Priya answered right away. "Yes. They are in Warehouse 12, right next to your factory. There are five adults and three small children. They have no weapons. They are very scared. The road is clear for thirty seconds. Then the bad guys will get there.""I understand," Landon said. He climbed down a long, metal ladder. He moved like a shadow. He used his blue energy to feel the walls. The energy let him feel the vibrations of the enemies outside. He knew exactly where they were walking. He knew they were deadly. If they saw him, he would die. If they saw the kids, the kids would die. He had to be smarter than them.Down on the street, Marcus started the distraction. He threw three smoke grenades into the road. Thick, white smoke hissed out. It covered the street like a magic cloud. The Iron Order soldiers stopped. Their helmets could not see through the special smoke. They moved slowly, waving their guns in the fog."The path is hidden," Marcus said over the radio. "Get them out of t

The sky above the city of Milwaukee did not look like a normal sky. It was covered in a moving, shiny black cloud. But it was not made of rain. It was made of metal.Hundreds of Iron Order drones flew high in the air. They were small, smooth, and deadly. They moved together like a swarm of angry metal bees. Hummmmm. The low, buzzing sound filled the streets. It made the air feel heavy. The drones were not shooting deadly bullets yet. Instead, they shot wide, invisible beams of energy. If the energy hit a person with special powers—like Landon with his god-fragments, it would steal their strength. It would make them weak and helpless.Landon hid on the edge of a tall brick rooftop. The wind blew his dark hair. He pressed his hand against the cold stone. He closed his eyes for a second, then opened them. He turned on his special power, the Kinetic Echo.Soft, blue light rippled over his skin. Suddenly, the world changed for him. He could see everything in slow motion. He looked up at

The streets of Milwaukee did not look like a city anymore. They looked like a graveyard.Huge piles of broken bricks and twisted metal covered the sidewalks. Crushed cars with smashed windows blocked the roads. Thick, gray smoke curled up from the roofs of empty buildings, making the air smell like burned plastic and dust. But the city was not dead. People were still here.Small groups of everyday people, bakers, teachers, mechanics—were sneaking through the shadows. They did not have shiny armor like the bad guys. They wore dirty jeans and torn jackets. They held old, rusty hunting rifles. Some carried homemade bombs stuffed in glass bottles. A few held small, glowing rocks. These rocks were minor divine artifacts. They had weak magic, but they were better than nothing. These people were not trained soldiers, but their faces were hard. Their eyes burned with anger and a strong will to live.High above the broken street, Landon crouched on the edge of a ruined apartment roof. The

The subway tunnels under the city of Milwaukee were pitch black. The air was thick and smelled like old dirt and rotten water. Above their heads, rusty metal pipes hissed like angry snakes. Cold, dirty water dripped from the cracked ceiling onto the broken floor tiles. Every few feet, a broken emergency light buzzed and blinked. The flashing light made the shadows jump on the walls, making every dark corner look like a monster was hiding there.For a normal person, this underground maze was a nightmare. For the evil Iron Order soldiers, it was a strong castle. But for Landon and his Vanguard team, it was a perfect place to hide and fight.Landon walked in the front. He bent his knees and stayed very low to the ground. His special power, the Kinetic Echo, washed over his body. Soft blue light glowed under his skin.Behind him, Marcus and Navarro walked as quietly as cats. Marcus held his heavy machine gun tightly to his chest. Navarro held his sharp combat knife and a short shotgun

The South Side of Milwaukee was quiet, but it was a scary, heavy quiet. Thick, black smoke hung in the air like a dirty blanket over the streets. The early evening sun was setting. It cast long, orange shadows over the broken city. Sunlight bounced off shattered glass on the sidewalks and twisted metal from ruined cars. The air itself seemed to shake with a low, angry sound. Hummmmm. It was the sound of flying Iron Order drones and the strange, buzzing energy of dark magic relics.Landon crouched low behind a burned-out, rusted taxi. He did not move. He hardly breathed. His bright blue eyes stared down the empty street. His special power, the Kinetic Echo, pumped through his body. Soft blue light glowed under his skin, tracing the veins in his arms. With this power, he could see the invisible world. He saw the glowing flight paths of the drones in the sky. He saw the waves of energy moving through the air.And then, he saw something new. A giant, glowing red shape moving toward