Quaid's feet pound on the stairs as he rushes up to the kitchen. I want to follow him, to protect him if I can, but Shenka blocks me with magic, dark eyes snapping blue power.

"Let him deal with them," she says. "He might be able to talk them down."

I listen, tense, hand holding Sage's as Shenka returns to rummage further through a cardboard box just out of the reach of the light. A soft blue glow casts her in eerie shadows as her ...