Louie crashed on the hard pavement ten yards from me. A ring of people surrounded us, Heart’s soldiers, Mom, Grandma Frida, Arabella . . . The familiar faces were turning fuzzy. I’d overextended.
Someone pushed through the crowd and walked over to Louie. Red hair—Runa.
“You killed my mother,” she told him.
Louie bared his teeth at her. Magic lashed from him, but the butcher had nothing left. His strike cut Runa’s cheek. She touched the cut, looked at the red staining her fingers, and smiled.
I would remember that smile till the day I died.
Deep green magic flared like a glowing ribbon between Runa’s bloody fingers. It snaked out and kissed Louie’s cheek.
The assassin screamed.
I sat on the curb, wrapped in a blanket and drinking a cup of hot tea, Shadow curled by my feet chewing on a stick. Arabella had found my phone among the rubble and brought it to me. A big crack split the screen, but miraculously the phone still worked. Alessandro still hadn’t replied to any of my messages.
The warehouse was wrecked. The entire corner where my room used to be and everything under it was gone, as if a giant had looked at the warehouse from above, decided it was cake, and carved himself out a piece. I could see straight into our house. Heart’s soldiers had declared it unsafe and made us stay back fifty feet.
To the right, across the street, Bern stood with a despondent look on his face gazing at the collapsed floor between him and the Hut of Evil inside. We had no idea if any of our servers survived. On his left, Bug tentatively touched his shoulder, the way you would do to comfort someone at a funeral. On his right Runa was talking. I couldn’t make it out, but I understood her expression. It’s not that bad. I’m sure it will be fine, you’ll see.
It would not be fine. Before all of our modifications and insulation, the warehouse was a single steel building. The integrity of the structure was likely compromised. The electric wires, the pipes, and the walls themselves looked neatly cut. A stream had formed on our street, where water had fountained out of the severed pipes before someone shut it off.
Our water bill is going to be huge.
I didn’t know why, but that thought almost pushed me over the edge. If I had any strength left, I would have cried, Head of the House or no, but I was too tired.
Where would we find the money to repair this? Where would we live? Theoretically, we could split up and move into other buildings we owned, but the warehouse had been our home and now it was gone.
A chunk of the roof the size of a garage moaned with a metallic screech and plunged to the street.
I couldn’t even. I wasn’t sure I could ever even again.
On the bright side, we had no insurance to pay for any of this.
I had gambled everything on finding Halle and I lost. I was so sure that Benedict would send another warped assassin after me and it seemed so logical that they would know where they had been altered. I was wrong.
Mom came over and sat next to me.
“I destroyed the house,” I told her.
“Don’t be ridiculous. You tried to save a child. We all went along with it. Nobody could have anticipated this.”
My cell rang. I looked at it. Nevada.
“Hello?”
“Hi! How’s everything?”
Next to me, Mom shook her head, her eyes really big.
“Everything is great,” I lied. “We’re doing great. The warehouse is great.”
“Umm, Catalina?”
Another chunk of the roof collapsed. “We’re having a thunderstorm.” It was good her magic didn’t work over the phone.
“Okay,” Nevada said. She wasn’t buying a word of what I was selling. “I have big news.”
“Oh good. Mom is here. I’ll put you on speaker.” I pushed the icon. “Go.”
“I’m pregnant!”
I raised my voice. “Hey everybody, Nevada is pregnant.”
Everybody made cheering noises.
“Catalina,” Nevada said. “I can hear water running. I can tell by the sound that you’re outside. If it’s raining, why are all of you outside in the storm?”
“Love you, got to go.” I hung up.
A van pulled up to the curb. Shadow dashed toward it, barking. The windows rolled down and four heads stuck out, one human and blond, and the other three belonging to boxer dogs.
Cornelius stared at the warehouse. “What did I miss?”
I’d laugh, but again, no strength left.
Mom and I looked at the warehouse some more.
“Sorry,” I said.
“It will be okay,” Mom said. “It was time to let it go, anyway.”
Runa looked at her phone and jerked it to her ear, her eyes wild. “No! Don’t do it, please don’t do it!”
Oh, what the hell now?
Runa hurled the phone to the ground, then dived down, grabbed it, turned, and ran to us.
Mom and I looked at her. Arabella dropped what she was doing and sprinted over to us.
“It’s Ragnar.” Tears wet Runa’s eyes. “He just walked into Diatheke.”
“Why?” The word fell out of me.
“He said that he was done surviving. He couldn’t let them hurt anybody else.” Desperation skewed her face. “I need a car. A fast one.”
“I’ve got you,” Arabella said.
“I’m coming with you,” I said.
“Can I talk to you for a second?” Arabella looked at everyone around us. “Can we have some privacy?”
“I’ll meet you at your car.” Runa spun on her foot and walked away.
Arabella crouched by me. “You’re in charge and if you order me, I’ll take you. But you’re tapped out. You can’t even stand. My car sits four. I’ll take Runa, Leon, and Mom.”
She was right. I hated it but she was right. Every second counted, and they needed to pack as much firepower as they could into four seats.
“Go,” I said. “I’ll come with the second wave.”
She hugged me and took off at a run. Mom followed her.
My phone rang again. Alessandro. Alive. Oh my God, he was alive. Relief drowned me.
“Are you okay?” I whispered.
“Yes,” he said. “Are you?”
“Yes.”
“I didn’t get Benedict.” Frustration sharpened his voice. “I’ll be at the warehouse in half an hour.”
“I won’t be here. Ragnar just attacked Diatheke. We’re going to get him.”
“What the hell is he doing?” Alessandro snarled.
“Trying to kill everyone by himself.”
“I’ll get him. I’m closer.”
“Don’t! It’s suicide.”
He growled something fast in Italian and hung up.
Ten minutes later I strapped myself into the safety harness inside Heart’s APC. Next to me Bug fiddled with a tablet, his hand flying over the onscreen keyboard.
The APC rumbled and lurched forward. All around me Heart’s soldiers rode, their faces relaxed.
Bug thrust the tablet in front of me. On it, Alessandro walked into Diatheke.
What the hell was he doing? My heart squeezed itself into a tight, painful ball in my chest. Please, please let it be okay. Let it all be okay.
The sound of gunfire emanated from the building on the tablet, tearing the silence. Everyone looked at us.