Ruddy hit a pothole big enough to take the wheel off. The tension he’d been trying so hard to ignore flared up. “Dammit!”

  Corey sat up, rubbing his face. He stretched.

  “You’re doing a good job,” Xeke said. “Just keep it slow.”

  “I still think you should drive,” Ruddy said. “If you’d been driving on the way up, things would have turned out better.”

  “You can’t know that,” Xeke said. “People have been known to drive off cliffs in storms like that. I couldn’t see the road any better than you could.”

  Ruddy grunted. “Yeah, I guess. I hope we don’t break down again. They probably sabotaged the truck.”

  “Why would they do that?” Xeke said.

  “Why wouldn’t they?”

  “I checked it out,” Corey said. “They even changed the oil.”

  Ruddy tried to think of something else that could go wrong.

  Corey unfolded the map. “Once we get down from the mountain, we’re only a few hours from Albuquerque. I have friends we can stay with there.”

  “How well do you know these people?” Xeke said. “Are you sure they’ll help us?”

  “They’re like me. That’s what they do.”

  “So, they’re part of your organization.”

  “Yes.”

  Xeke turned around in his seat. “That’s really all you’re going to tell us?”

  “We talked about this.”

  “I know. But it’s still driving me crazy.”

  “I don’t blame you for not trusting us,” Ruddy said. “I wouldn’t trust me either.”

  “Ruddy, for God’s sake,” Corey said. “It has nothing to do with trust. As soon as you and Xeke are trained ...”

  Ruddy’s eyes widened in the rear-view mirror. “Guys, someone’s chasing us.”

  Corey and Xeke twisted around. The high-pitched growl of an engine grew loud as a small motorcycle gained on them.

  “Should we stop?” Xeke said.

  “I think so,” Corey said. “It might be important.”

  “They’re probably here to kill us and take the truck,” Ruddy said.

  Xeke laughed. “Well, if they’re stupid enough to try …”

  Ruddy thought about that and couldn’t help but smile. He pulled over.

  The red minibike slowed and swung around to Xeke’s side of the truck. The driver removed his helmet. It was the boy Corey had saved.

  “Billy,” Corey said. “What are you doing here?”

  Billy’s face was red from the cold. “My mom sent me to catch you. She couldn’t let you leave like this, not after … not after what you did for me. She wanted me to let you know your friend is safe.”

  “Our friend?”

  “Your friend—Teri.”

  Xeke’s mind froze. Time seemed to stop.

  “Teri?” Ruddy whispered. “But she’s—”

  “How do you know about Teri?” A breeze ruffled the boy’s hair, and Xeke realized he had gathered his power.

  “My mom’s been taking care of her,” Billy said. He took a step back. “Please, it wasn’t Mom’s fault. The mayor will kill her if he finds out she said anything.”

  “We’re not going to let that happen,” Corey said.

  “But … Teri’s dead,” Ruddy said. “We buried her.”

  Billy shook his head. “Dead? No, she’s not. Mom left her a half hour ago.”

  “Where exactly is Teri?” Corey said.

  “At the mayor’s house. They’ve got her locked in a guest bedroom. Mr. Richard’s with her all the time. Mom says she’s been asking about you constantly, but they told her you left her there.”

  “She’s alive?” Ruddy said.

  Billy nodded.

  “Why didn’t you tell us?” Ruddy said. There was a groan of metal bending as he gripped the steering wheel. “Why didn’t someone tell us? We thought she was dead!”

  “Ruddy,” Xeke said. “He’s just a kid. Save your anger for Adrian.”

  “Adrian,” Ruddy said. A cracking noise came from behind the dashboard.

  Ruddy, if you break the steering column, we’ll have to walk back to town, Xeke said.

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  Ruddy let go. “We’re going to get her.”

  “Obviously,” Xeke said.

  Billy backed away a few more steps, holding his hands up in front of him.

