The Reckoning

Tori cast another spell, then another. I don’t know what they were, only that the walls started to shake. The cracks from earlier yawned wider. Plaster rained down.

I wanted to do something, anything, but Derek saw me and shouted for me to get back. Then one of the men in a suit hit him with a spell, knocking him forward before his dad slammed an energy bolt into the guy. I stayed where I was, knowing that as much as I wanted to help, I’d only put everyone else in danger trying to protect me.

The building continued to shake, weakened walls and ceiling cracking. White dust rained down, enveloping everyone, and I could catch only glimpses through it, snapshots of the action.

Tori facing off with her mom.

Liz ru

The guard lying unconscious under everyone’s feet.

Derek tackling the main suit, his dad and Simon taking on the other.

Aunt Lauren standing over Dr. Davidoff, gun at the back of his head.

Then, with an earsplitting crack, the ceiling gave way. Huge chunks of plaster and broken wood crashed down. Boxes and crates and filing cabinets toppled through from the attic. The ceiling kept ripping and cracking, and I looked up to see it splitting right over my head. Derek shouted. He hit me, knocking me to the floor and pi

When the hall finally stopped rumbling, I heard Mr. Bae calling for Derek.

“Here,” Derek said. “With Chloe.”

He moved off me and helped me up. I rose, coughing and blinking. I could make out Simon and Mr. Bae safe in the room where we’d hidden earlier.

“Tori?” I heard Liz saying. “Tori!”

I squinted and moved toward her voice; Derek still gripped my arm, staying close. Liz was hunched over Tori.

“Tori!” I yelled.

She lifted her head, brushing a hand over her face. “I-I’m okay.”

As she got up, I looked around frantically for Aunt Lauren. Then I saw her, stirring under a pile of rubble between me and Tori. I leaped forward, but Derek pulled me back.

“Stay there, guys,” Mr. Bae said. “Tori-” He paused and when I looked over, he was staring at her, like he’d only just seen her now, really seen her.

“Dad?” Simon said.

Mr. Bae shook off the surprise and said, slowly, “Tori? Head toward me. That ceiling doesn’t look good.”

I glanced up. Broken timbers and huge pieces of plaster swayed overhead. Boxes teetered on the edge.

Tori looked around. The guard and two guys in suits were almost buried under the rubble. Dr. Davidoff lay on his stomach, not moving. Beside her lay another body-her mother, her eyes open, staring up.

“Ding-dong, the witch is dead,” Tori said. She swayed. Then she made a weird, strangled hiccupping noise, shoulders hunching. “Mom…”

“Tori? Hon?” Mr. Bae called. “I need you to come over here, okay?”

“Aunt Lauren,” I said. “She’s caught-”

“I’ve got it,” Tori said, wiping her sleeve over her face. She bent and started pulling pieces off my aunt.

A plank flew up from the pile behind Tori. Dr. Davidoff’s eyes were open, mentally guiding it. I opened my mouth to scream a warning and Liz raced to grab it, but it swung down, hitting Tori in the back of the head. She fell face-first to the rubble. Aunt Lauren scrambled up, pushing the last pieces of plaster aside. Then she stopped. Dr. Davidoff rose behind her, gun pressed to the back of her neck.

Liz grabbed the plank he’d hit Tori with, but he saw it move and said, “No, Elizabeth.” He swung the gun toward Tori. “Not unless you’d like some company in the afterlife.”

Liz dropped the wood.

Dr. Davidoff moved the gun back to Aunt Lauren. “Pick that board up again, please, Elizabeth, and move in front of me, so I can see where you are.”

She did.

“Now, Kit, I’m going to give you five minutes to take your boys and go. The modifications appear to have succeeded with Simon. As strong as Derek is, he seems normal for a werewolf. Another success. Chloe and Victoria are the problems, but I assure you, they’ll be well cared for. Take your boys and-”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Derek said. “Not without Chloe.”

He stiffened, like he expected me to argue, but I barely heard them talking. My blood roared in my ears, stomach churning, knowing what I had to do, fighting to get past every instinct that screamed against it.

Dr. Davidoff’s eyes lifted to Derek. He frowned, assessing, then nodded. “So be it. I won’t turn down the opportunity to keep our only werewolf subject. Take your son, then, Kit.”

“I’ll take both my sons,” Mr. Bae said. “And Victoria and Chloe and Lauren.”

Dr. Davidoff chuckled. “Still don’t know when to cut your losses, do you? I’d think ten years on the run would have taught you a lesson. Think of everything you gave up, just because I wanted Derek back. I’m sure Simon would have been a lot happier if you hadn’t been so stubborn.”

“Stubborn’s good,” Simon said. “And it runs in the family. I’m not leaving until you give them up, too.”

Derek rubbed the back of my shoulders, mistaking the tightness for fear, not concentration. Simon cast an anxious glance my way as sweat poured down my face. I closed my eyes and focused.

“Go, Chloe,” Aunt Lauren said. “Just go.”

“That’s not how it works,” Dr. Davidoff said. “I can shoot you and Tori before Kit or Derek can take me down. Make up your mind, Kit. There’s a Cabal team on the way, if they haven’t already arrived. Cut your losses and go.”

A shape rose behind Dr. Davidoff. Derek sucked in a breath, then slowly released it and whispered under his breath, encouraging me. Simon and Mr. Bae quickly looked away so Dr. Davidoff wouldn’t turn around.

“You only have a few minutes, Kit,” Dr. Davidoff said.

“Pick up the gun,” I said.

He laughed. “Your aunt knows better than to dive for a gun ten feet away, Chloe.”

“Dr. Davidoff,” I said.

“Yes?”

“Shoot him.”

He frowned, mouth opening. Mrs. Enright’s corpse swayed. Her eyes met mine, rage-filled eyes.

“I said-”

She fired. Dr. Davidoff hung there, mouth working, hole through his chest. Then he dropped. I squeezed my eyes shut and released Mrs. Enright’s soul. When I opened them, Aunt Lauren was crouched beside Dr. Davidoff, fingers to his neck. His ghost stood beside her, staring, confused.

“He’s gone,” I said. “I-I see his spirit.”

Someone shouted. Boots clomped in the distance.

“We have to go,” Mr. Bae said. “Lauren-”

“I’m fine.”

“Derek, grab Tori and follow me.”

We raced out the door just as shouts echoed behind us. Mr. Bae yelled for Simon and Aunt Lauren to get over the wall, as he boosted me and Derek carried Tori. I got to the top, then crouched beside Simon, the two of us helping Derek as Liz ran ahead, shouting the all clear.

As we climbed down, Mr. Bae stood atop the wall, ready to shoot spells at anyone who came out. But no one did-the rubble and the bodies slowed them down long enough for us to get away. By then, Tori was conscious and we ran, all of us, as far and as fast as we could.