Crenshaw eyes Vin with open disdain, then shakes his head. “There has been no such visit. Should I be expecting one?”

“Maybe,” I reply reluctantly.

“And who are these people the boy has with him?”

“Refugees,” Vin says solemnly. “Former prisoners of the Colony to the north. We have released them from the bonds put on them by the Colony. They are now free men and women of the wild, although they will need shelter and guidance in order to survive.”

I stare at Vin in amazement. He sounds exactly like Ryan when he’s talking to Crenshaw. Did I miss something in my meager childhood? Was there a book I was supposed to have read? The Complete Idiot’s Guide to King Arthur’s Court? It seems like silly me has been reading any survival manual or How To book I could get my hands on while all these Lost Boys were reading Lunacy: A Visitor’s Guide.

“I see,” Cren replies softly. His eyes are still wary, but they’re not as sharp. He’s not quite ready to crack Vin over the head with his staff anymore, though, and that’s a plus. “You helped to free these people?”

“He led them to freedom,” I correct in my best imitation of crazy speak.

Cren’s eyes widen. “For truth?”

“Yeah.”

“And he has returned you to me unharmed.”

“I returned me to you unharmed, but he was there. He didn’t hurt me.”

“I saved your life, Kitten,” Vin protests, dropping the act.

“Don’t oversell it. You helped a little, and so did I. We’re even.” I turn back to Crenshaw. “How did—”

“Saved your life,” Vin mutters under his breath.

I take a steadying breath. “How did this happen, Cren? How are the Vashons here?”

The old man beams at me. “Persephone.”

My heart skips a beat. “Seriously? Ali is here?”

“Persephone is here.”

“Yes, yes, Persephone. She’s here? She brought the Vashons here?”

“Yes. She was moved by your visit. There are those who believe you to be a traitor, but Persephone is not one of them. She convinced a large number of the Vashons to travel with her across the waters. They came here to me to find shelter.” Crenshaw chuckles as he looks around. “I must say, it is lovely to have visitors.”

“How large of a number?” Vin asks.

Cren turns to him, his eyes narrowing slightly. “How large of a number of what, Hornet?”

“How many people came across the water?”

“Over three hundred.”

My knees go weak. Three hundred. Three hundred people!

I want to dance. I want to sing. I want to kiss Vin soundly on the mouth in front of everyone here. I can hardly breathe as my mind does the math.

I don’t know if we can win this thing, but we have a snowball’s chance in hell now and that’s a lot better than we were doing ten minutes ago.

“I need to find Ryan,” I say urgently.

“Yes,” Crenshaw agrees. “Helios is imperative.”

“Assuming he’s still alive.”

Crenshaw and I both glare at Vin. He stares back at us unflinching.

“I’m being realistic,” he tells us.

“Why would Helios be dead?” Crenshaw asks me.

I bury my face in my hands for a second, unwilling to look at either of them. Unwilling to let the terror in my heart show.

When I lower my hands, I look Cren in the eye. “When we ran from the northern Colony we left through the tunnels. Ryan stayed behind to help blow the entrance to make sure none of The Hive could follow us. Vin and I were running in the dark. We couldn’t go back for them and we couldn’t wait. We were lost. So we ran.”

Crenshaw presses his warm, dry hand to my arm, squeezing it gently. “He is alive. Of this I am sure.”

“How?” I whisper pathetically. Hopefully.

He smiles at me like I’m a child—one asking how he knows the sky is blue. “Because I can feel him. Can you not feel him, Athena?”

I shake my head.

“Well,” he replies, clucking his tongue and removing his hand from my arm. “You will. When you are ready to admit it, you will.”

“Admit what?”

“Incoming!”

We all turn to look at the perimeter of the forest where Crenshaw’s soldiers have gathered. They’re standing tense and ready, facing off with a herd of people running straight toward us. Past the pounding of their footsteps and the occasional panicked cry, I can hear the low constant moan of another herd.

“Is this your friend, my dear?” Crenshaw asks me bitingly. “The one leading a horde of wraiths to my front door.”

I nod stiffly, my eyes easily finding Trent in the crowd. “Yeah, Cren. He’s one of mine.”

Chapter Sixteen

The Vashon soldiers are good. They collapse on the weak side of the park in a heartbeat, forming a line of defense so thick I wonder how Trent and the Colonists will get through. Then they split, just before the crowd mows them over, and they let the panicked mass spill into the makeshift village. It fills quickly. I’m bumped from side to side, my shoulders brushing with others, and my body stiffens in annoyance. The old fear begins to build. I can feel the tightness in my gut and in my limbs that warns me to get away. It’s telling me that if one of these people turns, we’ll all be dead.

I turn to tell Crenshaw we should move out of the crowd, but when I look for him he’s gone. Vanished silently into thin air.

“Wiley old SOB,” I mutter.

“Joss.”

I spin around to find Trent effortlessly jogging through the crowd toward me.

“Trent, where did you go? What’s happening?”

Before he can answer me, Trent spots Vin. He holds out his hand to him, surprising both of us. It’s such a human move for my robot.

“I hereby happily return your people to you,” he tells Vin. “Good luck.”

Vin smiles as he shakes his hand. “Not a fan of leadership, huh?”

“People are whiners.”

“I won’t argue with you there.”

“Trent,” I nag.

“What?”

“Where did you go?!”

“To the cannibals. I led them through the tunnels to the cannibals’ home, but none of the Colonists wanted to be there and I don’t think the cannibals were very happy about it either. I released the prisoners, then—”

“You did what?” Vin snaps.

Trent looks at him with utter calm before repeating, “The Colonist Leaders you had locked up. I let them go.”

“They’ll go straight back to the Colonies and tell them what’s happening!” I cry.

“I certainly hope so.”

“Why would you want that?”

“Because they don’t know what’s happening.”

I look to Vin, completely confused. He looks back at me with an expression that clearly says, Fix it before I kill it.

“All right, all right,” I mutter. “Trent, what’s your plan? Please tell me you have a plan. Please tell me there’s a reason why you just completely screwed us.”

“The Leaders only know that a Hive member,” he points to Vin, “took over the Colony, held them hostage, and that The Hive came to the Pod to take it over but the people were evacuated. That’s all they know. That’s exactly what they’ll tell the Leaders in the stadiums.”

“They’ll immediately send an army up there to take back the Pod before The Hive can get too comfortable,” Vin says, understanding much more than I do.

Trent nods. “Yes.”

“We’ll have to move fast.”

“We should already be moving.”

“What are we talking about?” I demand.

Vin grins at Trent. “Your creepy friend here is smarter than I gave him credit for. He’s diverted Colony forces away from the stadiums to fight The Hive for the northern Pod. They’ll be weakened because they think the only threat is in the north. They don’t know anything about us down here right outside their door.”

“What about all these people, though? They have to have seen the Vashons crossing the water to get here.”

“Not if the Vashons did it right,” Trent disagrees.

“Judging by the way they’re handling that Risen crowd,” Vin says, glancing over his shoulder to watch the soldiers systematically mow down the advancing horde, “they did it right. They know what they’re doing.”