by K. N. Banet
“Yeah, I know.”
“I didn’t,” Raphael muttered, making the rest of us chuckle. He had a severe look on his face, but his lips curled into a small smile.
“Well, they tried and failed. Hasan should get to Lewis before they can. Not that it really matters. They can interrogate us when this is all said and done.” I pushed forward, taking point as we hiked an incline.
It was a long walk. We had ten miles to cover to reach the exact coordinates of the lab and only had a loose idea of the four-mile radius of security around it. Four miles was a lot of space.
“They really didn’t make it easy to get there,” Sorcha said, stopping for a minute. I was surprised to see her wipe sweat off her brow two miles from the security border. Night was close and would fall before we made it. “I’m not used to so much physical activity in this realm.”
“I assume the researchers and scientists live there full time unless they’re relieved for some reason, in which case, the memory altering security measures kick in,” Cassius said, holding out a hand to her. It was romantic in a quiet way. Raphael glanced at me, and I tucked my hands into my pockets.
Thank goodness I kept up with the no PDA thing. This won’t look strange.
He chuckled silently and kept walking. I went back to point, not liking being at the back of a group, where my thermal vision could be blocked. As it stood, I was already contending with the natural wildlife everywhere, most of it running when it caught our scents…particularly mine. The rodents were running faster than anything else. I did smell a bit like a snake.
“You know, I wish I could remember any of this. I was a mess for a while after escaping, and I…for five years, I didn’t realize how much I didn’t remember. It wasn’t until you all started asking me questions, I realized just how much I lost.”
“We’re going to get that fixed,” Cassius said, his words full of promise. “Kaliya, have you seen anything concerning?”
“Not yet. Normal wildlife running from us because we smell like predators. You know—no sign of humans in the region, which is a plus. As long as it stays that way, we might not have an exposure risk on our hands. Last thing we need is for a bunch of different species to go public during this.”
“Agreed.” He stepped up beside me as the incline leveled out, and we hit a small clearing. “It’s a nice camping spot. Once we clear this up, the humans might be happy to have it back.”
“Yeah, we’ll repurpose the lab into a hub for adventurers and hikers,” I said, my words thick with sarcasm. “Are you bored now? We’ve walked for five miles, and you don’t appreciate the quiet?”
“I’m just trying to keep us engaged. Too much silence and people get lost in their thoughts. Mistakes could happen if someone isn’t paying attention.”
Wasn’t that the truth? I spent most of the walk bouncing between two chains of thought. One was Raphael, ever-present. He needed me. I was doing all of this for him in the end. If it had been anyone else, I would have handed it off to Cassius and moved on while he performed his own investigation. He would have called me when he needed me, but it wouldn’t have felt personal.
The other chain of thought was simpler—how to do this specific type of work. I went over everything in my head, playing back different fights I’d gotten into over the years. I thought about the times I had to infiltrate a place, remembering key lessons from Hisao. I wanted to be perfect. Mistakes could cost me something important. While I would pick Raphael over Sorcha or Cassius, I didn’t much want to lose them, either. They were important to me in their own ways. Cassius was quietly overbearing but a constant presence in my life for decades now. Sorcha related to me, unlike any woman I had met before. They were happily married and the perfect couple. I couldn’t fuck that up for them.
For once, I had to pull off something and not get the people around me hurt. It made me more focused, and I wanted to maintain that focus, not talk about how pretty the scenery was.
“Then play fucking Eye-Spy or whatever,” I said, staring at Cassius.
“I spy a tree,” he said with an emotionless face. Sorcha laughed lightly.
“Cute,” I snapped.
“Don’t get riled up yet,” Sorcha said. “We need to stay somewhat calm. We’re not even there.”
“Says the lady fae who doesn’t exercise enough.” I made an effort to show I was teasing. She chuckled harder, nodding.
“I know! I need to get on a treadmill more often, but really? Being sweaty is miserable.”
“Can we all focus?” Raphael cut in, looking at us like we were children who needed a time out.
