Lycan Legacy - Paladin: Tales of Luna White - Werewolf Veronica Singer (children's ebooks online txt) 📖

“Will this work?” he gasped.

“Only one way to find out,” I said as I channeled the last scraps of my magic into the amulet.

Manny jerked his feet up onto the dashboard and covered his head with his arms.

Alisha said, “Oh, shit!” and closed her eyes.

Mike jammed the gas pedal to the floorboard and raced headlong at the arrayed soldiers and vehicles.

21

The eyes of the soldiers in our path widened in fear as our vehicle came at them, faster and faster. The soldier directly in front of us had barely enough time to drop his weapon and turn to jump—then we were on them.

A portal appeared behind the soldiers, but in front of the ATCs. I grunted with effort and the portal expanded to my maximum capacity. Would it be large enough for the SUV to pass through? Would the exit be far enough away to allow us to escape?

“Mother Mary, full of grace—” whispered Mike as we touched the portal.

Then we were through, exiting a mere two meters past the idling ATCs. Mike hit the gas again and we sped away. On this side of the barrier, all traffic and pedestrians had been cleared away.

Mike’s prayer trailed off, then he shouted, “We made it!”

Manny and Alisha peeked out and said at the same time, “We’re alive!”

Mike looked left and right. “We lost the side mirrors though. Cutting it kind of close, Luna?”

“What happened?” asked Manny.

“They moved,” lied Mike. “We managed to barely scrape past.”

Manny and Alisha nodded in unison, accepting the impossible escape.

“Turn right at the next intersection and the embassy is two blocks down,” said Manny.

I turned around to get one last look at our would-be captors. The ATCs were already moving, maneuvering to turn in our direction.

“The assholes are still going to chase us,” I said.

“Don’t worry,” said Mike with confidence. “They can’t get into the embassy.”

Five minutes later, a red-faced Marine was shouting at us, “No! You can’t get into the embassy!”

I didn’t mind the shouts, but he was backed up by dozens of armed Marines.

“Fucking jarheads,” said Manny, and Mike nodded along.

I used my best ‘speaking to idiots’ voice and told the Marine, “We’re US citizens and we’re being pursued by criminals. If you would just call the CIA station chief, he can verify our claims.”

At my rear, Manny muttered, “CIA. I knew it.”

I ignored his comment. At our back the Saudi ATCs and over fifty soldiers and police were gathered, held back only by the presence of the armed US military. More soldiers were arriving by the minute.

An overweight man in a three-piece suit walked through the crowd of Marines, who parted before him like he was Moses.

The Marine sergeant hurried over and huddled with the man. From this distance, I could tell little about him. He matched the description I had been given, but until he came close enough to exchange code phrases, I couldn’t be certain whether he was our contact or not.

The sergeant raced back with a grim smile on his face. “I’ve been given orders concerning your situation.”

“Great. Now open the damn gate before these idiots shoot us in the back.”

His smile grew wider. “My orders are to leave the gates locked and pull my men back. You’re on your own. Now get your asses back in that POS car and clear off of Embassy property.”

“What the hell?” I shouted. But he ignored me and began ordering his men to stand down.

“Damn CIA,” said Manny. “They’ll screw you every time.”

The wind shifted, bringing the scent of the packed Marines and embassy personnel our way. The slightest whiff of sulfur tipped me off.

Just as something tipped off my enemy. The fat man’s eyes locked with mine, the tiny flicker of demon red giving away his secret.

“He’s a demon,” Mike and I said at the same time.

I didn’t have much energy left, but the loudspeaker spell didn’t take much.

I shouted in a voice like thunder, “Asshole! I’ll bring the wrath of God down on your head.”

At my side, Mike said, “That sounds like what I would say.”

That gave me an idea because it was exactly something Mike would say.

“Exorcise the asshole, Mike,” I said. “Before he scuttles back into his hole.”

“He’s too far away. He won’t hear me.”

I shifted the focal point of my loudspeaker spell so t was in front of Mike’s mouth. “He’ll hear you now, no matter where he hides.”

“Exorcisamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio infernal-is adversarii,” Mike began, his voice booming out across the city.

The fat man covered his ears, face screwed up in terror, and sprinted away. He moved a lot faster than any fat man I had ever seen. Then his fancy leather-soled shoes slipped and he sprawled, scraping his face against the pavement.

My heart leaped with joy—then I ran out of juice for the spell. Mike’s booming voice dropped to normal volume. The fat man jumped to his feet and ran away with his hands over his ears.

Mike stopped now that his enemy was gone. His expression betrayed his disappointment and he said, “I’m sorry I failed you.”

“You’ve never failed me,” I said.

Then we turned to face the local army.

We walked past the open-doored SUV, Mike on the driver’s side and me on the passenger’s side. Even if we could drive away, there was nowhere safe for us in this entire country.

Manny exited the front passenger’s seat with a .45 in his hand. Not much use against a mini-army, but useful as a last act of defiance.

I stopped beside the open rear door and reached inside to stroke Logan’s head, sending him a last surge of moonlight magic. Maybe he would live a bit longer.

I extruded a razor-sharp claw and sliced Alisha’s seatbelt open. “Try to get them to let your dad get help. He only wanted the best for you.”

Mike, Manny, and I stopped at the rear of the SUV, facing the barrels of hundreds of weapons. Undoubtedly, many of these would be