Page 522 of Shadowblood Souls
“It’s only a small part of the city they destroyed,” Jacob remarks in a momentary pause between shifting boulders.
I think of the footage I watched. “They wanted to be quick, in and out before anyone could pay much attention to what exactly was happening. Before there’d be much evidence forusto see and use to track them. The main point was the message.”
I pause, adjusting my grip on the rough edge of another stone slab. This one is sculpted with lines I can tell were once elegant.
My throat tightens. “And this was a place that meant a lot to people. Centuries of history. They went for size of emotional impact rather than hitting a whole bunch of buildings.”
The fact that I can understand Balthazar’s reasoning makes me a little queasy, even though I don’t agree with what he’s doing. There’s a method to his madness.
Toni’s words from this morning echo through my head.Willa was there. So they tore her apart. Literally.
And now Balthazar is going to tear apart everything the rest of the world cares about until they agree to strike back against the creatures he blames for his wife’s death. Never mind that only a few of them—maybe only one—actually carried out the murder.
Never mind that they would have seen it as self-defense after he attacked them first.
I unearth a shoe without a foot in it—one so small it has to belong to a child. My gut lurches in the second before Jacob’s eager exclamation. “I see him!”
But just as Zian disintegrates the chunk pinning down the little boy’s chest, the boom of a loudspeaker splits the air. “You three near the trees, move off the wreckage now.”
Our heads swing toward the projected voice.
I haven’t been paying attention to the rumbles of vehicles coming and going. A military-style truck has parked near the edge of the ruin, and three men with rifles are standing around it, one of them holding the loudspeaker. Several more figures in police uniforms have appeared, easing onto the rubble toward us.
I glance at Griffin over by the helicopter. His lips are pursed tight, his eyes wide. As if sensing my look, he gives a slight shake of his head.
He can’t push enough emotion on everyone here to stop their interruption. If it wasn’t this group, someone else would be coming after us.
All they see are a bunch of unauthorized strangers, poking around where a bunch ofotherstrangers just caused this whole mess.
“We’re just trying to help!” I call out. “There’s a little boy stuck here. He?—”
“Back away from any injured parties,” the loudspeaker interrupts. “Walk to clear ground and wait for questioning.”
Shit. My gaze darts to Jacob, whose hands have clenched into fists, but we aren’t here to cause more damage ourselves.
“We have to leave,” I say quietly. “No fighting.”
He exhales in a rush, but his shoulders come down from their tensed position. Zian nods with a grimace.
Rather than walking to the nearest edge of the rubble, we head back to the helicopter. Dominic has already moved thatway, and I spot Andreas weaving through the people on the fringes to join us there.
Several of the police officers jog over to intercept us. Rollick shoots me a glance through the helicopter’s windshield that feels like anI told you so.
“Stop right there!” one of them hollers.
A growl comes into Zian’s voice. “We’re leaving like you wanted us to.”
The cop’s attention slides to Dominic, with a twitch of his eyes as he takes in the dangling tentacles. “Bloody hell. Whatareyou?”
The guys hop into the helicopter. I brace myself to spring after them and fix the cop with my firmest gaze. “That doesn’t matter. All you need to know is that the person who destroyed everything here was Otto Balthazar.”
Five
Zian
Riva slumps back in her chair and rubs her forehead. “I hate this map. No, I hateallmaps.”
She’s been sitting at the elegant white desk for the better part of half an hour, moving between a printed atlas Rollick dug up and a tablet. The late-morning sunshine and warmth stream through the row of tall windows that give a view of the atrium garden, but Riva doesn’t look as if she’s been able to appreciate either.
