“We think so,” Cally replied. “Eve has been her usual awesomeness.”
“Excellent. I admit I didn’t have much faith in those Order books, but—” He stopped abruptly, eyes turning from blue to red faster than Cally had ever seen, and his fangs extruded.
She recoiled in surprise. “What—”
The lights flickered; then it went dark.
From outside came a dullwhump, rapidly followed by three more. Windows shattered, then explosions thundered up from below, shaking the house.
“Go,” Cally said grimly. “We’ll be fine.”
Antoine captured her gaze for a heartbeat of understanding, then whirled for the door. “Stay with them!” he told Noah, and then he was gone.
Noah charged in, grim-faced, slammed the door, and threw his weight against it.
“What’s happening?” Cally asked as she pulled on her ankle boots. She wanted to be ready for whatever was to come.
“Thrall attack,” he said. “There’s dozens of them. A frigging army.”
“How many do we have?”
“Nine. Including me.” A muscle twitched as his jaw clenched. “The day shift is sleeping. Marcel will alert them, but it’ll be over before they get here.”
“Antoine can handle that many, right?” Eve asked, her voice high.
In answer, the house vibrated as several high-powered machine guns roared in unison.
Forty-Three
“Stay with them!” Antoine yelled at Noah, then linked to Zoey as he headed for the stairs. “Report.”
“I’m in the panic room with Marcel. About thirty thralls coming through the backyard. The cameras at the front have been taken out, and we have a breach.”
Thirty? And more already inside. Was this Roberto, launching an attack in direct contravention of Curia rules?
“Activate the mines.”
From the rear of the house, several detonations erupted in quick succession with vicious concussive snaps, followed by debris pinging off the walls and windows. Then the screams started.
He had to stop them before they could reach Cally.
Antoine leaped the last six stairs, his shadows billowing around him, tux jacket flaring, and hit the living room door hard enough to rip it from its hinges. It burst into the room, striking a glancing blow to a figure in black tactical gear with night-vision goggles over a half-face respirator, looking like an alien bug. Antoine was there a fraction of a second later, ripping out his throat.
The air swirled murky with gas that irritated his eyes and skin, so dense he couldn’t see the ceiling, but shadowy figures moved within. Two bodies lay crumpled on the carpet, dressed not in black but in the casual clothes of his own thralls.
He kept his mouth closed, holding his breath as he sprang to the next intruder. A sharp burst of automatic fire sent bullets spraying he knew not where, but his fist slammed into the man’s chest, sending him rocketing backward through the smashed windows, knocking more glass free. Outside in the front yard,more dead lay on the ground, but other figures ran toward the house, unimpeded by return fire.
“Front machine guns?”he asked Zoey as he took two steps, the room blurring past, and snapped the neck of the next attacker.
“Both disabled.”
“Shutters?”
“Trying! They’re offline!”
Fuck.
“Fire at the smoke!” a shout rang out, and six weapons opened up as one, muzzles flashing in the night.
