out where you were.”
“Lucky you.”
“Not so lucky for you.”
Eve shook her head. “Why me?”
“I do what I’m told,” he said, his lower half beginning to swirl like a vortex.
“What?”
The door opened. Eve gasped in relief and turned her head to find Reed.
What she found was the wolf.
Her heart went to her throat. Reed. Are you okay?
“Sorry to interrupt.” The kid grinned. “I’ll leave you two alone.”
“You little shit!” She lunged toward him.
But he skipped out, slamming the door. A second later a heavy thud against it suggested he’d blocked the exit in some way.
The Nix laughed and sidled closer. He was toying with her. She knew he could nab her in less than a heartbeat, but he wanted her to squirm. He wanted to frighten her half to death before he killed her.
Eve backtracked toward the kiln. Her plan was lame and probably doomed, but it was all she had. As she moved closer to the kiln it became warmer. The Nix advanced, smiling.
She pulled the small pouch from her pocket, praying the plasticized lining was intact. Otherwise, she was screwed.
“What is that?” he asked, his lower half spinning with such agitation that he looked like a genie.
“A present for you.”
“Oh?”
Tearing the package open, she was relieved to find green powder inside. It hadn’t gotten wet. “Do you like limes?”
“What?”
Eve leaped to the side of the kiln opening and the Nix surged toward her. She tossed the powder at him and the water took on a verdant cast. The eddy slowed and he tilted precariously. She quickly ripped open another and chucked that at him, too. The Nix tottered toward her.
“W-what have you d-done?” he gurgled.
Focusing on her super strength, Eve caught him as he tipped. She tossed him onto the rollers, then shoved his inert, semigelatinous form straight into the kiln.
He screamed and she stared, horrified. The floor began to shudder, then the walls. Dust sifted down from the exposed metal rafters. The pallet truck bounced along the violently vibrating floor and the door to the tengu room dislodged.
Eve grabbed the downed Mark and dragged him to the exit. She tried to open it, but it wouldn’t budge. Pounding against the door, she shouted for help, trying to be heard over the horrible whining that emanated from the kiln. The tengu raced toward her in a rambunctious aggregation.
“Help!” she yelled, beating at the door. “Help!”
Suddenly the door gave way and she fell . . .
. . . straight into Alec’s arms. He squeezed the air from her.
“Time to go,” he muttered, tugging her out. He reached back in for the Mark, tossing him over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry.
Reed stepped out of the shadows. He held the young wolf by the scruff of his neck. He tossed him into the kiln room and shut the door. Then he picked up a length of wood and propped it against the portal, trapping him inside.
The sound of sirens turned Eve’s head and she saw the showroom engulfed in flames.
“The animals!” she cried, setting off at a run.
Hard arms caught her about the waist and held her back. She fought against Reed’s hold, but he was too strong.
“Eve,” he said, his voice to her ear. “It’s the Lord’s will.”
But it was too senseless for her to accept. If God had loved them, he would never have allowed them to suffer as they had. He would have allowed them some tiny bit of comfort before death. Instead he’d used her to give them hope, then cruelly shattered it.
“We’ve got to go,” Alec said, running toward a group of people dressed like the guy he had slung over his back.
“Where are the wolves?” he asked when they reached them.
“Still inside,” a female Mark replied. She stuck two fingers in her mouth and whistled.
Another Mark came running from a shedlike building. As he drew to a halt before them, he reported, “It would take days to sort through all the materials in there.”
A tremendous whining noise came from the kiln building, the sound of metal stretching and tearing. Alec shook his head. “We don’t even have minutes.” He looked at Eve. “What did you do to it?”
“I put the Nix in there.”
“Dear God,” the female Mark breathed.
“Shit,” Alec muttered. “That thing is going to blow. Run!”
Eve sprinted behind him to the car in a daze. They managed to drive a block’s distance before the kiln exploded.
The fireball was seen from miles away.
CHAPTER 21
Gadara paced behind his desk in the penthouse office of Gadara Tower.