After Dawn (Book 3 of the Into the Shadows Trilogy) Read Online Free PDF

what you did. What you're doing." She pointed a long, bony finger at him, her eyes sinking into her face. "Murderer! You will carry the weight of thousands of souls on your own."
    He hid his face in his hands. If only he could pinch himself and wake up to find her gone. But she wasn't leaving tonight.
    "Can you handle the weight, Wendell? Can you handle being one of humanity's biggest murderers? Hitler. Stalin. Stevens. It's good company you keep." Her eyes bore into him. "I'll be here, watching, every night. I won't let you get away with this, President." She spat the last word from her mouth as if it were the most foul thing she'd ever tasted.
    "You're a disgrace to humanity. Be careful what actions you take, Wendell Stevens. The universe has a funny way of getting even." She was enveloped in a cloud of molten sunlight and disappeared.
    He was alone. For now. But she'd be back. He didn't doubt that.
    A knock rang through the room and Stevens jumped, a squeak escaping his lips.
    "Sir, are you okay in there? I thought I heard voices," his assistant Martin said. He pushed the door open. "I was just returning some paperwork to your office and was walking by."
    Martin peered around the door. His eyes fell on Stevens crouched in the corner. Stevens trembled, unable to speak.
    "Sir! What happened?" Martin crossed the room in a few quick strides and offered his hands to the President, pulling him to his feet. "You look as if you've seen a ghost."
    "She was. She is," he sputtered.
    "She who?" Martin asked as he led the President to his bed. He gave him a light shove to sit him down.
    "The ghost. She knows about Phase III. How could she know?" His head dropped into his hands.
    "Ghost, sir? Are you sure you aren't just suffering some effects from the stress of the pending war on Mexico?" Martin patted the President's shoulder. "I can call for your anti-anxiety drugs. They'll take the edge off for you. Or maybe a bourbon? That usually sets you right."
    "Mexico is almost ready to go. Just waiting on a few more things from Bacon up in Canada. The Mexicans won't know what hit them." Stevens rubbed his face and took a shaky breath. "Phase III must start as soon as possible. Tomorrow."
    "I thought you wanted to do the inspection yourself later this week?" Martin wrung his hands in his lap. "I'm not even sure if it's ready."
    "It has to be. I don't want to see it. I can’t go there, I mean, she..." Stevens' strength returned and he pounded his fist forcefully into his palm. "They need to be gone before we start this offensive. I don't want to risk any escapees."
    "Yes, sir." Martin nodded. "I'll get on it first thing in the morning."
     
    *
     
    Paivi and Peter Farmington were on overdrive. Whatever plans there were for escape needed to be acted on soon. If Stevens was hell-bent on murdering them, they needed no other motivation. She couldn't allow one soul in the camp to be killed in those showers.
    We need to disable the showers. Paivi pushed her thoughts toward him as she slurped her broth with a spoon. They were not using any words for fear of being overheard.
    But what can we do? We need a fire or something similarly destructive. Peter leaned back against the barrack. Molly sat between them, silently eating and observing the other prisoners. She had been left out of the conversation for the time being.
    I think I can handle that. She gave him a sideways glance. She hadn't disclosed what she was capable of. But he'd learn quickly. She was going to have a busy night. She had to warn Jason, Sterling, and the others that the escape was going to happen sooner than they thought. She also had a special someone to pay a visit to.
    Tomorrow morning we have to act on the showers. Can you be ready? He took a swig from a bottle of water.
    No doubt. Just watch and see. She met his eyes over Molly's head and smiled.
     
    *
     
    "What's your plan?" Sterling demanded when Paivi visited him later that night in his tent at the refugee camp. He was