I turned on him, not hurt by his words, but guilty he felt the need to say them.
“Sorry. It’s…it’s been a long walk. Just wanted to…”
He looked away. “I’m just getting anxious. It’s like…” He rubbed the back of his head. “It’s like it’s all right there, and I can’t reach it. I’m ready to get there and free them. Maybe even remember.”
We didn’t stop until we were roughly at the border. Cassius tsked to get my attention, and I turned to see him holding a hand up.
“Another thirty steps,” he said, pointing beyond me. “That’s where the security is.”
I looked harder where he was pointing, trying to see what he did. I licked my lips, tasting the air, then I caught the magic. He took the lead, still pointing at the line, where I realized a perfect line of clovers grew.
“There’s always some sort of evidence of fae magic,” he said softly, kneeling at the line. “You just need to know what to look for.”
“Did they make a giant, obscure fae circle?” I asked, frowning at the patch of clovers. I looked to my right and saw it continue until it blended in with the forest, then to my left, seeing the same thing.
“They did. It doesn’t stand out to humans, who wouldn’t think to come this close. This magic is made to repel us. Since we’re supernatural and looking for the location, it’s not bothering us. After this line, I don’t know what we’ll run into.” Cassius stood back up and brushed off his pants.
“Like The Jackalope,” Raphael said, nodding. I didn’t remember explaining that magic to him, but I guessed I had to have at some point.
Cassius nodded slowly. “It’s a common spell, an initial defense. My home doesn’t use it because of the neighborhood I live in, but I use it on other properties I own.”
“Do you…ever go anywhere else?” I watched him, still frowning.
“Sometimes. You know I have vacation homes. I own a lot of property, but Phoenix is a favorite place of mine. So unlike the fae realms. I’ve missed living there.”
“Are we going to cross this or what?” Sorcha asked, then took the first step. Cassius and I both tried to grab her but failed. She walked ten feet, then stopped. “They’re not as powerful as I am. Not that I thought they would be.” She snorted, confident in herself.
I looked at Cassius, who sighed heavily and followed his wife. He struggled, looking as if he had a sudden onset of a migraine.
“That’s…They’re not powerful, but that’s more an assault than I have felt in years,” he said, shaking his head to clear it. “We’re going to need to protect those two.”
“Yup.” Sorcha walked back and reached through the barrier, touching my cheeks first. I felt a fog come over my thoughts and tried to step back. “It’ll pass. It’s a temporary mental shield that will fade once you pass through this. It’s trying to hook into your mind to control your memories. It couldn’t latch onto Cassius and me, but you’re both vulnerable.”
“Don’t do me,” Raphael said when she reached out to him. “I’ve had enough of the weird memory shit you all do.”
She pulled her hands back. “Good point.”
I went through first, testing Sorcha’s protection. I felt it shred away, but nothing felt like it touched me. I sighed and waved at Raphael, who took one wary look at the clover line, then walked in as well.
He fell, grunting as his knees hit t
he dirt. I couldn’t stop my feet. I was at his side in a heartbeat, reaching out to him. He clutched his head, growling viciously.
“Don’t touch me,” he warned, snarling as he turned to look up at me from the corner of his eye. I didn’t step back but stopped my hand where it was, only an inch from him.
Sorcha and Cassius did nothing, only walking closer. I had no idea if there was anything they could do.
After a long few minutes, Raphael’s growls subsided, and he released his head, letting his hands fall to his side. He looked up, his eyes seeming to pinpoint some distant place.
“I remember now,” he said so quietly, the inflection of words different.
“What?” My confusion was clear, but there were other emotions leaking through in that single word—worry, panic, fear.
I stepped back as he stood, his eyes red and black, his black veins spreading quickly. This wasn’t like the other times. They seemed controlled, taking over everything. Once they covered his entire body, a second change began. His skin turned dark grey in one go, and with the black veins, it was like a dark marbling effect. He straightened and grew taller, going closer to seven feet tall than six. His muscles remained proportioned, but he was bigger, just bigger in every way.
