I used my foot and my flight to push him in Weld’s direction. The Fallen soldier landed on his ass at Weld’s feet, and Weld stepped on one of his calves. I could hear the bone crack.

A young ‘punk’ Fallen in the group surrendered, dropping to his knees, hands up. One Fallen hefted a baseball bat while approaching his surrendering kin, but then backed off as Weld quickly advanced on him.

It hardly mattered. Maybe the bat would have been more merciful. The surrendering Fallen slumped over and fell to the ground, eyes wide, twitching. No screams, only a near-immediate catatonia.

Those who remained looked and saw, and then they turned toward the most vulnerable target they could see—me.

I hit the ground to spray them with dirt and mud, flying back a little, and one of the dogs lunged in, trampling them.

Weld and I remained where we were, checking that nobody was going to get up anytime soon. We relaxed when they didn’t.

Well, insofar as I could relax, seeing the person Mama Mathers had taken out.

“You get Mathered?” I asked.

Weld glanced at me, then tapped his ear. He turned his head to show me.

No ear canal. He’d welded his ears shut. It was one way to do things.

I gestured, and he nodded. We headed back to where the others were at the more fortified wall, a short distance into the woods proper. Another wall was at the wood’s edge—this group had to have climbed it, and beyond it were the two farmhouses that were near. The denser settlement was a few minutes of jogging beyond the closest farmhouse.

We’d have to leave the fallen Fallen where they were.

As I rejoined the others, I could see more signs of fighting. Fallen had flanked this group.

Prancer’s group was struggling, but these capes knew what they were doing. Sveta, Narwhal, Vista, Capricorn—Rain was just about the only cape present who didn’t have a lot of experience in crisis situations.

Parian was at the far end of the clearing with Foil. As she rejoined us, she tossed something at me, levitating it with her telekinesis. I caught it.

Cloth set around beads or something hard, with thread binding it shut. I saw her tap her ear, and I nodded.

The makeshift earplugs fit snugly, and the cords trailed out a bit.

Rachel looked annoyed. She said something, and nobody could hear her. Imp laid a hand on her arm, indicating her ear, and she gave Imp a more annoyed look.

I turned to Rain, and waited as he typed his message into his phone.

Missing dog.

I raised a hand, then did my best to indicate with gestures that I’d look.

If someone or a group of someones was capable of tying up a dog, then there was a chance it was one of the more problematic factors in play.