“We will, but if you have a phone, you might want to call the police,” I said as a pair of arms reached for me from the outside. Before I could get away, they coiled around my waist and yanked, slamming my hips and shoulders against the side of the SUV.

“I’ve got the girl with the hair!” the owner of the arms called, and the answering hoots of excitement told me they were all coming on the run. I reached for one of my knives, but a second pair of arms joined the first, and then I could barely move at all. I was bracing myself to be pulled into the night air and surrounded by Mazikin when a bat slammed down on my attacker, breaking bone with a dull snap. I turned my head to see Ian hunched behind me with a baseball bat, his eyes blazing.

“You told me to be ready,” he huffed, and then raised the bat and smacked another Mazikin dead in the face.

The rear doors of the SUV flew open as we were attacked on all sides. Mazikin tried to crawl through the shattered windows, but apparently Ian had warned Levi, too, because the guy was standing protectively over Jillian as he pulled a bat from his overstuffed duffel. He and Ian each took a side, swinging with deadly precision, temporarily holding the Mazikin off. With that cover, Malachi tugged his backpack from under a seat, and from it he pulled his baton, and handed another to Jim. We’d hidden extra supplies in our overnight bags in case the fight ended up in the parking lot. Malachi and Jim pushed out the back of the SUV, extending their batons into staffs and driving back the Mazikin mob waiting outside.

From over Malachi’s shoulder, I could see we’d already cut their numbers. We were now facing off with fewer than twenty, but they all seemed determined to get to me. Rage burned in my chest, shooting strength to my hands and fingers. I tugged my gloves up my arms, reassured by the weight along my knuckles, knowing Michael hadn’t been kidding when he’d said I could punch through concrete. I drew a knife in each hand and got ready to jump from the back and carve my way through our enemies.

A shout of pain from behind me was all the warning I had before arms wrapped around my waist, dragging me back into the depths of the SUV. A hand clamped over my mouth, and something metal scraped against my cheek. A heavy gold watch. I screamed against his palm as I realized who had been giving the Mazikin so much information about us. Greg. I didn’t know when or how they’d enticed him. Judging by the Hugo Boss tux and the watch, they’d paid him well to be their spy, and they’d certainly gotten their money’s worth.