  “I’m sorry,” Ruddy said. “I didn’t mean to scare you. But why didn’t anyone tell us?”

  “No one knew except Mom and Mr. Richard,” Billy said. “And nobody would cross Mayor Wiley. He hurts people.”

  “Oh, he does, does he?” Xeke said.

  “We need to know what we’re facing,” Corey said. “George is a teke; what can the others do?”

  “Mayor Wiley can shoot lightning bolts out of his hands and he can catch people on fire just by thinking about them.”

  “A fulgomancer,” Corey said. “I thought so. In the same category as tekes, but better at manipulating raw energy. That makes them more dangerous than tekes.” Corey looked at Xeke. “Present company excluded. What about Richard?”

  “I’ve never seen him do anything,” Billy said. “But mom says he can keep the others from using their powers. That’s why Mayor Wiley keeps him around.”

  “Shit.” Corey slapped the seat. “He’s a damper. I should have figured that out. No wonder we can’t hear Teri.”

  “Wait, so he shut down Teri’s powers?” Ruddy said. “I didn’t know that was possible.”

  “It’s not just stopping powers,” Corey said. “Dampers can feel when powers are being used near them. Any power. And they can keep other talents from hearing powers being used. It’s how Fred protects Penatuka.”

  “Oh, that makes sense,” Ruddy said.

  “It’s an extremely rare talent, and DSSA hunts them down before all others—even mentalists. It never crossed my mind one would be out here. Teri would be helpless against a damper.” Corey smacked his palm against his forehead. “God! It makes sense now. This whole thing was a setup.”

  “You mean the body we found,” Xeke said.

  “Someone who resembled Teri,” Corey said. “They even put Teri’s clothes on her. Damn. They killed a little girl to trick us. Lets you know what kind of people we’re dealing with.”

  “Jesus!” Ruddy said.

  Xeke fought down the urge to rip a nearby boulder out of the ground and launch it at Cloudcroft. “Who else in town has powers?” he said.

  “Mr. Danny could read people’s minds, but he had an accident a couple of months ago. I haven’t seen any of the others in town since you got here. Most of them keep an eye on the slaves at the mines. Mr. Tim, Mr. and Mrs. Wu, Miss Chambers, Mr. Carl ...”

  Ruddy gaped. “Slaves? They have slaves?”

  “I’m a slave,” Billy said. “If you’re not afflicted, you’re a slave. Please don’t get my mom into trouble over this.”

  “Nothing is going to happen to your mother,” Corey said. “But you’d better get back home now. I’d steer clear of Mayor Wiley’s place.”

  Billy nodded and kicked the bike’s starter. He sped off.

  “We’ve got to do something about this,” Ruddy said.

  Corey retrieved his rifle from under the seat. “We're about to. Not just Teri—all of it. Let’s go.”

  Ruddy turned the truck around. The steering wheel made a grinding noise every time he turned right, but it still worked.

  I’ve got to learn to control my temper, he said.

  You and me both, Xeke said. Rage isn’t …

  I know, Ruddy said. Not an option for people like us.

  Although if there was ever a time … Xeke said.

  “We’ve got one shot at this,” Corey said. “Xeke, your job is to protect Teri. With a damper around, she’s helpless.”

  Ruddy frowned. “If he can block powers, what will keep him from blocking ours?”

  “It’s not that simple,” Corey said. “He has to work at it—and if I know Teri, he’s got his hands full. No way he’ll be able to block the three of you at once.”

  "How do you know all this?" Xeke said.

  “The people I work with spend a lot of time planning for this sort of thing."

  “But still, you're guessing about how powerful he is,” Xeke said. "We could get in there and be screwed.”

  “Not a guess, an informed hypothesis,” Corey said. “Plus it’s not like we have many options. We know that Teri is their hostage. We have to get her out.”

  “I’ll keep her safe, powers or not,” Xeke said. “I promise.”

