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I turned and walked away from them. At the mouth of the cave, I gave in to one more scared thought and then pushed a confidence I didn’t really feel into every part of my being. The moon would come up soon. I could make it out of here alive. Sure, I had no defenses, but I could do this.
Before I could regret my decision, I stepped out into the night. In the distance, something howled. A tingling ran up my spine, and I turned to walk out of the Ridge the way I’d come. This would be a long night, and I’d be lucky not to fall and break my neck at the bottom of the canyon.
A bright light lit the night from behind me. Darkness had fallen again when I looked back. Sophie and Chris were gone. The girls would be heading out of the Ridge too. I’d be alone in a creature-infested gorge soon enough.
Adam would be furious about this, but right now, he had the more dangerous job.
I’d refused to allow Dad’s healers to touch me. I didn’t trust them, and if my dad didn’t trust me, he didn’t trust them either. Plus, the Mindolin wanted my blood. That had been my one condition with Nate’s injury. I couldn’t bleed.
He’d done a good job, the Warlock. The last time he’d shot a death spell at me, when we were five, the magic had first ricocheted off Jeff and then hit me. My appreciation for my brother’s strength had grown the moment I’d woken up with a groan, my father standing over me.
Dad had been a bit peeved that the Warlock had gotten the jump on me, but I’d explained that Bard had assisted him by holding me captive in a dream. I hadn’t mentioned that my brothers were there or that Bard hadn’t really held me captive. When I’d needed to go, Bard had allowed it.
Cal was gone. The Mindolin was furious. My injuries, and the fact I’d been in my room when I’d received them, took suspicion off me. Well, Dad might have had his suspicions, but there was no proof I’d betrayed him.
The only downside to being injured and not allowing a healer to touch me was the fact I couldn’t do my job well. I still hadn’t met the man who would give the order for Cambria to fall, and I was running out of time. Especially since I’d spent a majority of the day laid up in my room. Seriously, Nate had packed a punch. The rest of the time, I’d been observing Dad’s army training. It was a blast and everything I thought this job would be.
“Ah, Adam. I’m glad you could join us for dinner.” Dad greeted me as I made my way into the Light Council’s conference room. How quaint it was that we’d tried to plan the Mindolin’s demise in the same room he now sat in. “I’d like you to meet some friends of mine.”
Dad had no friends. These men, as they sat in their chairs and gulped, were his pawns. Except the man, a Demon with black eyes and red pupils and pointed teeth, on his right. He looked comfortable. He was also the man I’d come to stop.
“Sorry I’m late.” I grit my teeth through the pain and walked to the vacant chair on Yavich’s right. At least I’d get to sit next to the man I needed to stop before he destroyed Cambria. I held out my hand to the man. “Adam.”
“Yavich.” The man shook my hand and I sat. “Aaron says you were attacked by the Warlock.”
The man on my right snorted. I looked to my father. “Do you need him?”
Everyone at the table held their breath as my Dad smiled. “Not necessarily, but he is one more person who can die for me later.”
I set my hand on the man’s, and his entire person went up in fire. His scream sounded awful, but I’d heard worse. Dad didn’t react as the room’s occupants shrieked at what I’d done. I just continued to stare at my father.
“Was that really necessary, son?” The others stilled. It seemed my dad hadn’t made his relationship to me known to all his people yet.
“I won’t be disrespected.” My gaze didn’t waver from the Mindolin. “I also won’t have my allegiance doubted. Keep that in mind.”
The Mindolin’s eyebrows rose in surprise, and Yavich bit his lower lip to keep his smile from showing. Good. Maybe I’d be on his good side for a while longer.
“I will do just that.” Dad’s surprise turned to amusement and a higher level of consideration that he hadn’t given me before. His gaze shifted to the other occupants of the table. “Have you discovered where everyone is fleeing?”
“Everyone?” It was probably a stupid question to them, but I was behind.
A man across from me scoffed, but then winced when I glared at him and wiggled my fingers. “Sorry, sir. He speaks of all the races. We know they’re gathering. We just don’t know—"
“Cambria.” The word was out of my mouth before I could stop it. Not that it mattered. I couldn’t stop Yavich until we reached Cambria, so they needed to know about the city. “They’re going to Cambria.”
“You’re sure?” A man at the other end of the table looked doubtful.
“I’m sure,” I replied. “Their first idea was to gather at the Light academies, but Mount Pickett was hit before they could even begin to pull their people together. Academies are now off the list. Cambria is central for Witches, Demons, and Dark. Vampires are everywhere. The Dark will take the longest to arrive. I have it upon good authority that some sort of beast is hindering the Dark.”
My father’s lips curled up a little. “I’ve heard the same. Though, I don’t know where your information is coming from.”
I shrugged. “I do still have a few links I can dive into, remember?”
“Ah, yes. And just how are your brothers and their pathetic mates faring?” Dad’s attention turned to me, and I could hear slight grumbles from the others at the table about me taking the spotlight off them and their helpful deeds.
“You’ve messed with my brothers’ links. I can’t get much from them except that Chris is pretty sure he’s going to die in the Ridge. Drew has the biggest monster problem. Vampires did find one of them, which was it? Anyway, he might actually survive. The one in the Witch’s mountains is feeling pretty hopeless. And the girls, they’re pretty much on their own without defenses. Can’t tell you where they are though. No one’s put that through the links. I’m still popping in to find that out, though.” After a second’s pause, I added, “I can confirm the babies are with the girls.”
Dad sneered at me. “They really are going to hate you, aren’t they?”
