Horsemen's War (The Rebellion Chronicles #3) - Steve McHugh Page 0,30

eyes should have been. Occasionally there was a flickering of orange-and-red light, as if a fire were being smothered.

I looked down at the ground and back up at the wraith. “You’ll get your food,” I told it before walking into the light and ending up inside a room in the White House.

I looked out of the window at the lawn beyond. The light that Roberto had supplied was being switched off. There were over 130 rooms in the White House, and I had no idea which this was. I was near the door, and there were books stacked all around the room, like a small, untidy library.

The room was well lit, and there were several uncomfortable-looking chairs that had been placed around a coffee table. I opened the door slightly to a familiar place—the lobby. I’d ended up in the East Wing entrance. I heard two voices at the end of the lobby and stepped out of the room. I threw daggers of air at the lights adorning the walls, which got the attention of the two men, although the shadows that snaked out of the group, encircled them, and dragged them into the shadow realm were a surprise to them.

I sank into the shadow realm, only to hear the screams of one of the men as the wraith attacked. The other stood in the middle of a circle of light, firing wildly all around him. I grabbed his wrist and disarmed him before tossing the gun aside. It vanished from view as it left the shadow realm.

“What’s out there?” the man demanded.

“Something hungry,” I told him, punching him in the face and knocking him to the ground. I felt the swell of power as the second man was devoured somewhere in the darkness. “It will kill you unless I stop it.”

“Stop it!” the man pleaded.

“Not yet,” I told him. “First, you’re going to tell me everything I need to know about the hostages and those working with Avalon.”

“The hostages are kept in three places,” he stammered. “State Dining Room, Yellow Oval Room, and the Solarium.”

“Nicely spaced out,” I said. “How many guarding each?”

“Half a dozen for the first two,” he said. “The hostages are all humans, so the Secret Service and military contractors brought in are doing that.”

Military contractors? I thought, making a note to come back to it. “And the last set?”

“Avalon personnel,” he said. “There are nonhumans in the group up there. They had people draw runes in the Solarium a few years ago. Gawain said he was afraid that people would come for him, and he wanted equal ground.”

“I’m sure it was all his idea,” I said sarcastically. “And these military contractors?”

“They were brought in to work alongside those in the White House,” he said. “They were planted as cleaners, cooks, people who worked in admin. They’re highly trained, and they’ve killed already. The president is in the Solarium, his family up there too.”

“How many dead?”

“A dozen,” he said. “The initial takeover was bloody. That wasn’t the plan—it was meant to be cool and calm, but the schedule got moved up.”

“Gawain?”

“Yes, him,” he said, looking around as the wraith patrolled around the light.

“Where is he?”

“Oval Office.”

“How many did you kill?” I asked him.

“What?”

“How. Many.”

“None, I swear,” he said pleadingly.

He was lying.

“Make it quick,” I told the wraith, and I heard the sounds of the agent’s cries as I stepped out of the shadow realm. A second later there was another shudder of power. I was beginning to feel normal again. I was pretty sure all the power would be needed to confront Gawain.

After opening the door, I ran down the East Colonnade and stopped at the door to listen for anyone inside the visitors’ foyer beyond. None of the hostages were in the East or West Wing, so I didn’t have to run all over the premises to find them.

I heard nothing inside the main foyer and opened the door, revealing several dead bodies at the base of the stairs. They all wore the uniforms of Secret Service, suggesting that they had stood against Avalon. They’d paid the ultimate price for doing their jobs.

The door to the library beside me burst open, and Remy, Sky, and Selene exited, ready for battle. They all stopped once they recognized me.

“You okay?” Selene asked.

I nodded. “Tired but good.” I explained where the hostages were.

“So we need to split up?” Sky said.

“And find Zamek, Diana, and Kase,” Remy said. “I think Kase might be on the edge of becoming murderous