Ray could have ignored all of this—but when he thought of Principal Rucker… the man carried something of a saint's bearing. Out of a measure of respect, Ray decided to intervene. He didn't want Principal Rucker to return and find the settlement he had painstakingly built destroyed by a handful of vermin.

Of course, Ray could have revealed his strength, forcing Wilson's group to retreat—or even wiped them out entirely.

But he wasn't a killer by nature. Unless provoked, he rarely took the initia