Chapter  354

XENOIS And Jerome was orchestrating it all, staying safely out of reach while directing his forces like a conductor leading an orchestra of violence. We were winning, but slowly. Too slowly. Eventually we'd wear down, make a mistake, and that would be it. That's when I heard it. A child's voice, cutting through the chaos with absolute authority. "Everyone DUCK!" I didn't question it. I dropped to the floor immediately, some instinct recognizing the voice even though it made no sense for that voice to be here, in the middle of a combat zone, in a nightwalker nest. A blast of superheated plasma streaked over my head, so close I felt the heat, and struck the nightwalker I'd been fighting. He disintegrated on the spot, ash and embers drifting down where he'd been standing seconds before. I looked up and my heart stopped. Because standing in the corridor entrance, looking exhausted but determined, was Riley. My five--year--old son. With Lake beside him, hands glowing with portal magic. And