through our covenant veil exactly” She paused, her brow furrowing deeply. “Something’s wrong.”
Timothy pressed the brake and slowed to a crawl, looking for any sign of trouble in the trees that lined the road on both sides. “What do you mean?”
“It’s so strange.” She clutched his arm tightly. “I … I sense danger. I have never felt this way in human form, but it’s so strong. I’m sure of it.”
He stopped the car. “Then we will trust what you feel.” Opening the door quietly and getting out, he whispered, “Let’s walk through the woods and come up from the back.” His gentle breath raised puffs of white in the cold night air.
She slid out through the driver’s side. Leaving the door open, they padded through the sparse forest between the road and their home. When the dark house came into view, they stopped. “No lights,” Timothy said, his voice barely a wisp.
“Whose car is that?” Hannah asked.
“Where?”
She pointed. “Behind the rear window. Next to the propane tank.”
“I see it now. Not a normal place to park, is it?”
“We wouldn’t have seen it if we had come in from the front.”
As they sneaked around the side, Hannah’s grip tightened around Timothy’s arm, but she said nothing. Shadows moved about within the house, a profile sweeping past the window, then another. Timothy bent down and removed his shoes. Hannah followed suit.
“Stay here,” he whispered.
Her steely eyes gleamed in the moonlight. “Would you leave a warrior behind when going to battle?”
He sighed and gestured with his head. “Come on.”
Since the chilly breeze masked their barefooted steps, they hurried to the front door and stooped, one at each side. Timothy sniffed and raised his brow. Gasoline fumes tinged the air. Hannah inhaled, then pinched her nose and nodded.
Rising slowly with his back to the wall, Timothy twisted his body and peeked in the living room window. Two hunched figures stared out, apparently unaware of his presence. He gazed past them, searching for any sign of Ashley. Nothing stirred.
He slid back down and showed her two fingers, then punched them with his fist. She nodded, biting her lip. Next, he kissed his fingers, pressed his hands together, and leaned his head against them, symbolizing his assumption that Ashley was asleep. She nodded again, but this time fear widened her eyes.
Taking a deep breath, he reached for the knob and turned it slowly. Giving Hannah a three count with his fingers, he threw the door open and charged inside. As he rushed for the prowlers, he grabbed an aluminum bat he kept in a corner. With a mighty swing, he lunged toward one of the dark forms, and Hannah leaped for the other, but after a metal-on-metal clang, his bat suddenly felt light as it swept through empty air. Somehow it had been cut off near the handle.
While Hannah scratched and clawed at her victim, a sharp blow to the chin knocked Timothy backwards. He rolled and jumped to his feet, ducking under a swinging object just in time. The moonlight reflected on a metal blade as it swept past. Staying low, he landed a punch that sent the attacking shadow crashing into a table. Breaking glass joined the cacophony of gasps and grunts. When his victim lay motionless on the floor, he grabbed the other prowler’s hair and pulled as hard as he could, dragging him away from his wife.
Hannah rose to her knees. Something small lay limp over her fingers. “A doll!” she cried out. “What did you do with my daughter?”
His clothes reeking with the odor of gasoline, Timothy jerked the man to his feet and slapped at a light switch, but the lamps stayed dark. He slammed the man’s head against the wall, and as he crumpled to the floor, he grabbed Hannah’s hand. Yanking open a bureau drawer, he snatched up a flashlight and flicked it on. They hustled together to a room down the hall where a toddler’s crib sat empty near the back window. He threw open the closet door and guided the flashlight’s beam inside. Nothing but hanging clothes and three pairs of shoes.
They dashed to an adjacent room and found another empty bed. An open window poured cold air through flapping curtains.
Still holding Hannah’s hand, Timothy stomped back toward the living room. “Where is my daughter?” he shouted.
A car engine roared to life. Tires spun away, shooting gravel that pecked against the back window.
The odor of gas again assaulted his nose. He pointed the beam at the