Dad nodded again. “We’re screwed.”
Emily had been thinking the same thoughts, only her reason for the Alfreds coming in after the bats was that maybe they were still getting their acts together after the fire and needed her occupied while they did so. The bats being an advanced force was a more plausible explanation, and it terrified her even more simply because the main attack force was always bigger and more powerful than the advance force. And if three thousand bat-like beasts were an advanced force, what did the main attack force look like?
3
Emily looked away. She didn’t want to be discouraged before she shifted into her Owl form, spread her wings, and flew up to meet the bats.
“If I take out a thousand, and the perimeter takes out another thousand”—Emily chewed on her chipped fingernail—“we’ll be left with a thousand or less. We could still make it.”
“Even if we’re left with five hundred, we’ll need a miracle to survive this,” Dad reasoned.
Emily didn’t appreciate her father’s tone. He sounded defeated already. I mean, where’s the dad I knew before Mom’s incident? Where’s the Marine operative that would dive into a collapsing building just to save a life?
There was no use judging. Dad had been through a lot recently. She could imagine how traumatic it was spending a year trapped in his own mind, seeing his daughter struggle every day and being unable to help her.
Emily got it. She got that he could be grumpy, shy, and ashamed even. And he’d been strong for her once. He’d stood by and let her fly into danger, and he’d said nothing. Only God knew how much his heart pounded in his chest when she’d left with Joanna and Rina that evening.
If he’d been strong for her once, why did he want to break down on her now? Now, when it was most critical? Everything they’d worked for over the past three days, everything they had planned for the coming days, was hinged on them succeeding this attack. If the Alfreds won tonight, then they were screwed forever.
“Then we better start praying,” Emily snapped. She regretted it as soon as the words lashed out of her mouth. She’d let her anger get the better of her. Now there was a spurned coldness between her and Dad.
She sighed and shut her eyes. She allowed her powers to come to the fore of her mind. Her ability brimmed within her in moments. Her senses heightened; her skin prickled with power. She was moments away from shifting into The Owl. All she needed to do was give in to it, and she would be climbing the winds to meet her attackers.
She turned to her dad. “I know we have a lot to discuss about—”
“Go,” Dad cut her off. “Don’t worry about me. Go.”
“If I don’t make it back—”
“You will.” Dad took her by the shoulders. “Don’t talk like that. You will. I’ll be waiting for you here.”
Emily nodded. “The gun—is it any good?” She eyed her father’s weapon up and down. “Maybe you could take a few of them down before they get here.”
Dad took a look at the weapon and shrugged. “It’s old and rusty. I’ll wager it doesn’t fire. Aunt Anastacia doesn’t really need weapons to defend herself—or for anything, for that matter—so it’s not a surprise she doesn’t have a working gun.”
“Then get inside,” Emily squeaked. “Be safe.”
Dad bit his lip, looking deep into her eyes. For the first time in a long time, they connected as father and daughter. She was reminded of how they used to be before Mom. Emily was Daddy’s little girl. She rarely did anything without her father’s consent. They were best of friends. He was never strict with her, and that’s why Mom was the disciplinarian.
A few months before Mom’s death, he changed. He became more serious. Heavier. They drifted apart. They didn’t fight often. She didn’t throw tantrums, and he didn’t scream at her unnecessarily. They just grew apart. Dad grew cold, and Mom didn’t seem to mind.
It was as though Dad perceived Mom’s demise and needed to distance himself well away from her so he could be objective as a single parent.
It didn’t work well, though, because when Mom was killed, he was cursed and rendered imbecilic. Now, right here and now, as Emily stared into her father’s loving gaze, she saw a promise. A promise that if she made it back, Dad was willing to give their relationship a chance again—to reignite how close they’d been as father and daughter long before. A promise that all would be well if they made it through tonight. A promise that he would always be there to protect her. He might not have special superpowers like she did. He might be human and severely outmatched in this supernatural struggle between good and evil, but he would always be there to stand at her side against all her enemies.
His gun might not be good. But he would find a way to make it work. He would be there, taking down the bats one shot and a time. And when he was out of shots, he would swing at them, again and again and again, until either he was dead, or the bats were dead, and she was free. It was a father’s love for his child. It was Dad’s love for Emily.
And even though Emily didn’t want Dad making unnecessary sacrifices or putting himself in danger’s way, she knew she couldn’t dissuade him. For over a year, she’d been the parent. She’d done things for him that no child should ever have to do for her father. So it would be a tough sell to get him to stand back and let her be the parent once more—to protect him. She would have more luck fighting the rove and defeating him than trying to get Dad to actually back down and sit this one out.
“You know I can’t
