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WASHINGTON, DC
January 9
That meant it was a glyph. And Roth had no doubt what it meant. The jaguar priests were watching them.
“I don’t see anything,” Jordan said, still holding his phone in one hand, the screen tracking the approach of their Uber driver.
“It’s right there,” Brillante said, walking forward and pointing to the stone wall along the sidewalk. He appeared to be pointing at nothing.
“We need to get out of here,” Roth said. If Suki were there, she could blast away the glyph with the wave of her hand, using the bracelet and ring she wore to channel her power.
Jordan nodded to the street ahead. “The driver is meeting us right there. Let’s go.”
The boys were still staring at the glyph, but they nodded. Roth did too. They all ran for it, Roth’s heart hammering. They were still moving toward the intersection when Jordan’s phone chirped. He glanced at it and then pointed at the SUV that had just pulled up. It was a Chevy Tahoe, metallic gray.
Jordan reached the vehicle first, just as the driver was rolling down the window. “You Jordan?” he asked. “That your group?”
“Yes. We’re late. Need to get somewhere fast or we’ll lose our reservation.”
Jordan pulled open the car door, and the boys both hurried inside.
Roth glanced to the side and saw someone racing toward them, a man with a leather trench coat and a trim beard. His eyes blazed with anger as he sprinted toward the family.
“Go, go, go!” Roth shouted, climbing into the vehicle.
Jordan noticed the man coming too and hurried into the passenger seat.
“What’s wrong, man?” asked the driver in confusion.
“Move! Now!” Jordan barked. He put away the phone and reached for his Glock.
“Dude, I’m just an Uber driver!” exclaimed the stranger, holding up his hands.
“Step on it!” Jordan roared.
The driver looked panicked, but he obeyed the order. He pulled into the street and began to accelerate. A car honked and swerved to avoid hitting them.
“Seat belts,” Roth said, scrambling to secure his own. The chase on the autobahn was still fresh in his mind. They could have died. And this time they didn’t have Suki to dispel any magic wards that might be summoned against them. Twisting around in his seat, he looked out the back window of the Tahoe. The man was still running. And gaining on them.
They’d been accelerating down Constitution Avenue, but the driver hit the brakes.
“Go!” Jordan shouted.
“Red light!” the driver said helplessly.
“Run it!”
“Pedestrians!” the driver wailed.
Some pedestrians had triggered the crosswalk light, and Roth could see them passing right in front of their SUV. As soon as they’d cleared the vehicle, Jordan ordered, “Go! Go!”
The driver gunned the engine, and the Tahoe lurched through the intersection.
“I could get arrested,” the driver protested angrily. “This is nuts!”
“Someone’s chasing us,” Jordan said. “They’re back there, going faster than us.”
“Who, the cops?” the driver said with some snark.