And horns grew out of his forehead, seven inches long and black.
There was no denying it anymore.
“I remember everything,” he said, looking down at his hands. “We need to move quickly. They have a pack of werewolves that defend the laboratory from anyone who manages to cross the barrier. And to keep escapees in.” He started walking, leaving us to get over our shock or get left behind.
24
Chapter Twenty-Four
“Raphael, wait up,” I hissed, jogging after him. He was setting a quick pace. “What do you mean there’s a werewolf pack defending the inside of the barrier? We need more information.”
He stopped at a tree, looking around like a professional would. The experience was jarring, to say the least. This was a man who snuck around a lot. He knew these woods.
And he wasn’t much of a man anymore, not with the dark grey skin and black vein pattern all over him. Not with the long horns coming out of his forehead. His fingers, I noticed, ended in black claw-like nails. His clothing, thankfully, was magically fitted due to Cassius’ forethought because he should have ripped through them.
“They’re like Wes,” he said, looking down at me. “They’re all like that. I had to tussle with a few of them when I escaped. Luckily, I healed faster than they ever could.”
“What do you mean, like Wes?” Cassius asked, coming closer.
“We really need to get moving,” Raphael growled back at him, now sounding more confident than I’d ever heard him. “Once we’re in the safe zone, I’ll explain everything.”
“Wes was stuck in the Last Change,” I whispered, thinking about it. “Are you saying they have a pack of werewolves like that? Two legs that look like movie monsters?”
“What do you think I’m trying to say?” he snapped at me. “We. Need. To. Move.”
“What’s the safe zone?” Cassius asked. None of us were actually scared enough of Raphael to listen to his order, and that it was pissing him off.
“An area right around the lab where the wolves don’t go,” he snarled. He started moving again, looking around, ultra-observant. I followed him, unsheathing my talwar just in case we found trouble. When we stopped again, I leaned on the same tree as he did.
“What…what’s going on with you?” I asked, keeping my eyes on his. I wasn’t afraid—I couldn’t be afraid, not now.
“I remember everything,” he repeated, frowning at me. “What about that is hard to get? I mastered my powers in this fucking place. I’m strongest in this form.”
“You’re not acting like you,” I said, trying to understand.
“Because…this is me,” he said, looking momentarily hurt by my words. “The entirety of me. I just forgot for a little while, but now it’s all back. I know who I was here. I left them in here to die for over five years, so forgive me for not stopping to be sentimental. We can talk later. Kaliya, I promise, I’ll explain everything later.”
There at the end, I heard the Raphael I knew. Something in him loosened for just a minute, and there was a plea in his words, something trying to remind me that he was still him.
I won’t give you the chance, and I’m so sorry for that, but this will make it easier. It’ll make everything so much easier.
I nodded. He smiled, and I saw the same smile he gave me for months.
“We have to get over three and a half miles like this,” he said, looking around. “Let’s keep moving. If we run, we’ll burn out.”
“Do you think they’ll find us?” Cassius asked as we hit the next section of trees.
“I know they will, but the farther in we get, we might be able to make a break for it,” Raphael said, looking around, his level of vigilance at an all-time high.
I was doing the same and waiting for a hot spot to show up behind a tree. Sorcha leaned next to me, her eyes watchful, her breathing slow.
“You think we can do this?”
“No idea,” I admitted. “But we’ll die fighting.”
We kept moving, slowly but surely, one hundred yards at a time.
Then we heard it, a howl behind us.
“We still have two miles,” I called out. “And they definitely have our scent.”
“Then we fight and move,” Raphael said, looking back at me. “I can overpower two or three of them at a time, but I don’t know if the pack’s grown since I was here.”
“How many did they have last time?” Sorcha snapped, pulling her sword from her clutch. “Thank Oberon, I brought something silver.”
“Do you have iron, too?” I had no idea if we were going to run into fae next. Thanks to the use of fae magic, I had a feeling we would.
