And that was unacceptable.

  Nils had always demanded unswerving loyalty from his underlings. That was magnified in the current struggle. He needed Couch’s continued loyalty now more than before. This was why he’d made the additions to his bunker.

  The underground facility beneath the Department of Magical Containment headquarters in the capital had additional apartments on other levels. Kane originally built them for the staff he thought he’d need as his plans advanced. But that was before he’d discovered the powers of the Fell. Since then, the bunker’s other levels were mostly unused.

  Now the floor below his was occupied by the general’s wife and children. They had been moved there by a Red Leg security team the previous evening while Couch was in Baltimore preparing for the assault. On the surface, the move was for their own safety. But Couch would see it for what it was.

  The final pin in Nils’ control of the general. It ensured the man’s loyalty no matter his feelings. Nils smiled as he turned to look at the security monitors. The cameras installed in the Couch family quarters showed the general’s wife and two children, a boy and girl, seated on the floor. They looked like they were reading a book.

  How quaint.

  Nils had greeted the general’s wife the evening before. The children’s horrified reaction reminded him of how he’d changed and sent him on an efficient retreat. He had wanted to lash out at the screaming children behind the cowering wife, but right now he needed them.

  Perhaps after Couch had fulfilled his purpose, Nils would spend some time with the family on his terms. His lips parted in a gap-toothed smile, thinking about all the fun he could have. Children had so much vitality. So energetic. Transforming them with the Fell’s power was so enjoyable.

  Nils spent several minutes watching the mother and children, imagining their screams as he played with them.

  It would be worth the wait.

  Turning from the screen, Nils started his painful, shuffling limp towards the conference room. Couch should be there waiting by now. It would be interesting to show him what had happened to his family.

  His devotion to them was a key human weakness, one that Nils himself was never stupid enough to have. He’d tried to kill his own daughter on several occasions, and he would continue to seek her demise.

  Couch could learn a lot from his leader’s example.

  The general was examining the national map when Nils entered the room. He turned and almost hid his disgust.

  Nils chose not to notice.

  “Three days have passed. Are you ready?”

  “That’s something I wanted to discuss,” Couch said. “I still wonder if there isn’t a way we could evacuate the loyal citizens before we bombard the city and … release your creatures.”

  “Are you questioning me?” Nils limped a step toward the general. “Are you implying that you might not execute my orders and implement my plans?”

  “I am merely wondering if there isn’t an alternative to such a severe approach, sir.”

  “If there was another way to do what must be done, then I would have ordered you to do it already. Unfortunately, this city is the sacrifice that is required. Only my Fell creatures can close the nexus, and they need sustenance.”

  Couch paused, started to say something, but couldn’t.

  “If you have something to say, General, now is the time to say it. I do delight in your candor.”

  “Sir, there are thousands of women and children in the city. If only there were a way to evacuate even some of them, I’m sure the world would be grateful.”

  “Like you’re grateful, General Couch?”

  “Sir?”

  “I’ve spent the last ten years grooming your career so you’d be in a position to assume leadership of the armed forces. Now, when I issue you a direct order, you look for ways to circumvent my plans. That is not the action of a man loyal to his leader.”

  “Director Kane, I have always been loyal. I am only offering suggestions that might benefit you in the future.”

  “Perhaps before I might have believed you, Philip. But I think you are having doubts about this fight. And that is something I cannot allow.”

  Nils turned and picked up a remote from the table, thumbing a button as he pointed it at a monitor mounted in the corner.

  Couch turned and looked at the screen.

  Nils smiled as the color drained from the general’s face.

  “I thought it best, in the face of the renewed rebel threat, to relocate your wife and children to the relative safety here in this bunker system,” Nils said. “They are completely safe for the time being, enjoying my hospitality.”

  “Sir … ”

  “As I said. Your loyalty has been flagging. I’ve seen it over these last few weeks, especially. I suppose it isn’t your fault. Not everyone possesses my resolve or vision for what must be.”

  Nils rose and limped over to place a hand on Couch’s shoulder.

  “They’re safe here. There’s plenty of food and water, and I’ll keep my minions away from their level entirely. No need to frighten the children. As long as you obey my orders, promptly and to the letter, I see no reason for any of that to change.”

  Nils turned Couch’s head with a tap on his chin.

  “Do we understand each other, General?”

  “Yes sir,” he said, in barely a whisper.

  But that wouldn’t do. “I’m sorry, General Couch, I did not hear you.”

  “I said, yes, sir. I will obey your orders and do my very best to fulfill your expectations. Only … ” Couch turned back to look at the monitor. “Don’t hurt them. Please, they’re all I have.”

  “As I said, General, I’m keeping them safe. Do as I say and you have nothing to fear. Now, I believe you have an assault to implement. I’ve sent the artillery shells to your units on Baltimore’s outskirts. The cases are clearly marked.”

  “Yes, sir,” Couch said, rising and giving the director a bow. “By your leave, I’ll return to Baltimore and begin the assault.”

  “I’m sure it will be a resounding success. If this doesn’t bring Durham out of hiding, nothing will.”

