Gone

like that would mean anything to the dogs, or to the monster before her.
    This time, the whip snapped and wrapped itself tight around Mary’s throat. She felt blood pounding in her head, tried and failed to draw breath. She dug her fingernails into the scaly flesh of the whip but couldn’t budge it.
    “Which part of ‘shut up’ do you have a problem understanding?” Drake yanked her close. “You’re getting all red in the face, Mary.”
    She struggled, but it was no use. The living whip was as strong as a python.
    “Now, you need to understand something, Mary: These dogs, as far as they’re concerned, all these little kids are just so many hamburgers. They’ll eat them just like they eat rabbits.”
    He unwrapped his tentacle from her throat. She sank to the floor, sucking air through a throat that felt as narrow as a straw.
    “What do you want?” Mary rasped. “Drake, you have to get these coyotes out of here. You can have me as a hostage. But the children don’t know what’s happening and they are scared.”
    Drake laughed cruelly. “Hey, Pack Leader. You guys won’t eat the kids, will you?”
    To Mary’s astonishment, the large, mangy coyote spoke. “Pack Leader agreed. No kill. No eat.”
    “Until…,” Drake prompted.
    “Until Whip Hand say.”
    Drake beamed. “Whip Hand. That’s their affectionate name for me.”
    Isabella, who had shrunk back into a corner, came forward with her hand extended, like she wanted to pet Pack Leader. “He can talk,” Isabella said.
    “Stay back,” Mary hissed.
    But Isabella ignored her. She laid her hand on PackLeader’s neck. The coyote bristled and made a low rumbling noise. But he did not snap at her.
    Isabella stroked his harsh ruff. “Good doggie,” she said.
    “Just don’t get too close,” Drake said coldly. “Good doggie may get hungry.”

    “He took the bait,” Panda reported. “He’s got some girl with him, too. She has some kind of mad powers, like…like I don’t know what to call it. She kind of makes stuff fly off the ground.”
    Diana Ladris said, “It must be Dekka. We predicted she would be a problem. She and Brianna. Maybe Taylor, if she’s improved her skills.”
    They were in a home belonging to no one any of them knew. Just a house on a back street a block from the school. The shades were drawn, the lights were left just as they had been. No one came or went through the front door.
    “Right now my brother is rushing toward the day care,” Caine said. He could barely contain his glee. “He fell for it. He absolutely fell for it. See, the thing is, I knew he’d try to play hero and come after me.”
    “Yes, you’re brilliant,” Diana said dryly. “You’re the master of all you survey.”
    “Even you can’t get on my nerves. That’s how happy I am.” Caine smirked.
    “Where’s Jack?” Diana asked. When Caine scowled, she said, “See? I still know how to get on your nerves.”
    Diana knew that Jack had been driven from the highwayinto the desert. Panda and Drake had reported that. But she didn’t know what had happened after that. If Caine got his hands on Computer Jack, Diana had no doubt that the techie wizard would give her up. What would Caine do then?
    In the meantime, Diana had to play it smart by pretending to be concerned by Jack’s escape or defection or whatever it should be called. It would throw Caine and Drake off the scent.
    Unless they captured Jack.
    She fought down a wave of fear and hid it by pouring herself a glass of water at the kitchen sink.
    In the safe house, in addition to Diana and Caine, were Howard, Chunk, Mallet, and Panda. Panda was badly shaken by his run-in with Sam and Dekka. He would occasionally mutter something like “A hole blown right through the wall, could have been my head.”
    Chunk had tried entertaining them with the same Hollywood stories they’d all heard a million times before. Caine had threatened to turn him over to Drake if he didn’t shut up.
    Howard was no less irritating. He sat and stewed and whined from time to time about going to look for Orc. “Orc is a soldier, man, if he made it back here, he’ll be over at the house we used to live in. It’s not that far. I could sneak over there. He’d be good to have around.”
    “Orc’s dead in the desert,” Panda said harshly. “You know those coyotes got him.”
    “Shut up, Panda!” Howard yelled.
    The other person in the little house was Lana. Ever since Lana had demonstrated her healing