“If they’re surrounding the building, then we need to take a shortcut and the elevator won’t cut it. Can you phase all of us if we link up, Sean?” Madison asked as she stalked toward hisbrothers.
“Yeah,” Sean said. He’d endure a headache for his efforts later, but that was worth the price of getting his family out of harm’s way. “But we’ll losecomms.”
“SUV will still have them, so long as you don’t phase the vehicle,” Trevorwarned.
“Rest of your team is inbound and have been updated on the ground situation,”Elenasaid.
Madison’s sheer presence was enough to get his brothers scrambling backward through the living room as she herded them toward the windows. Sean stepped forward and grabbed hismother’shand.
“I need you to trust me. Please, Mom,” he said apologetically. “I’ll explain everything later, but we need to get out of here. Grab Dad’s hand, and whatever you do,don’tletgo.”
She was an emergency trauma surgeon used to working under pressure. Sean trusted her to keep hold better than anyone else in his family. He tugged her forward gently, grateful when she didn’t fight him. She was looking at him as if she’d never seen him before and that hurt in a way Sean couldn’t deal with at themoment.
“Hands everyone,” Trevorbarked.
Trevor and Madison put themselves between his brothers, so at least one of them had a grip on Zach, Caleb andParker.
“I thought you wanted to leave? How is this leaving? We’re by thewindow,” Parker said, trying to shake offMadison’sgrip.
She smiled at him, all teeth, and tightened her grip even more, judging by the wince on his youngestbrother’sface.
“Do you have them?” Sean asked as he grabbed Zach’s free wrist with tightfingers.
“We’re good,” Trevorreplied.
Someone pounded on the door, their deep voice coming through a little muffled. “Mr. and Mrs. Delaney, we have a birthday deliveryforyou.”
“Seriously? They’re going with the delivery man act?” Madison said with a snort. “How cliché canyouget?”
Sean closed his eyes, concentrating as he pushed his phase field through the seven other people linked to him by touch. The most people he had ever phased before in one go was twelve, not counting himself. He’d ached afterward, and had a feeling today would be no different, but it was amazing how adrenaline could lend strength to aperson.
Sean opened his eyes and pitched himself forward through the window, dragging everyone else with him out into open air right as the people on the other side of the dooropenedfire.
11
Red StarCluster
His family’sscreams echoed in his ears as they fell to the courtyard. As soon as everyone was clear of the building, Sean altered his phase power just enough to give everyone more density, more weight, so they fell faster. The ground rushed up to meet them; he could feel his mother and brother fightinghisgrip.
“Don’t let go!” Seanyelled.
Madison whooped in glee when Sean made everyone fully intangible before hitting the courtyard and passing through the solid ground. The world went dark for a second or two as they sank through the ground of the courtyard and then the roof of the subterranean parking garage below. They came out on the first level into an immediate barrage of gunfire from the incline leading to the exit where two people stood armed with assaultrifles.
“Bones! Shield us when we land!” Madisonshouted.
“On it!” Trevoryelledback.
Sean kept concentrating, focusing on keeping everyone phased through another layer of concrete and steel. They fell through to the second level of the subterranean garage and Sean lifted his phase power completely. Gravity had them falling the last couple of feet to the ground, everyone’s feet hitting with an echoing smack on the concrete. Sean let his mother and brother go, stumbling forward a step or two. His ears rang from a rush of blood to his head as the effort to phase a large group of people momentarily made him lightheaded. It passed in seconds, but by then, Trevor already had him by the arm and was hauling him totheSUV.
“I’m driving!”Madisonsaid.
“No you’re not, we need you on offense,” Trevorbarked.
“I’ll drive, you two handle everything else,” Sean replied as he shoved Caleb forward with a hand in the middle of his back. “Move!Now!”
Trevor abruptly stopped, throwing up a hand in the direction of their only exit out of there. The sound of guns going off echoed thunderously in the parking garage, but every bullet Declan’s people aimed at them crashed against Trevor’s telekineticshield.
“Holy shit, you’re ametahuman,” Parker exclaimed as he stared wide-eyedatSean.
