Chapter 11

They keep Darius overnight at the Northern Territory psychiatric facility. White walls, soft restraints, questions he can't answer honestly. "Do you want to hurt yourself, Mr. Blackwood?" Yes. "No." They release him at dawn with a prescription he won't fill. Marcus waits in the parking lot. "Alpha." His second's face is haggard. "Thank the goddess." "How many?" Darius's voice is hollow. "Eleven dead. Twenty-three injured. The eastern border is gone." Marcus opens the car door. "The elders...