His answer was nearly instantaneous. sending to cpd. keep me posted.

“You got the info?” Theo asked.

“Yeah. And told Roger.”

“Then let’s lose these assholes.”

If I was being honest, I wasn’t sure he could do it. The Pack’s SUV was a solid ride, but people didn’t usually add running board lights to vehicles they hadn’t already souped up.

But I clearly hadn’t managed my expectations of my partner effectively—that had been the lesson on my first day of my official Ombud training—as I nearly squealed when he whipped the vehicle down a side road with the skill of a racer.

The purple car accelerated, and rubber squealed in the darkness as they took the turn behind us. With smooth aplomb, Theo accelerated again, made another turn, and swerved around a minivan that was taking a much more leisurely route to its destination. The purple car moved in again, and Theo skimmed through a light just before it turned. The car followed despite the red light through a barrage of horns.

“Assholes,” Theo muttered, “disrespecting the law like that,” and turned hard enough to have me grabbing the door. He drove to the next light, turned again, and then we were racing toward South Gate.

That’s when I felt the shudder, the vibration that seemed to rise up from the ground but rippled through the air.

“What is that?” Rose asked.

“Earthquake?” said Theo.

“I don’t know,” I said, and kept my eyes on the road, scanning for danger. But the car, while closing the gap, was still nearly a hundred yards behind us.

The air went heavy and cold, and the SUV slogged, the engine revving as it tried to push its way through the semisolid slurry the air had become. There was magic here, and not of the pleasant variety.

That slurry became nearly solid, and the SUV rocked like a giant had taken a swing at it. The vehicle swung hard to the left, tires skidding as inertia battled magic. Theo grunted as he worked to keep the wheel straight, but I felt the tires leave the road and prayed we wouldn’t flip—or hurt the woman we’d been trying to save.

We made a complete circle and came to a grinding halt, the vehicle hitting asphalt again with a resounding thud.

“What the hell was that?” Theo asked.

“Magic,” I said.

“What are you doing?” Rose demanded. The tears were pouring now, her eyes wheeling with fear. “You have to keep going! We can’t fight them. We don’t have the power.”

“Whatever it is, it stopped our car,” Theo said, trying to turn the engine over. It made no sound.

Adrenaline started pumping again.

Rose cursed, turned again to watch the road, as if monsters would emerge behind us. “Shit. They’re going to kill me.”

“They aren’t,” I said. “Theo and I aren’t going to let anything happen to you.”

She wasn’t convinced. “You said you’d help me get out. Does this look like help to you?” Her voice was nearing hysteria.