  “Ruddy, that leaves you and me to take care of Adrian, George, and whoever else shows up. I’ll do what I can, but this …” He held up the gun. “Isn’t going to do us much good against Adrian or George. Either one of them can disable it. It’s up to you.”

  “You can count on me,” Ruddy said. His skin turned silver. “They’re going to be sorry they were ever born when I’m done with them.”

  The rear tires slid when they took the turn onto Burro Street, the main thoroughfare through town. Corey leaned out the back window and aimed the assault rifle down the street. People ran for cover.

  They turned the corner toward the driveway to Mayor Wiley’s mansion. Xeke spotted George sauntering toward them.

  George raised his arms and shouted something. Under any other circumstance, the look on his face would have been hilarious.

  “Keep driving,” Corey said to Ruddy. He kept the gun raised, but didn’t point it at George. “If he gets in the way ...”

  “I’ll handle him,” Xeke said. He gathered his power.

  George stretched out his hand, and the back end of the truck skidded sideways.

  Ruddy swung the wheel to compensate. “Uh, Xeke …”

  Xeke hesitated. He couldn’t see what George was doing—the damper must be hiding it.

  I guess he wants to play rough. Xeke reached out and pulled. George flew down the street and smacked into the side of the truck with a grunt of pain.

  Xeke leaned through the window, his face inches from George. “Stay out of our way and you won’t get hurt.”

  George tried to push back, but Xeke barely felt it. “Last chance, George.”

  His throat tightened as George tried to choke him.

  “Wrong answer,” Xeke said. George shot away from the truck and smashed through the wall of a building.

  Ruddy pulled up in front of Adrian’s house and they piled out of the truck.

  “What now?” Ruddy said.

  “Find a way in,” Corey said. “They’ll be …”

  A gunshot rang out, and something whizzed by Xeke’s head. “Get down!” Corey yelled. He dropped behind the truck and took aim. His rifle barked twice.

  Xeke raised a shield around himself and looked in the direction of the shots. Four men and a woman, all carrying guns, ran toward them from the other end of street. One of the men hit the ground and crawled behind a snow-covered car; another collapsed as his head erupted in a spray of blood. The rest dove for cover.

  “You two get inside!” Corey said “I got this!”

  The man who had ducked behind the car sprang out, gun in hand and fired. The siding on a nearby building splintered.

  Corey shot him. He fell to the ground, holding his gut.

  “Go!” Corey yelled. “I’ll keep them pinned down.”

  Jesus! Ruddy thought. Corey’s killing people left and right.

  This is life or death. Xeke ran up the steps with Ruddy right behind him. We can’t afford to hesitate. They tried to kill us first.

  I guess you’re right ... Ruddy broke off when they reached the heavy oak door.

  Locked, Ruddy said. Hey, what if you fire me through the door like a bullet?

  I like it, Xeke said. Say when.

  Ruddy backed up a few steps, then turned silver and ran forward. Go!

  Xeke threw him, hard, and Ruddy smashed the door into splinters. Xeke trotted in after him. You okay?

  Oh, yeah! Ruddy was already back on his feet.

  We’ll have to remember that one, Xeke said.

  The foyer was huge, and led into a spacious living room filled with antiques and expensive furniture. It was deserted. A curved stairway with an ornate wrought-iron bannister led up.

  Shit! Ruddy said. Which way do we go?

  Bedrooms are usually upstairs. As good a place to start as any.

  Their footfalls echoed on the steps as they ran up.

  Plan A, we announce ourselves and tell them to give up Teri or we’re coming in. Plan B, we go in blazing.

  Plan B! Ruddy said.

  We don’t know where she is, Xeke said. What if we crash in, and she’s right behind the door?

  Oof, Ruddy said. I didn’t think of that.

  More gunshots sounded as they topped the stairs, and a familiar scream rang out from behind a closed door down the hall.

  Plan B! they both said. Ruddy crashed through the door without slowing.