Binding Ties The Sentinel Wars - Shannon K. Butcher Page 0,17

wolves. He answered to Andreas’s voice. “There’s no sign of any demons on our tail. Will you open the gate?”

“I’d rather make sure you’re right about not being followed before I do that.”

“I understand, but the kids are scared to death.” Andreas’s voice lowered to a whisper. “And my cousin is about to bleed out. He doesn’t have much time.”

Joseph scanned the area, searching for Tynan. He was nowhere to be found, but Logan and Hope were jogging across the lawn toward the commotion.

“Head toward the gate,” ordered Joseph. “Incoming wounded.”

The couple moved so fast they seemed to blur. Joseph still wasn’t entirely sure how the two of them remained so powerful without Athanasian blood, but so far their luck seemed to be holding out.

Joseph addressed the rest of the men who had gathered. “You three go outside the walls and make sure there are no nasty surprises trailing behind Andreas. If there are, shut them down. You three go to the back of the compound and make sure this isn’t a distraction for something worse. The rest of you stay near the gate. We may need muscle to move the wounded.”

The men hurried off to take their places. Joseph put the phone back to his ear. “We’re ready for you. The gate will be open. Don’t slow down. Got it?”

Tires squealed in the distance. “Yeah. Not slowing down won’t be a problem.”

Joseph hung up and called Morgan, who was manning the control room that operated the giant mechanized gate at the main entrance. “Get ready to open it.”

“On your go,” said Morgan.

Joseph calculated the time it would take Andreas to reach the gate at top speed. As soon as he was within range, he told Morgan, “Now.”

The heavy metal bars rolled open slowly. The engines of several trucks growled at top speed. They flew through the opening, kicking up a cloud of dust in their wake.

“Lock us down,” said Joseph. “Check the perimeter cameras. Everyone stays on high alert until I say otherwise. If you see anything at all, call me.”

“Will do,” said Morgan.

Hope and Logan were already at one of the trucks. He’d crawled inside with whoever was wounded. Hope stood nearby, her hand on his ankle.

Blood dripped onto the pavement beneath the truck, proving Andreas hadn’t been exaggerating. His cousin was bleeding out.

Joseph hoped it wasn’t too late for Logan to save him.

Andreas got out of the truck and limped across the lawn toward Joseph. He was a tall, muscular man with a brawny build and tawny coloring, much like Lyka’s. His jeans were shredded and bloody. The leather coat he wore hung in tatters where claws had ripped it apart. One sleeve had three long slits slashed through it, revealing more blood beneath. His arm swayed from his shoulder, limp and lifeless. The fingers dangling there were turning blue.

Joseph hurried over to save the man the obvious pain of walking. “What happened?”

“Our settlement was ambushed by Synestryn. We have no idea how they slipped past our patrols. We didn’t so much as smell them coming. We still don’t know how they managed that.”

“How bad?”

Andreas looked to where his cousin’s blood pooled on the pavement. “I saw three of our men and two women go down. They bought us enough time to get the kids out—paid for those seconds with their lives.”

“Where is Carmen?”

“She’s safe. I put her in one of the vehicles with the young to make sure she had the most protection possible. All of our fighters were standing between them and harm.”

Joseph let out a relieved sigh. He’d claimed Carmen as his daughter to fulfill the death wish of one of his fallen brothers. He’d never wanted for her to go stay with the Slayers, but she’d given him little choice. As his adopted daughter, she was the only family he had that could serve as a hostage as valuable as Lyka was to Andreas. And Carmen had insisted in the way only a human teenager could.

“Anyone missing?” he asked.

The Slayer’s tawny eyes closed in frustration and pain. “Several of the kids were doing combat practice on the far side of the settlement. Eric was teaching them. He still hasn’t returned my calls.”

“Did you see him get out?”

Andreas shook his head. “I couldn’t go back and look. The place was swarming with demons. We’re lucky to have gotten as many of us out as we did.” He glanced around as if checking to see who was listening. Nearly everyone was busy doing something, and