.

“What if this is a trap that will end up killing her?” Caden yelled back, taking several steps forward to place himself as a barrier between Sofie and me. “I won’t let you use her!” Another thirty seconds of this and we wouldn’t need the witches or the fledglings or the Sentinel or Viggo; we’d all be trying to kill each other.

“I don’t know how I end up doing anything that I do,” I admitted with frustration. “And we have somewhere we need to be.” I didn’t wait for a response, instead running down the street. In seconds, the others followed, weaving in and around cars and fallen power lines.

We ran in silence, our suits creating a strange rumpling sound as we moved. If any survivors existed here, they were hiding because I sensed nothing stirring, not even a stray cat. I kept my eyes forward, trying not to count the growing number of bodies in my peripherals, the ones I had to sidestep or run over. By the charred remains of both people and buildings, we were well within the radius of the fire. I couldn’t wait to get closer to the epicenter, the expectation that I wouldn’t be able to identify anything a relief.

We passed a collection of busses—likely a station—when that eerie sixth sense kicked in again, the one I’d felt back at base camp.

The one that instantly made me think of Viggo.

“It’s him!” I hissed.

Caden closed the gap between us. We ran side by side, our shoulders bumping against each other. “Who?”

Without turning my head, I scanned the dark recesses surrounding us, hoping I was merely paranoid. I couldn’t find anything. Not a flash of movement or a glimmer of an eye.

And yet I knew I was right.

“We need to stay together.” Why wasn’t Viggo attacking?

Rounding the corner, Caden stopped and grabbed my arm. His hand moved to pull off his mask.

And it clicked. Viggo didn’t know which one of us was Caden.

“No, don’t!” I grabbed his hand, yanking it down before he could reveal his face. The face that one day, I would be able to sit by a quiet river and stare at all day if I wanted. “Come on. Keep running.” We had a clear advantage here. I didn’t want Viggo to know that I was on to him.