I pressed the bar on the door, and we burst out of the building, every breath puffing in front of our faces as we ran past the sparsely populated first and second rows, headed straight for the only car in the third. I shoved the key into its slot and twisted, and the car gave a soft thump as all four doors unlocked. We piled in, sirens growing louder in the distance as the colored lights flashed faster and brighter, and my heartbeat raced to match the pace.

Finn sat up front with me and I started the engine as Anabelle slammed her rear door. I shifted into reverse and backed out of the parking spot, thankful that it was too early in the season for snow and ice. Finn twisted to stare out the rear windshield as I pulled out of the lot and onto a back street, determined to take the longer but less visible path to the town gate.

“What’s the plan?” Anabelle whispered, and in the rearview mirror, I saw her wrap one arm around Melanie.

“Some friends—fellow exorcists—are waiting for us between here and Solace.” Assuming they’d shaken the fake exorcists pursuing them.

“You’re an exorcist?” Mellie’s eyes looked huge in the mirror. “You exorcised Mom?” she asked, obviously putting the pieces together, and I nodded. “Is Officer Jennings an exorcist too?”

“No.” He twisted to look at her. “My real name is Finn, and I don’t always look like this,” he said, and when she started to ask another question, he shook his head. “It’s complicated, but I promise I’ll explain everything once we’re out of town. For now, we need to be quiet.”

We rolled down darkened streets with the headlights off, pulling into alleys and onto dark shoulders whenever another vehicle approached. I turned left a block from the wall so we could approach the gate head-on, and for several moments I let the car roll slowly forward, still unnoticed, while we evaluated the situation.

“I only see two guards,” Finn said. “They must still think you’re in custody at the courthouse.”

“There will be more patrolling the perimeter,” Anabelle said.

“We have to go now, before the patrol brings them close to the gate.” I slowed to a quiet stop in the middle of the dark street. “But Finn will have to drive, with Anabelle up front. They’ll recognize me and Mellie.”

After a moment of hesitation, Anabelle nodded. I put the car in park, then crawled into the backseat with Melanie while Finn slid into position behind the wheel and Anabelle buckled herself in next to him. He pushed back the sleeves of his police cassock, then shifted into drive and took his foot off the break. Mellie and I huddled on the rear floorboard, our heads pressed together, trying to see through the windshield between the front seats.

My heart thumped so hard my rib cage felt bruised as our stolen car slowly approached the wall I’d been trapped behind nearly every day of my life. The wheels rolled over the first speed bump, and Anabelle flinched. Her teeth chattered, a nervous habit certain to catch the guard’s attention.