The Terramotta rattled as we tore down the I-696. The armor plating on the passenger side was scorched black from the artillery fire we had barely outrun.

  Above us, the rotors cut through the wind.

  Bells leaned forward, looking up through the shattered windshield.

  "Great," he spat. "Now the whole city will see us retreating."

  "Kaz?" Bells asked, looking at me. "You hearing me? We look like rats running from a sinking ship."

  I ignored him and pulled my phone from my pocket and speed dialed Aiya.

  "Pick up," I hissed. "Pick up."

  "Namaste," Aiya’s voice came through. She sounded serene. Too serene. "You are interrupting my centering hour, Kaz."

  "Get Grace," I said. "Get Sal. Bring them to the duplex immediately. Pack a bag. Don't ask questions."

  "Kaz," Aiya said. "Your voice is constricted. Your throat chakra is blocked. You need to relax your diaphragm and let the energy fl—"

  "Aiya!" I roared, slamming my hand against the dashboard. "Shut up and listen! We are in a worst case scenario! Get them to the house now or we are all dead! Do you understand?"

  "Okay," she said. "Ten minutes."

  She hung up.

  I tossed the phone onto the seat.

  "The Supermarket," I said to myself. "It hasn't opened yet. To the public, it’s just a construction site. Axehill won’t waste munitions on an empty building. It won't be applicable as a war target."

  "And the restaurant?" I continued.

  "Finished," I said. "The restaurant is the face of the brand. He’ll burn it to the ground tonight just to show he can. The gas station too."

  I clenched my jaw. "Good thing Brady is off work today. At least I won't have to write a eulogy for him."

  "He's going to strip us," I realized. "He's going to destroy everything that makes money."

  "Everything that funds the war," I added. "He knows we can't fight a prolonged conflict without liquidity so he's cutting the purse strings."

  I took the exit for Southfield, the tires screeching.

  "So what do we do?" Bells asked. "We can't fight that army and we can't go back to the city. We’re burned."

  "We withstand White Hill from my house," I said.

  Bells blinked and looked at me like I had lost my mind. "We withstand a Superpower... from your house? In the suburbs?"

  "That’s the one place where I am God," I said. "My Garden. My Dominion."

  Bells scoffed, crossing his arms. "You’re going to hold off tanks with a vegetable patch? Seriously? That’s the plan?"

  "It sounds crazy," I admitted. "But my duplex and garden are the most powerful weapons I have. That, and the colony in Adam, will suffice."

  We pulled into the driveway.

  Aiya’s car and Sal’s truck were already there.

  The three of them were waiting on the front lawn. Grace was pacing, wringing her hands in a fur coat. Sal was leaning against the hood of his truck, sipping casually on a beer. Aiya was sitting on the porch steps in the lotus position, eyes closed, humming.

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  I jumped out of the Terramotta.

  "We have to destroy this duplex," I said. "Now."

  Grace stopped pacing. "What? Destroy it? Kaz, are you insane? This is our safe house!"

  "It’s not safe yet," I said. "Not while it stands."

  I looked at Sal.

  "Sal, get your tools. I need this structure leveled. Flat. I need the footprint clear."

  Sal didn't argue or ask why. He just finished his beer, crushed the can, and tossed it into the bed of his truck.

  "You want it down fast, Boss?" Sal asked, reaching for a heavy sledgehammer.

  "Five minutes," I said.

  Sal nodded. His Path was [Master Builder]. He wasn't a wizard who could wave his hand and make things disappear, but he understood structures on a supernatural level. He could see the stress points in a building like a chiropractor saw a spine.

  He walked up to the corner of the house and tapped the brickwork with his finger.

  "Load bearing stress point here," Sal muttered. He swung the sledgehammer.

  It wasn't a normal hit.

  "Bells," I yelled. "Push it over!"

  Bells sighed, stepping out of the truck. "Why am I being used for demolition?"

  He thrust his palms forward and a gale force wind slammed into the weakened wall.

  The front of the duplex collapsed in a cloud of dust.

  Grace screamed, shielding her hair. Aiya didn't move, still meditating as debris rained down around her.

  "Kaz!" Grace yelled. "What is wrong with you?!"

  "Survival!" I shouted back. I grabbed a steel beam from the rubble and bent it aside. "Sal! The foundation! Remove it!"

  Sal waded into the dust and found the sweet spot on the concrete slab. He struck it with the hammer, once, twice. The concrete shattered into gravel, losing all cohesion.

  "Clear!" Sal yelled.

  I ran to the center of the ruin.

  Where my living room used to be, there was now just dirt. I dropped to my knees.

  I placed my hands on the edge of the Spirit Soil that made up my backyard garden.

  "Expand," I commanded.

  I poured my Qi into the ground.

  The soil surged forward like a tide. It consumed the gravel, the dirt, the front lawn, and the driveway. It spread until the entire property line was nothing but earth.

  "Dominion," I whispered.

  I visualized the walls.

  The Heavenly Bamboo stalks in the back roared to life and grew wildly, shooting thirty feet into the air. They multiplied, racing along the perimeter of the property line, encasing us in a square of black green iron.

  "Whispervine," I ordered.

  The vines exploded from the soil, climbing the bamboo instantly. They wove together, sealing every gap, creating a soundproof, heat-proof, vision-proof seal.

  "Moss."

  The Heavenly Moss spread across the ground, turning the dirt floor into a soft, glowing teal carpet.

  The sunlight was cut off. We were plunged into the twilight of the garden. The air instantly turned sweet and rich with Qi.

  Silence fell.

  The sirens outside were gone. The choppers were gone. The war was gone.

  We stood in a bioluminescent box.

  I stood up, dusting the soil from my knees and looked at the group.

  Grace was trembling. Sal was cracking another beer, looking impressed by the bamboo.

  "We are under attack," I said. "The supermarket attack was orchestrated by White Hill."

  "However," I continued. "It was I who made the first official move starting the war. I attacked their cities. That was a mistake."

  Grace put her hand over her mouth.

  "I underestimated White Hill," I admitted. "I poked the mountain, and now the whole faction will have to pay for it. We will not be able to leave this place for a very long time."

  Aiya finally opened her eyes. "Karma acts quickly."

  Sal took a long pull of his beer, crushing the can. "So we're under siege. Got it."

  "Will we be safe here?" Grace asked.

  "Yes," I said. "This garden is completely self-sustaining. It produces its own atmosphere. The Whispervine hides our heat signature. To the outside world, this lot is just an overgrown patch of weeds."

  "No one, not even White Hill, will be able to find us here," I said. "And even if they do, they cannot penetrate Grade 5 Bamboo in my Dominion."

  "But the money..." Grace started.

  "We will still have our income from the mines in Adam," I said. "Mayah will keep the transfers coming. However, the restaurant and gas station in Detroit will be destroyed by White Hill tonight. Our supermarket will likely have to be moved somewhere else when this is all said and done."

  I walked over to the rack where I kept my tools and sat down on a bench grown from roots.

  "For now, however," I said, looking at the ceiling of leaves. "We withstand until White Hill gives up."

  I leaned back, closing my eyes.

  "Like cowards."