temper loose and incinerated the mortal, she wouldn’t be any kind of secret weapon at all.
Before I could compose a perfectly calm and controlled yet scathing response, Snap flickered out of the darkness. “Men,” he said breathlessly. “With the protections the Company has used before. They’re moving toward the dock just east of the rift.”
I peered in the direction he’d indicated. Beyond the glow of the nearest streetlamps, a few figures slunk through the darkness and vanished onto the abandoned boats still roped to the docks. Planning to hide out in that shelter while they watched for any beings that emerged, presumably. I frowned.
They’d come in enough numbers to overwhelm me during that first ambush. We had the advantage of surprise this time, but that wasn’t a guarantee of victory. They’d shown how formidable a threat they could present at the cabin the other night too. As much as I’d hated it, especially after what they’d done to Betsy, turning tail and running had been our only hope of surviving with our freedom.
We did have the river to work with here, though. Those vests and helmets were pretty heavy—the men wouldn’t be eager to swim in them. I cocked my head, considering the possibilities.
“Get Thorn and Ruse, and go through the shadows around the dock to the boats. Cut them loose—push the two far ones toward the middle of the river so they can’t reach the dock and the one nearer this way, toward the shore. We’ll give them a fine welcome.” I jerked my hand toward Sorsha. “Come on.”
As Snap vanished, we hurried to the stairs. “Getting a few flames going on that boat would keep our enemies even more distracted from shooting or slashing us,” I pointed out. “Is it really so important to convince yourself you don’t have the power that you won’t even try to pitch in?”
Sorsha’s eyes flashed at me in the darkness, but I thought I heard a hint of hesitation in her voice with her next protest. “I think it’s better I focus on the ways I can actually help rather than imaginary super powers.”
“Funny, of all the things I could criticize you for, I hadn’t taken you for a coward.”
Her shoulders tensed. That blow had landed. Now if only it’d push her enough.
Falling into silence out of caution, we slipped out the factory doorway and edged along the side of the crumbling brick building toward the water. As we reached the sprawl of the shipyard that lay between us and the river, shouts rang out from the dock. My boys were getting down to work.
I set off across the yard at a lope, assuming Sorsha would follow, determined as she was to help in one way or another. In the dim light, I made out the motorboat careening across the water toward us. Three figures were scrambling across it, one of them yanking at the chain on the motor, which coughed its last wheeze of gas and died again.
Another brandished a gun. I’d take care of him first.
“You know the plan,” I said to Sorsha. “See if you can add to it.”
She stared at the boat, but if she was attempting to stir up a fire, I didn’t see so much as a glimmer. Fine. We could do this without any magical help from her. That was our area of expertise, after all.
I reached the edge of the concrete yard just as the boat came within leaping distance. One of the men gave a yell at the sight of me, but I was already springing across the gap.
I tackled the prick with the gun, knocking the weapon out of his hand and into the water. Thorn appeared next to me an instant later. He heaved another of the men by his bare arms onto solid ground, a few feet from where Sorsha had come to a halt.
The man landed on his side with a grunt, but he was sprier than we’d given him credit for. Ruse appeared with one of our lead blankets on one side, Sorsha dove to snatch off his helmet from the other—and he swung his leg around so fast he managed to kick the back of her knee. She stumbled, yanking herself out of the way of his next blow, and skidded right over the slick metal lip that jutted over the water.
She fell with a yelp and a splash, the water swallowing her up. Thorn rammed his fist into one of the other men’s faces, crushing his