us come back—and stay,” Hannah added, “for at least a full week. Mom’ll take it better if it’s all of us.”
“Best sister ever.” Duncan wrapped an arm around Hannah’s shoulders.
“Hey!”
He grinned at Tonia, laid his arm over hers. “Plural.”
The vocalists shouted out: “Thank God I’m a Country Boy.” Eddie added a “Yee-haw.”
And Garrett, a shifter once nearly hanged by the PWs, came on the run.
Shifted from cougar to teen. “Trouble’s coming. I found Will.” His breath came fast as all three surged to their feet. “He’s mobilizing. He said Eddie was here, and I should—”
“What’s the trouble?” Duncan interrupted.
“PWs, Raiders, and DUs with them. Maybe thirty miles beyond the checkpoint, moving this way.”
“I’ll get Jonah, Rachel, Mom.” Hannah ran from the gardens.
“How many?” Duncan demanded.
“It looked like hundreds. We were just out for a run. We went past the checkpoint. I know that’s against the rules, but—”
“We’ll worry about that later. Thirty miles?” Tonia pressed.
“About. They’re not moving fast, and we did once we spotted them. I told the others to peel off, alert the outlying farms. But the thing is, I think White’s with them. I saw him once when they had me. I think I saw him with them.”
As his blood heated—he’d wanted to take on White all of his life—Duncan shot a look at Tonia. Understanding, she gave him a nod.
“Tell Eddie, Garrett. He’ll get things started on this end of town. We need to scout past the other checkpoints, see if they’re coming in from other directions.”
“I’ll alert the barracks, and pull in who we need on the way.” Duncan swung onto his bike, something else that came out in spring. “Get the Swifts, let Fred know.” He revved the engine. “You take Flynn. I’ll take Mallick in Arlington.”
“Fast,” Tonia said. “Even if they’re moving slow, we don’t have much time.”
She flashed as Duncan roared away.
They’d trained for this, he thought as he all but flew out of New Hope. Every man, woman, and child had their emergency posts and duties. He alerted them along the way, eating up what he knew would be precious time skidding to a halt to call out the alert to the man tossing a ball to his dog, to the old woman rocking on her porch.
He caught some luck at the barracks when he saw Colin and Travis entertaining themselves by putting some troops through night maneuvers.
“Enemy forces spotted heading in from the south—less than thirty miles beyond the checkpoint. Indeterminate numbers, possibly hundreds. White may be with them.”
“Well, hot damn.” Colin managed to bring his two hands together in a clap. “All right, boys and girls, suit the fuck up.”
“We’ve got this,” Travis said. “Get Dad.”
“Next stop.”
He spun the bike in a circle, streaked toward the Swift house. Leaping off, he didn’t bother to knock, but shoved open the door.
Simon and Lana broke off what looked like a pretty serious kiss.
“Sorry. Enemy forces moving in from the south.” Even as he continued with the details he had, Simon rushed to the pantry, came out with a rifle, ammo. Lana darted into the mudroom for jackets.
“Ethan’s with the horses. Simon will need one, so he’ll tell him.” Lana shoved her arms through the sleeves of her jacket, voice steady, eyes showing not a hint of the fear. “Ethan can alert Fred and the kids, I’ll get Mallick. Duncan, you get Poe. Simon.”
She gripped his hand, then let it go and flashed.
Simon clipped a holster onto his belt, met Duncan’s eyes. “Go.”
* * *
Ten miles beyond the checkpoint, the enemy halted. Silver hair streaming, eyes ablaze with fervor, Jeremiah White climbed onto the roof of a truck. As planned, one of the DUs at his side illuminated him so all could see. His voice carried, full-throated, through the soft spring night.
“Fellow warriors, friends, patriots, tonight, at long last, we will eradicate the sanctuary of the demons that defile our world. Tonight, at long last, our blessed crusade to purify the land, the seas, the very air we breathe ends. We mark this night as God’s wrath, delivered through his true children. We will strike them down, rip out this beating heart of their evil. Tonight, in our righteous fury, we avenge our fallen brothers. Arlington. Washington. New York. Philadelphia.”
Others in the crowd shouted out names of other battles, other places as White spread his arms, lifted his face to the starstruck heavens.
“And our brothers will cry out from their graves, will rip the air with their gratitude as we wipe these