Cade smiled. He had them now.
Sarah sat on the same bench Cade had used earlier that day. She watched the shadows sliding down the wall as the sun set and Sanctuary began its nightly ritual of madness. It was time to go inside, bolt the doors, lock the shutters. But why bother? That hadn’t saved Terrel. In Sanctuary death followed you wherever you tried to hide. If it weren’t for the children – . .
Toth was a good boy; he tried. He understood what had happened and tried to help. Little Dru had no idea what was going on. She was always asking where Da was, and no matter how many times Sarah had ex- plained to her that her father wasn’t coming back, she refused to under- stand. And now, with Cade in the house, they were that much more confused. He had turned their lives upside down. Sarah couldn’t decide whether she hated or feared Cade or if it was both.
He ordered everyone around like he owned them. Sarah still shook with anger when she recalled catching him teaching the children to fight with a knife.
Gods, they were still her babies.
Cade had accused her of coddling and smothering them. He had called her a fool and said that fighting was the only way to stay alive in a cesspool like Sanctuary.
But how could she explain it to him? Terrel was his brother-surely Cade knew about his brother’s crippled hands. How could Cade forget? How could he continue to embrace violence? She and Terrel had con- sciously rejected it, and rejected it for their children.
She wasn’t stupid, though. She knew he continued to teach Toth when- ever she wasn’t around. The bastard.