I put away my phone and returned to the break room, where Victor and Judy were chatting. “Well?” Judy said.
“She says it’s possible, and to have Madeleine check the wards. And some other stuff. The investigation is going well.” I was having trouble remembering who I’d told what to, and who was allowed to know what. “A couple more days until it’s over.”
“I heard it was intelligent invaders like the ones we fought in Montana,” Victor said. “Lots of them, and that’s how they overpowered the node.”
“Lucia didn’t say,” I lied. “I guess that’s possible, though. But I want to know what else you’ve been doing! Still gambling?”
“Not in this state. It’s no fun,” Victor said with a laugh. “Besides, I got better things to turn my talent to now. Like—”
His eyes went distant, and a funny, confused look crossed his face. Then he focused on me and Judy. “You need to call Malcolm,” he told me. “Right now.”
“Um…okay,” I said, pulling out my phone. “What do I tell him?”
“A car is going to plow into the front of the store in fifteen minutes. It will destroy the front door and wreck that thing that protects it from invaders in human suits. That’s how they’ll get in. If he gets a couple of teams moving now, it might not be too late.”
I gaped at him, then, with shaking fingers, called Malcolm. The phone rang far too many times before he answered. “Malcolm, Victor’s here and he’s had a vision,” I said, cutting off Malcolm’s warm greeting. “I need some teams at the store immediately. He says the invaders are trying an attack.”
“On my way,” Malcolm said, and the phone went dead.
“You two need to get out of here,” Victor said.
“I can’t leave,” I countered. “What if the car is a distraction, and the point is to get me out of the warded store? I have to stay here.”
Victor’s mouth set in a determined line. “Then I’ll stay with you.”
“Thanks.” I didn’t care if he was inexperienced. His presence comforted me.
“So what do we do?” Judy said. “Wait around for doom to fall on us? How in the hell is a car able to drive through the front door? The street’s not wide enough for it to get up any speed!”
“Sideswipe, maybe?” I realized my hands were clenched so hard the nails bit into the flesh of my palms and made myself relax. “I’m not going to hide in the back. If the teams don’t get here in time, and the invaders make it through the door, I want to know where they are. I’m going out front. Judy, you need to leave.”
“The hell I will! I’m staying here.”
“If they succeed in triggering the wards and it doesn’t destroy the oracle, there’ll need to be a custodian. There’s no third person—it’s just you and me. They can’t be allowed to kill both of us.”
Judy’s face was red and furious. “If you think I’m going to run away—”
“It’s not running away. It’s sensible. Please, Judy.” I stared her down, willing her to be sensible.
Judy looked away and swore viciously. “Fine,” she said, gathering her purse. “But if they kill you, I’ll never forgive you.” She strode to the back door and slammed through it.
“Don’t think you can get rid of me that way,” Victor said. “Malcolm would kill me if I left you.”
“Is it bad that I didn’t even think about it? I don’t want to be alone.” I didn’t bother with inane questions like Are you sure? or Did you see me die? Victor’s visions always came true, but he tended to see events rather than people. My fate was still a mystery—unless the oracle was right, and this was what it had foretold. I unclenched my hands again and walked at a calm, measured pace to the front of the store.
I wasn’t totally foolhardy; I stopped as far from the front door as I could get and still see it. The sunlight was dim, suggesting an overcast sky, though the forecast hadn’t been for rain. It still made the street look warm and welcoming. Men and women dressed in shorts and lightweight dresses passed in both directions, laughing and smiling like the world was theirs for the taking. It made me feel sick, and I turned away so I wouldn’t have to see them.
“Helena, you’re shaking,” Victor said. “It’s going to be okay.”
“Is it?” I laughed, a weak, anemic sound. “I wish I could be sure.” Victor didn’t know about the oracle’s prophecy. I checked my phone’s display. Eleven more minutes. My hands really were shaking. I closed them tightly on my phone and willed myself to be still.
“I’m glad you came by,” I said. “Imagine if…”
“I’m glad I didn’t ignore that vision,” Victor said. “Used to be I’d tell myself it was my imagination when I saw something that didn’t make sense. Like me being at Abernathy’s mid-day when I ought to be at work. Now I go with it.”
The door jangled open, and I let out a shriek I instantly muffled with my hands. The Nicollien who entered gave me a strange look. “You have to leave,” I said, overriding whatever he was going to say. “There’s going to be an invader attack here in…nine minutes…and it won’t be safe. Please, come back later, or tomorrow, or…” I felt a mad giggle building in my chest and pressed a hand against my throat to seal it in.
“A what?” The man looked confused, as well he should. “Shouldn’t we call someone?”
“We did. They’re on the way. But you need to leave.”
“Then why are you still here?” His confusion deepened.
The giggle escaped halfway, sounding like a strangled duck. “This is my Neutrality and I’m not going to be driven away from it,” I said.
“I can’t just leave you!”
“Then…you can wait on the corner for the teams to arrive. Stay away from the front door—away from the store front entirely.” Why wouldn’t this idiot just go? His presence, and his annoying questions, had me wound tighter than a violin string about to snap.
The Nicollien looked like he wanted to argue further, but backed away out the door, letting it swing shut behind him. The bells jingled again, a merry sound that made me want to scream.
Victor grabbed the folding chair from beside the door, dragged it across the room, and made me sit. The chair was freezing cold even now, in the heart of summer, and it made me shake harder. Victor put his arm around me. “They’ll get here,” he said.
I nodded. I’d clenched my jaw tight against the shaking and couldn’t have spoken even if I’d had something to say. All my attention was fixed on the door and the plate glass windows to either side of it. Cars drifted past, not going more than the speed limit, as was typical of this neighborhood. It was picturesque, and people tended to slow down to look at the stores and the trendy people. Judy was right; the two-lane road paralleling the store front wasn’t wide enough for a car to swerve into the front door at any speed. There was no way the invaders could break through the door. What a stupid plan.
I checked my phone once more. Six minutes. Where the hell were the Wardens? My husband? Anyone who might be able to stop this horrible thing from happening? I wanted to cry angry tears at how weak and helpless I felt, but I didn’t want to embarrass Victor, who was doing his best but was clearly afraid I’d burst into hysterics he couldn’t deal with.