  The general’s back was ramrod-straight, stiff as he walked from the room. Couch had been shaken by the revelation about his family’s captivity, but he’d managed to maintain control for the most part.

  Nils was sure there would be no further problems with his loyalty moving forward. After he disappeared up the stairs, returning to the surface, Nils picked up the remote and turned up the volume.

  Mrs. Couch was still sitting on the floor. Both of the small children were seated on her lap and she was rocking them, softly singing a lullaby. He listened as she sang—a song that promised to keep the evil away.

  He laughed aloud.

  The woman had no idea of his plans. No clue what was coming for her and her children. No nursery rhyme or lullaby could keep them safe. Not from him. No matter how many times she sang it to them.

  This was his time, his hour of triumph. The assault on Baltimore signaled the beginning of the end for all the Fae magic and power that sustained this failing world. Once it was gone, the Fell magic would be free to consume everything, and Nils Kane would be left with an entire world to rule as his own.

  Chapter 10

  General Couch stepped into the command tent and surveyed the activity around him. He’d called in the orders to prepare for the assault. His first officer had questioned him at first. Major Beckett knew what he’d planned to do during his meeting with Director Kane and wondered why he wasn’t able to postpone the attack. Couch had put him off with a curt dismissal before disconnecting the call.

  Beckett came over as soon as Couch entered.

  “General, I thought we were going to postpone the attack so that evacuations could be started.”

  “Major, that plan has been superseded by exigent needs for the whole country. We must press on, despite the casualties.”

  The major opened his mouth but Couch cut him off.

  “That is a direct order, Major. I expect you to carry it out.”

  “Yes, sir,” Beckett said. “I’ll have the order to stand ready passed along to the troops. If I may ask, how soon will we start the bombardment?”

  “As soon as all the units report that they’re ready.”

  Beckett turned away to pass the word but Couch stopped him. “Major, arrest and replace any officer who refuses to follow orders to fire on the city. This is a war for the survival of everything we hold dear. We cannot allow sentimentality to impede our victory.”

  “Yes, sir. I understand, sir,” Beckett said before turning away and passing the orders to the communications technicians.

  But Couch was sure that he didn’t understand. It was true, everything Couch held dear in the world was at risk. His mind spun through a hundred possible ways he could free and keep them from harm. None held any hope of success, so that left him no choice. Baltimore’s destruction was sealed. Same for the people inside it.

  He held himself to blame and, if there was an afterlife, he’d pay the price when the bill was due. He’d gladly suffer eternal damnation if that was what it took to keep Marla and the kids safe from Kane’s twisted vision for the world.

  Couch turned his back on his staff as tears sprang to his eyes. He wiped them away, making it look like he was mopping his brow against the heat in the stuffy tent. Turning back to face them, he scanned their faces.

  “Update, please, Beckett.”

  “All units report they’re prepared for the final order to fire, sir.”

  The major’s stilted, formal response showed he was battling his own doubts. He was a capable soldier and first officer, but in situations like this it was difficult to remain loyal, as the general well knew.

  Beckett had no family to use as leverage and might decide that enough was enough. He might try to mutiny against Couch. He’d have to watch the man. There might be a need to transfer him to a more dangerous assignment, one where survival would be difficult if not downright impossible.

  They were on a ridge to the west of town that gave them a view of the city’s edge and part of the downtown neighborhoods. He took a deep breath, staring out at the metropolis below, wondering what personal damnation felt like.

  “Pass the order, Major Beckett. Fire.”

  Couch listened to Beckett pass the order to the communications techs.

  A few moments later, the large artillery units placed around the city fired simultaneously, their shells arching out over the city before falling inside it.

  The first explosions of Kane’s newly created shells began in the center of the city. Strange blue fire erupted from buildings downtown. Windows blew outward. Taller structures collapsed to crush smaller buildings beneath them.

  The shelling continued for several minutes, then on orders from Beckett and according to plan, the barrage spread outward, in an ever-widening circle towards the city’s fringes. The line of blue fire followed the shelling, devouring buildings and people as it swept everything in its path.

  More tall buildings collapsed as the business district came under attack. Couch imagined monuments to past leaders and national victories falling. Museums filled with priceless artwork, parks destroyed by the strange blue fire released by Kane’s magical charges.

  Most of all, the general thought of the people he’d tried to save, now already consumed by the flames. He hoped it was a quick death. That was the most he could hope for, and the most he dared to wish for them.

  “Sir,” Beckett called. “Watch this. It just came in from one of our remote monitoring stations inside the city. The signal is still sending despite the shelling.”

  Couch turned to look at his first officer’s tablet. The major tapped the display and for a moment Couch had trouble understanding what he was seeing.

  Then it came to him and his heart sank deeper into oblivion.

  The camera showed a mass of people rushing past as the bombs fell around them, blue fire erupting everywhere. Whenever the fire touched a person, they stopped and fell to the ground, their bodies contorting into twisted forms, twisting into something else before his eyes.

  After the shelling, victims who’d lived through the barrage began to rise.

