Danny hit the floor and looked back. He watched the ghoulish smile on the face of Edgar Sax before he was hit with the 50,000-volt electrical charge of RANN-D’s tasers.

Danny would never know if he’d keyed in the command before or after he saw that. He was pretty sure before, but there was a lot going on.

All he could remember clearly was hearing RANN-D’s treads find traction, tearing up the thick carpet. He saw the robot accelerate in the limited space and lurch forward, shattering the glass surface of Sax’s desk.

Danny saw his robot’s arms lock around Sax’s body.

And then they both went out the window before falling through the empty air and vanishing from sight.

Danny rushed to the gaping hole in the plate glass. Middleton wasn’t a town for skyscrapers. Sax’s office was only on the third floor of his corporate HQ.

But three stories was still a pretty big drop. Especially when a 600-pound robot lands on top of you.

Danny looked at Sax’s body, leaking under the bulk of RANN-D’s torso. Sax’s dead eyes stared up at nothing.

Danny didn’t check on his father. There would be plenty of time to deal with the body, and everything it represented. Sirens sounded in the distance. He knew that Chief Keene would help him with this. He knew that it would all be called self-defense. The evidence was clear and obvious.

At that moment, he only waited for a twitch from RANN-D. Some sign of life.

There was nothing.

It was just another broken toy.

22

All Part of King Jeremy’s Land

Nobody hurts Grace in the house where they keep her. The creepy guy with the tattoos and the evil smile isn’t around. The other guy, the one who opened a magic door, left as soon as he could, as if he was ashamed.

Well, he should be.

She spends all her time locked in an upstairs room with bars on the windows. There is a man named Kirk, and a woman named Susan. They feed her, and make sure she doesn’t make a phone call or anything. Otherwise, they don’t care about her. She realizes quickly that she’s just the side gig.

Their real job is to watch Jeremy.

At first, she only catches glimpses of the little boy when she goes to the bathroom, or when she goes down to the kitchen to eat. (Susan walks her downstairs and back every time. She tells her to behave, or she’ll lock Grace in the basement with the rats. Grace doesn’t need any additional threats. She’s still terrified of what that man promised to do to her dad.)