The monster flopped down, and Adare shoved the heavy body off. The guy would be out for a while. Adare crouched against the vehicle to take in the scene. It was dark enough that the Kurjans probably didn’t need the caps they’d donned, and there was no sight of the sun beneath the clouds. Damn it. He wouldn’t mind the sun frying the bastards. Two Kurjans remained on the other side of the vehicle from him, shooting wildly at the SUV while Jacqueline leaned around the side and returned fire.

At the rear of the SUV, Benny fought hand-to-hand with the final Kurjan, their movements so fast they were only blurs. Blood spurted from them both, and the glint of silver could barely be seen through the storm.

Adare was too big to roll beneath the sedan, so he edged toward the front, planning to jump over and take down one of the shooters.

Two more vehicles burst up the road, traveling so fast the gravel beneath the ice spun up.

“Grace? Get into the SUV and lock the doors,” he bellowed. “If you have to, drive out of here.” It was doubtful she’d make it past the other two SUV’s headed up the drive. He plunged his blade into the front left tire of the Kurjans’ sedan and slid to the back to take care of the other one.

Benny punched through the throat of the Kurjan he was fighting and tossed the body to the ground, instantly stomping on the neck to decapitate the enemy. This Kurjan had red hair with black tips, and his pale skin melded with the snow as the head rolled away.

If there were eight more Kurjan soldiers in the oncoming vehicles, Adare had to get Grace inside the house and now. They could defend that position until reinforcements arrived.

Benny ran around the SUV, firing over his shoulder at the two shooters, no doubt deciding the same thing.

Adare took a deep breath, caught Jacqueline’s eye, and she nodded, prepared to provide cover. She partially stood just as he bunched to run, sliding across the ice to the SUV and around it, landing behind her and pressing his back to the vehicle. “Thanks.”

She ducked down, excitement dancing in her eyes. “Plan?”

Grace crouched on her knees, her hands on the SUV. “I need a gun,” she said, her eyes wide.

He reached to the back of his waist for the Max-20, one of the Realm’s most deadly firearms, and handed it over. “Aim for center mass.”

She took the weapon and it looked far too large in her delicate hands, which were shaking. The cold had turned her skin pink, but her movements were deliberate.