Nikolas turned to us, his eyes on me as he spoke. “Chris and I will go in and neutralize their defenses. Once it is safe and we have located the young trolls, we will come back for you.”

“You expect us to stay here?” Roland asked, waving around at the empty lot. The look on his face told me he had been looking forward to getting in on the action. But now that I knew we were close to Minka and the others, I was happy to let Nikolas and Chris handle the threat. I’d never admit it to Nikolas but I was still shaken from the attack earlier, and the thought of facing more dangerous men scared me more than a little. And werewolves or not, I wanted my friends here with me out of harm’s way. I had seen Nikolas fight vampires and crocotta so I was confident he could handle a bunch of armed security.

“You can shift and be okay unless those men are packing silver ammo, but what about Sara?” Nikolas said to Roland. “Are you willing to put her in that kind of danger?”

Roland started to say something then shook his head. “No.”

Satisfied, Nikolas said, “There will be several layers of security. Whoever orchestrated this will not take chances with so valuable an asset and will expect trouble. If you hear gunshots or other commotion, stay here out of sight with your heads down. We can handle this. Is everyone clear on that?”

“Yes,” I said for all of us. Nikolas nodded and he and Chris began to arm themselves with weapons from the bag on Chris’s motorcycle. When they were ready, Nikolas looked like the warrior who had walked out of the shadows in the alley. The churning in my gut eased a little because I knew that if anyone could make this right, it was him. I trust him. The acknowledgement took me by surprise because trusting people did not come easy for me. But then I thought about all the things he had done to earn my trust even though I had fought him at every turn and how time and time again he jumped into dangerous situations just like this because of me.

“Be careful,” I told them but I was looking at Nikolas when I said it. He smiled confidently like he was heading off to a rugby match instead of going to into battle.

Chris smirked at me as he turned to leave. “Careful, Sara, or people might think you care.”

Left alone, the four of us were subdued as we waited for Nikolas and Chris to return. Roland and Peter paced the lot, stopping often to listen for sounds of fighting. I sat on a stack of plywood with Remy, clutching his hand.

“What will happen after we get Minka and the others back? Will the Elders still be angry?”

Remy hung his head. “I tell them about bile and they very angry. I think they will say we no longer friends.”

“No!” Remy was one of my dearest friends. He was going to be there when everyone else I knew grew old and died. I couldn’t lose him, I couldn’t.

“Maybe not forever but for long time,” he said sadly. “Elders not forget easy.”

I swallowed back my tears. I had messed up so many things but I never imagined destroying my friendships. What else would I ruin before all of this was over?

“Where are they?” Peter fretted after ten minutes. “Shouldn’t we have heard something by now?”

“I don’t know.” Roland’s voice was uncertain. “We’ll give them a few more minutes and –”

Remy shot to his feet, nearly knocking me over, his eyes wide and luminous in the darkness. “Little ones very frightened! Something bad happen.”

Roland and Peter came running over to us. “What is it?” Roland asked.

“Remy said something’s wrong with his cousins.” I refused to think what that could mean. “We have to go in.”

Peter rubbed the back of his neck. “What about the Mohiri? Shouldn’t we wait for them?”

“There’s no time. The trolls need us.” I strained to make out their faces. “Remy and I are going.”

“Okay, hold on for a minute,” Roland said. “It’ll be better if we shift first.”

He and Peter disappeared behind the structure and two large dark shapes returned in their place. I’d forgotten how ferocious they looked in wolf form and my breath caught when they walked up to flank me. Standing on their hind legs they towered over me, making me feel very small and insignificant next to their powerful bodies.

“Don’t crowd me,” I chided, shoving at them until they gave me a bit more breathing room.

We left the lot, moving stealthily through the quiet neighborhood until we were within sight of the gated entrance to the estate. I studied the locked ten foot tall gate and wondered how on earth we were going to get past it.

Roland tugged at my arm, leading me away from the gate and into the woods around the estate. I pulled out my knife and followed him with Remy at my side and Peter taking up the rear. The woods and grass were wet from an earlier rain but I was too worried about not making any noise to care about the dampness seeping into my jeans and sneakers.

Halfway around the estate, we found a small gardener’s gate hanging slightly ajar and I knew this was where Nikolas and Chris had gone in. That became even more evident when we slipped inside and saw two men unconscious on the ground. I assumed they were unconscious; I wasn’t about to check. I didn’t believe in senseless killing, but I had no sympathy for people who would steal or hurt children.

We crouched behind a shed and surveyed the broad expanse of lawn dotted with large trees and carefully tended flower gardens. There was no sign of movement between us and the well lit house so we set off across the grounds, running from one tree to the next for cover. Adrenaline coursed through me and my heart pounded so loud that I thought anyone within ten feet of me would hear it.