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The resulting fireball hit the Anarki dead on The roar and heat of the blaze singed the heads off the first row of zo near The second row paused their catatonicvictim to the fire

Then the aerosol froain

One stepped over his fallen co and tried to twist away, but the door and the wall of zoasped suddenly and clutched her arer!” sheacross the pristine white sleeve

At the sight, Caden’s protective instincts rocketed to life He cli over zo any who stood in his path

A corpse grabbed Sydney, pinning her to the wall and squeezing her neck As theand choking rose above the din Her eyes bulged in panic Red suffused her face as she flailed and fought

Caden leapt over two ues stood in his way, evil pouring fro low, Caden clutched his knife, then looked back up at the zombie in shock

Brian, his Marine buddy The pasty white face and vacant eyes had thrown him, but that sandy hair, the scar on his chin, the patch that read Halstead across his chest proclai platoon mate He sed, unable to move, breathe

“Brian?”

No reaction except a malevolent smile as he reached for Caden’s throat

Kill him!

Shock’s voice roared in his head Hoas that possible?

Kill him before he tears you to pieces, Shock de but a creepy s ever closer When Caden heard Sydney screaed the knife into Brian’s neck and ripped down viciously, nearly tearing his head frorief, and relief crushing him inside, Caden stepped over the body and scrambled to Sydney’s side He had to compartmentalize Brian’s death now and deal with the present

He grabbed the zo her throat and pushed hi after the first blow, so Caden delivered twoback to Sydney, he saw that another zo the wall More blood spread across the shirt at her waist The white cotton was torn and a few inches of ragged flesh peeked through She cried out and fell to her knees, pain slashing across her expression The zo her to the floor withto reach her in tiertips tingle A swell of energy bounded inside hi toward the Anarki Seely of their own volition, his arlass shards flew past him and embedded sharp points into the zoled, and the creature fell to the ground

He’d done ic Dear God No time to dwell on it, whether to rail or cheer Instead, Caden charged toward Sydney A fresh swarm of Anarki were headed her way With one hand, she clutched her handbag With the other, she scooted away fro an expression of utter terror

Caden couldn’t see Bram and the rest of the Doo Sydney

With superhuman speed, he reached his little firecracker before the Anarki and grabbed her against his body, avoiding her injured shoulder She wrapped one arainst his side as he raced out the front door of the warehouse and reached into his pocket to set off the warning charge An explosion just outside the building rattled the walls and sent up flaet out before he blew the whole building to kingdo sun filtered through gray clouds, lending barely enough light to see Sydney’s wounds The shape of the slashes told hied her flesh on a nail—or those Anarki bastards had pushed her on it—as she tried to get away She needed direct pressure and stitches immediately

Caden stripped off his shirt and rolled her to her back, easing the cloth against the deepest of her wounds “Lie still We’ll be out of here soon”

She nodded “I got the fil it to all of oing to save hers? But noasn’t the ti to happen

Braed from the warehouse, two of the captured soldiers who hadn’t yet been converted into Anarki behind hied next with another three Ice and Tynan each brought a handful more Caden wished one of those saved could have been Brian He didn’t even have to close his eyes to relive the horrifying ed the knife into his friend’s neck God, Brian

Still, Mathias had killed him, and Brian hadn’t been Caden’s friend anyuilt would hurt like hell, but he had saved Sydney

And he’d used h his palhs treic, she’d likely be dead

Shoving the thought aside, Caden looked at his watch Five, four, threewhere was Marrok?

Just then, the ed with nearly twenty of Mathias’s prisoners They all looked shell-shocked and confused by what they’d seen And why not? It wasn’t every day a ic

“Blow it!” Bram shouted

Caden didn’t hesitate He pressed the button in his pocket The entire warehouse detonated in a flash of fire, glass, and dust The Doomsday Brethren stepped back as bodies flew Sydney shrieked Fla air, and the structure collapsed What was left of its walls were singed black as the pop and hiss of fire ate anything in its path

Mission accomplished He only hoped that Mathias was still inside

Bram tossed one soldier a cell phone “Dial nine-nine-nine Tell the in front of the American Embassy”

“But we aren’t there,” the confused soldier challenged

Just then, Shock appeared and waved his wand They all turound in a deep slumber

“Da Caden’s shirt to her wound “I wanted to interview them”

“Hell no!” Caden barked