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“I’ve got it,” he murmurs, his voice lacking all of its usual edges, and Anya stares at him for a moment before handing him the key.
“Not with what, Anya?” I demand.
She swallows hard as the last of the chains hits the dirt, glancing from Adrienne to Cam to me.
“They’ve been erecting these structures in front of the compound since the moment we got here. It looks like they’re preparing for a public execution.”
CHAPTERFORTY-THREE
It doesn’t take long.The remains of the Locklear estate are only a half-hour drive away from Westcott’s compound. I watch out the back of the car—one Anya stole from a guard, if I had to guess from the smear of blood on the steering wheel—as we drive away. There’s a body splayed out a few feet above a hole in the ground that must lead to the dungeon cells. Most likely the unfortunate former keeper of the keys.
The estate beyond is mostly intact, though it clearly sustained some damage. But it’s the feeling in the air I can’t shake. Like the spirits of everyone who died in the attack are lingering behind.
We stay hidden on the way to the compound, ditching the car once we’re a few miles out and following Anya’s lead, but the closer we get, the less that seems necessary.
Because Westcott clearly has plenty else on his plate.
There are crowds everywhere. People are screaming and holding signs, and it takes a moment for me to realize they aren’t rallying, they’reprotesting.There must be hundreds of them. At the front of the crowd is a line of wendigos like some kind of security, but they leave the people be no matter how loudly they yell or how charged the energy in the air gets.
I see what Anya was talking about too. In the middle of the courtyard, a stage has been erected with thirteen posts stretching toward the sky.
The compound itself looks untouched from Auclair’s earlier attack. The surrounding ground is scorched from the fire, but the structure looks the same.
If I look closely enough, I can see faces behind the windows watching this all unfold. What’s left of his following that hasn’t turned on him? There’s some out here too.
The crowd roars louder as the people on Westcott’s side move about. They duck their heads as if physically trying to retreat from the jeers, carrying various supplies in their arms, all walking like they’re in a hurry.
Our group stays back within the tree line on a hill, watching it play out.
“Witches, vampires, humans, werewolves…” Adrienne says, eyes locked on the crowd. “They’re all down there.”
“Anya, after the train ambush, was there any sign of the Locklear team?”
She presses her lips into a thin line and shakes her head. “But we were a few miles out from our meeting point. They could be nearby now.”
“I’ve never been inside this compound, but I imagine the layout is similar to the ones I have seen,” says Cam. “If they’re keeping everyone in a holding cell, it’ll be several levels below. I think we should split up.”
“What?” I demand. “We should stay together.”
“We had a plan, Darkmore,” Cam says lowly, back to surveying the crowd now. “There has to be someone leading this.”
“Cam,” I gasp as he takes a step forward like he’s planning on going down there and joining them.
His eyes flick up, not to me, but to Anya. “Can you get them inside?”
She scoffs like she’s insulted by the question. “Of course I can.”
“Then you take care of the others.” He swallows hard and meets my eyes one last time, and I can see him make up his mind. “And I’ll take care of Westcott.”
“Cam, what happened to a peaceful transition of power?” I demand.
“You willing to give him more time go through with those executions?”
I follow his gaze to the posts, imagining far too clearly everyone I love up there.
Quieter, he says, “Plans change.” Then he shifts into his wolf form before I can protest and takes off down the hill, shifting back just as he reaches the crowd. A few people at the back turn as he approaches, and the transformation happens from one blink of an eye to the next, taking him from Cam to pack master as he shakes hands with each person and starts talking.
“Maybe you two should wait here while I scope the place out,” says Anya.
