Page 52

“Let us in, bitch.”

They forced their way in as I heard Cuckoo shouting my name.

I stumbled as Carmichael shoved me. My hip slammed into a table, and everything crashed to the floor.

“Rina!” Lou yelled as he pushed to his feet, whipping his cane around. “Leave her alone!”

I missed there was a third man who entered my house until he said my name. It was the way he said it, calm, but like he’d known it for years. Of course, he had. He’d been a close friend of the foster father we knew.

My gaze swept over him, noticing the shirt he wore with a logo I had seen on multiple occasions as a child. A sword with a golden halo. Always worn over black.

The Sect of Primordial Light.

A cult that believed children were objects to be owned and used. God. They found me. They found us.

My Rain couldn’t take this. It would break him further.

“What do you want?” I asked, feeling far calmer than I looked.

“Ah. So smart.” The man smiled, and it made my stomach roil. “I remember that about you. Sharp-witted. Beautiful. Soft. Sweet.” He licked his lips. “Do you remember me sticking my fingers inside you?”

What!?

“Do I haunt your nightmares?” His laugh was sinister. “We always collect our strays.”

Oh, God.

“You and Rain belong to us.”

I took a step backward, shaking my head. No. He couldn’t be one of the men who tried to violate me. But I wouldn’t know. They all wore black robes and dark masks. The cowards concealed their features.

“You won’t get away with this. We know who you are.”

The Sect member chuckled. “We’re legion. Millions. You will never subdue us. Our god gives us strength, power, and the luck to persevere.”

He was fucking delusional.

“I’m not going anywhere with you.”

“You might want to think about that.” He looked at the gas tech, who had obviously used the uniform as a disguise. “Knock the old man out.”

I screamed for them to leave Lou alone, rushing forward to fight off anyone who tried to hurt him. “I’m not five years old anymore. Or even thirteen. You can’t control me!” My fists pounded flesh, and I kicked and fought like a madwoman.

One of them slapped me, and I tasted blood as I bit my lip. My frantic gaze swept over the doorway again, and outside, I saw the streetlights click on.Lanterns.

Carrions said to remember the lanterns. That I’d be okay. They would bring peace. Did that mean Cuckoo was almost here? I didn’t have to wonder for long.

Within a heartbeat, I heard motorcycle engines outside.

“Katrina!” Cuckoo roared.

And then everything went dark. The sky grew so dim I thought a thunderstorm had rolled in. But no, I caught the flapping onyx wings of dozens of crows through my open doorway. The murder swooped low and entered, cawing as they mobbed the three Sect members. Their harsh croaks and rattles were a battle cry almost deafening to my ears, overlapping as it grew in volume.

I screamed as someone grabbed me, realizing Cuckoo had come through with them, and he grabbed me, tugging me against his chest as we stood in the center of the chaos. Not a single bird’s claws caught my skin or Cuckoo’s. Not a beak pecked at us.

All the murder’s rage was directed at the three humans that were being viciously torn into and savagely bled. The crows concentrated on the Sect members and their eyes, gouging them out to make their prey vulnerable.

I buried my head in Cuckoo’s chest as he led us from the living room, not the least bit surprised about the carnage.