“In that case, we definitely need to go down to the Center. It’s way safer down there than it is up here,” Michaela said.

“Why are you guys up here and not in the Bullpen anyway?” Sarah Beth asked. “They’ve got steel doors down there. Nobody could break in, not even Victor.”

“We were up here praying and locating when the power went out,” Corbin said. “We’ve been stuck up here ever since.”

“Then how did the elevator work for me?” Sarah Beth said.

“I . . . I don’t know,” Corbin said, screwing up her face and looking back and forth between Josh and Michaela. “You needed it and I sent it.”

“The power must be back on!” Josh said, his face lighting up with hope. “Let’s go.”

Corbin shook her head. “Josh, look around. There’s no lights anywhere. The power is still off for the whole campus.”

“But that doesn’t make any sense! Are you suggesting the power came back just . . . just long enough for Sarah Beth to ride the elevator up?” he stammered, frustration and fear seeping through into this voice.

Corbin shrugged. “I’m not suggesting anything . . . all I know is what happened. The elevator worked for Sarah Beth when she needed it to, but it definitely doesn’t have power now.”

“It’s like a miracle,” Michaela said.

“I didn’t say that,” Corbin came back.

You didn’t have to, Sarah Beth thought. What other explanation could there be ?

Corbin looked at her and smiled and she smiled back as they shared their thoughts. The older girl’s confidence and courage buoyed her own, and despite the risk, Sarah Beth knew what they needed to do.

“I hate to say it, guys, but it looks like it’s up to us to save our friends,” she said.

Michaela shook her head and took a step back. “No way. We can’t stand against Victor.”

“Sarah Beth is right. He’s going to go after the kids who are hiding. They’re all dead if we don’t do something,” Corbin added. “And don’t forget, just because we’re in the Sanctuary and the other kids are in the tornado shelter, it doesn’t mean we’re safe. Victor doesn’t need to touch us to hurt us . . . The mind is his weapon of choice.”

“Yeah, but he can’t get into all of our heads at the same time,” Michaela said. “There’s only one of him, and more than two hundred of us, if you count the little kids.”

“Um, that might not be entirely true,” Sarah Beth said, wincing as the words came out.

“What do you mean?” Michaela snapped.

“When Victor was coming after me, it felt like—I don’t know—like he wasn’t alone. It was as if he had an invisible army running behind him. Or with him . . . At first, I thought maybe my mind was playing tricks on me because I heard dozens of voices and hundreds of footsteps. When I looked back, I saw only him, but his face was changing again and again. Corbin, is it possible for a Dark One to be possessed by more than one demon?”