Return of the Nameless Alpha
Smoke threads up from two of the four chimneys, thin gray ribbons bending east with the wind, and even from this distance she counts a dozen shapes moving along the tree line at the property's edge, patrol, not welcome party, spaced with the kind of precision that only comes from drilling the same rotation for years.
Her pulse ticks up and she forces her jaw to unclench before Ash can read the tension off her face.
"That's the house?" Sage's mouth hangs open against the glass, fogging it twice as fast as Ash's breath did a mile back.
"That's the house."
"It's got a moat," Ash says, pointing at the drainage ditch ringing the outer wall, and for a second he sounds like any other kid impressed