“Probably because I know too much.” My voice cracks. “I came here with a team to hide any signs that there’d been a battle in these mountains. The Syndicate probably sees me as a liability they want eliminated.”
The words hang in the air.
“We need to leave,” K says. “Mara and I. We need to lead them away from the village—”
“Too late for that.” Dragana’s expression is grim. “They already know you are here. Both of you. Leaving now would only divide our strength.”
“Then what do we do?”
Dragana opens her mouth to answer, but doesn’t get a chance to get the words out. The door bursts open.
“Grandmother!” Nicolae stands breathless in the doorway. “The men. They’re here!”
Chapter 16
K.
Dragana opens her mouth to speak—
The explosion cuts her off.
Not close. Perhaps half a mile distant. But unmistakable—the deepwhumpof ordnance detonating, followed by screams as villagers react.
I’m on my feet in an instant. Every instinct I don’t remember developing snaps into focus with crystalline clarity.
“Stay here,” I tell Mara. Then to Dragana: “Keep her safe. Lock the door. Do not open it for anyone but me.”
“K, wait—” Mara starts.
I’m already moving.
Outside, the village square erupts. Villagers running, shouting. Smoke rises from the eastern edge—near where the path leads down from the high pass.
The path we used to enter.
Another explosion. Closer this time. A building’s roof collapses in a shower of slate and timber.
Nicolae sprints toward me, face pale. “Armed men! Coming from the pass! They have—” He struggles for the English word. “Weapons. Many weapons.”
“How many men?”
“Twenty. Maybe more.” His eyes are wide with fear. “They demand we surrender the fire-blood and the woman.”
Of course they do.
The Syndicate operatives from before. They tracked us here. Perhaps followed the destruction I left in my wake when I rescued Mara. Perhaps detected the surge of power when I transformed.
Either way, they’ve found us.
And they want blood.
Movement catches my eye. Andrei emerges from a dwelling, rifle in hand. Old hunting weapon, but functional. He takes up position behind a stone wall.
Others follow his lead. Not many—this is a farming village, not a military outpost. But enough who know how to shoot. How to defend their home.
Still woefully outmatched against Syndicate operatives with modern gear.
“Andrei!” I cross to him. “How many can fight?”