“I made sure to cover my bases,” she replied with a grin.
I had covered mine as well, sheathing the talwar and pulling my right sidearm. I checked quickly, grateful I had dipped into my stash of silver bullets.
“I’m ready, too,” I said, walking backward as I took aim into the dark woods, staring where the howl had come from. Another howl entered the night, then a third. I looked at Sorcha, who paled, realizing the same thing at the same time.
“They have us surrounded,” Cassius called out. “Close ranks and move!”
We all started running. I now heard the running werewolves around us, their heavy pawed feet crunching dead leaves, making the earth rumble with the sound. They didn’t have the same silence at a run as werewolves in true wolf form.
I saw a glimpse of one and took a shot, hearing a whine and a tumble as I either hit it or grazed it. Since the bullets were silver, it was going to fucking hurt either way. Silver was the only thing that could poison and kill a moon cursed.
The wolves backed off, realizing we had silver. The smell of it, if they were truly feral, would drive them off for a moment…unless they were hungry.
“You know, at least it’s werewolves,” I said as we slowed down. “Answer Sorcha’s question,” I said, pointing at Raphael as we jogged now.
“Twenty or thirty,” he said, looking over his shoulder.
We didn’t have time to talk as a snarl made me and Raphael snap our gazes forward again.
“Shit. Fucking pack hunting,” I snapped, pulling up my sidearm and firing at one of the four werewolves in front of us. They all jumped out of the way, and I only grazed one, making it stumble and whine as it ran. I looked around the woods, finding the thermal information I needed. I trained myself to visualize an area as though it was being read through a thermal camera and saw the wolves circling, spaces of warmth in the cool mountain night. “They can communicate, so be careful. They’re talking to each other. They’re going to try to pull us apart and leave us vulnerable.”
“Is there any way to stop this?” Sorcha asked, looking at me with wild eyes. “
I’m not used to this kind of fight, Kaliya!”
I shrugged as a werewolf came racing out of the dark. I fired at it, but it dodged to the side, and a second came from another direction, jumping toward us.
“Kill them!” I yelled at her, trying to fire at the one running around us.
She screamed as the wolf came for her, but it wasn’t a scream of fear. No, this was Sorcha’s battle cry again as she shoved her sword into the open mouth of the werewolf. It hit with so much force that Sorcha was sent backward, but the sword went clear through the werewolf’s head.
I heard a roar but didn’t try to find the origin. I moved to Sorcha’s side and helped her get out from under the dead body, covering for her while she yanked her sword out. She grinned, blood covering her face already. She looked insane. With no time to do anything else, I grabbed her shirt and started pulling her with me.
“Raphael, Cassius! We need to keep moving,” I called out. Raphael’s hands were bloody, and a headless body was at his feet. Cassius had another werewolf held in place with shadow bonds. I lifted my sidearm and fired, nailing it between the eyes. It slumped, and Cassius looked over his shoulder at me. Raphael nodded, tapping Cassius on the arm, then they both started running. Behind them, I saw werewolves coming closer.
“Move,” I ordered Sorcha, and we both took off at a full sprint. I kept checking over my shoulder for Cassius and Raphael, seeing them right behind us. We had already hiked over seven miles, and now we were running from werewolves. I was expecting at least one of us to fall or run out of that energy.
Raphael said something I couldn’t hear. Cassius ended up ahead of Sorcha and me, shadow-stepping an insane distance faster than any of us could run. He stopped and waited, and I knew his eyes were for Sorcha. He hadn’t been able to catch up on his own two feet, but he wanted to run with Sorcha.
A werewolf ran between us when there were only forty yards. At twenty yards, Cassius ducked as another tried for him. Sorcha yelled as we watched Cassius get tackled by the third. I raised my sidearm, but in the dark, it was too dangerous for me to take the shot. Sorcha roared as we got closer, and the werewolf lifted its head. There was no blood on its muzzle, and it seemed confused for a moment.