“She’ll have to cross open ground to reach the house,” Zane pointed out. “Perfect shot, Cas.”
“Affirmative.” I moved into position, setting up behind a thick oak that offered both concealment and a stable rest for my rifle, then rolled my eyes as they started bickering.
“Give me the magi-goggles,” Koa demanded.
“No way,” Zane shot back. “You’re the one who said I should test them in the field.”
“That was before Amabel showed up early!”
“Both of you,focus,” I hissed, adjusting my scope. “There’s something around her left hand. A shimmer. Could be the demon token.”
I kept my rifle trained on the figure moving through the willows, her dark shape weaving between the hanging branches. Then, suddenly, she wasn’t there anymore.
“Lost visual,” I barked.
“Same here,” Koa responded.
“Bleeding night,” Zane muttered. “Where did she—”
“Checking the security feed.” Comms crackled as Koa cut him off. “She’s inside.”
I lowered my rifle as Koa silently sent the feed to our tactical displays. The footage showed what should have been impossible: Amabel standing in our foyer, looking like a drowned rat.
The rage that surged through me was instant and overwhelming. She’d invaded our sanctuary, profaned our beloved’s nest, and that in itself carried a death sentence. No games, no capturing her alive; she’d sealed her fate the moment she’d crossed our threshold.
“How the hell did she get through the wards?” Zane demanded.
“That demon favor,” Koa replied grimly. “Has to be. The only thing that could have gotten through those wards was a greater demon or archangel or higher.”
We’d confirm that later. Right now, we needed to move fast, to catch her before she realized Eluned was dead. But we also needed to be smart. Amabel wasn’t her sister; she wouldn’t make stupid mistakes out of emotion or impulse.
“Main entrance,” I decided. “Koa, to the east. Zane, west. I’ll go straight up the center. Safeties off and guns up.”
“And if she doesn’t run?” Zane asked, the edge in his voice matching my own fury.
“Then she dies where she stands,” I growled.
We moved silently through the grounds, converging on the porch from three different angles.
“In position,” Koa whispered.
“Ready when you are,” Zane added.
I paused at the front steps, taking a deep breath to steady my rage. We’d dealt with worse threats than Amabel Harrow. We’d faced down monsters that would make her nightmares seem like bedtime stories. This was our territory, our home. We had the advantage.
So why did I feel a cold knot in my gut?
“Cas?” Zane prompted when I didn’t respond.
“Something’s wrong,” I admitted, gripping my rifle tighter.
“The?aumakuaaren’t happy, either,” Ko said.
“We’ve ignored them before and been all right,” Zane murmured, although I heard the hesitation in his voice.
Yeah, we’d brushed off Ko’s ancestral guardians trying to warn us before, but we always paid dearly for it.
“She’s one Dark witch, barely of age at that,” Zane scoffed, maybe to convince us and himself. “Besides, we may not get a better opportunity.”
