Return of the Ascendant (The Ascendant Series) by Raine Thomas Page B

went from zero to sixty in less than four seconds. He reached the far side of the parking lot and slammed on the brakes, leaving rubber and smoke on the pavement as he stopped inches from Sem and Kyr. Reaching over, he shoved the passenger side door open.
    He itched to get out of the car and grab Kyr. His instincts to protect her were at their height. She caught his eye through the windshield. Whatever she read in his expression had her wriggling free of Sem and hitting the pavement at a run. She dived through the open door, climbing over the armrest in the middle and pouring into the backseat. Sem was right on her heels and tossed himself into the passenger seat just as Ty hit reverse.
    The locators , Ty thought, tossing his to his cousin.
    On it , Sem returned.
    Ty sped away from the warehouse, keeping one eye on the rearview mirror and the other on the road. Beside him, Sem entered the self-destruct codes into the locators and tossed each of them out the window. Flashes of light burst behind them as the locators were destroyed. He felt Kyr’s curiosity over it, but she didn’t ask any questions. If she had, he would have explained that those locator signals were now known by the Shelvaks, and therefore easily traceable.
    “Where would your parents have left their second locator?” he asked her.
    She met his gaze in the rearview mirror. Her face was pale, her eyes huge and frightened. But her voice was level when she replied, “At home, I guess. Somewhere at home.”
    “All right,” he said, mentally pulling up the map he had studied before coming to get her.
    The drive to her home was quiet. During the trip, he tried to reason through what had happened. Was it merely a coincidence that Kyr had fallen just as the transition was taking place? He didn’t believe in coincidences. So what had happened to her? Did it have anything to do with the mental block keeping him from retrieving her memories? If so, who had done it?
    He noticed Sem throwing worried glances at Kyr. His cousin had reason to want Kyr to remain on Earth and away from Ty and her other obligations. Yet Ty detected only confusion and concern in Sem’s thoughts. Kyr’s Kyndred and Avana, as well, had only conveyed love and protectiveness towards her.
    Who did that leave? There were other Alametrians on Earth, of course. Some, like Kyr, were there learning life lessons. Others served as Kyndred. Still others had moved to Earth permanently many millennia ago, though as far as he knew, they had separated themselves from humanity. Most modern humans knew nothing about them.
    He supposed there was a possibility that one of the Alametrians had figured out Kyr’s identity and tried to prevent her transition. But he had no idea how to identify who or why. He also didn’t know how the Shelvaks were involved. They had known far too much about Kyr’s location and the transition point. It all hinted at them receiving inside intel. If that was true, there had to be more than one traitor. No single Alametrian knew enough details about Kyr’s location and Ty’s evacuation plan to have organized all of this.
    Sem’s comment about the number of Shelvaks that could possibly travel on one ship had been running through his mind, as well. His cousin had a point…one that troubled him. Because the only logical answer was that the Shelvaks had more than one ship.
    There were more questions than answers. All he could do now was figure out how to get them all safely transitioned and hope they didn’t encounter any further trouble.
    Almost an hour after leaving the warehouse, they pulled up to a modest home in a quiet residential area. The porch light was on, as was a light inside the house.
    “Is there someone inside the dwelling?” he asked.
    “No,” Kyr said. “The family room light is on a timer.”
    “All right. Stay in the car with Sem. I will ensure the home is clear before we enter.”
    Not waiting for a response, he opened the door and got out. He heard the