  But they were no longer people. Now they were monsters.

  “Shut down all the internal surveillance camera feeds, Major. And destroy that video. We don’t need anyone else seeing that.”

  “Yes, sir,” Major Beckett said.

  Couch could hear everything that the Major was thinking in those two tiny words. The general shook his head. Time for that transfer.

  Kane’s plan for the city was ingenious. The bulk of its inhabitants would be changed into monsters. Any survivors would be killed and consumed by the creatures that stayed behind. Total destruction.

  If this was the plan moving forward for all the rebellious cities around the country, there wouldn’t be much in the way of a population to rule over once Kane was finished.

  And perhaps that was his plan all along.

  “Major, notify me when the shelling is finished. I’ll be in my command truck.”

  Couch had seen enough. Now he had to vomit.

  Chapter 11

  Everyone was there to celebrate the wedding. Morgan’s friends in logistics found white streamers and even enough ingredients for a large wedding cake to decorate the officers’ mess for the event.

  Winnie was impressed with what they’d managed in only three days. With Danny’s help, she’d been able to find and print out the words for a simple wedding ceremony adapted from the civil ceremonies used in court houses around the country. Now she stood at the head of the aisle created by rows of chairs, awaiting her sister to join the groom.

  Victor stood at the top of the aisle, Danny standing beside him as best man. On the opposite side, Maria DeSantos stood in her role as maid of honor, a job that might have fallen to Winnie in other circumstances.

  There was a wave from the rear. Tris stood to signal that Morgan was ready to enter. A few moments later, the Wedding March played over the room’s speakers and Morgan stepped out from the alcove by the mess hall entrance.

  She was beautiful. Her white dress was simple, looking more like an outfit for a spring picnic than a true wedding gown. But that didn’t matter. It was the perfect outfit for this setting. Morgan’s long brown hair was piled high, with mountain wildflowers woven into her braids.

  Winnie glanced at Danny, feeling a tickle of envy, wondering when he might ask her to marry him. But she muffled the thought as soon as it entered her head. Their relationship had been rocky; a sudden proposal wasn’t going to fix what was slowly breaking between them. And besides, the day belonged to Morgan. Winnie’s thoughts should, too.

  Morgan’s parents couldn’t be there, so Garraldi stood in for her father, walking Morgan down the aisle. Her mother and father were back in Baltimore and it had been decided not to take the risk of reaching out and trying to bring them back here to Promise Point. As far as they knew, their daughter had died in the attack on Fort Brick.

  Winnie waited while the assembled guests, about fifty in all, stood and watched the bride go by. Tris wiped away her tears as Morgan passed her.

  Morgan was beaming—the happiest woman in the world. Despite being in the middle of a war for their very existence, Morgan had managed to find a moment of peace and happiness. She had a baby on the way and a wonderful man to stand beside her.

  Winnie was happy for her on her perfect day. She opened her mouth to welcome the guests and start reading through the script that she and Danny had prepared for the ceremony. But a shout from the corridor outside the mess hall stopped her.

  Another shout, then a Duster corporal came charging into the room.

  The woman looked around, eyes wide as if she just realized what she was doing. Everyone stared daggers, waiting for her to explain the interruption.

  She shook it off and called out to Winnie. “Commander Durham, you have to come see something right away.”

  “Corporal,” Winnie said. “Don’t you think it can wait fifteen minutes?”

  “I don’t think so, ma’am. The duty officer knew where you were and told me to fetch you anyway. He says you have to come see this right now.”

  “All of you, remain here,” Winnie said to the assembled guests, her heart pounding, and her skin suddenly on fire. “I’m sure whatever it is can be resolved quickly. We’ll resume the ceremony soon. I’ll send word once I get up there and know about how long I’ll be.”

  She stepped off the riser then started down the aisle to accompany the corporal back upstairs to the command center. Maria and Garraldi stepped in behind her, followed by Victor, Morgan, Danny and Tris.

  Winnie heard the distant explosions long before she reached the command center. Every eye in the room was glued to a series of comm surveillance windows enlarged in the center of the wall of windows.

  Winnie entered the cluster of techs, searching for the officer on duty. She found him standing in the center and shouldered past the others to greet him. They were oblivious to her presence, all attention on the windows before them.

  Another series of explosions shook the scene on the other side of the windows. Strange blue fire erupted in the foreground. Winnie raised a hand to shield her face from the blaze. But of course she felt nothing—this was a comm window, not a portal.

  “Lieutenant,” Winnie shouted over the racket. “What’s going on here? Where is this?”

  “Thank God you’re here,” the young lieutenant exclaimed.

  “Where is that?” Winnie repeated, pointing at the windows.

  “Baltimore. They’ve set to destroying the whole city from what we can tell. They’re using some sort of magically enhanced bombs to not only demolish the buildings, but to alter the people trying to escape.”

  “Altering them how?” Victor asked.

  “Sir, the blue fire seems to transform people into beasts, like those we saw back at the Brick.”

  The lieutenant pointed to the nearest window. “Look, there’s a group of people trying to escape. You’ll see.”