“Be careful, but don't just shoot anything you see,” he said. “Remember your ammo is limited.”
The vampire nodded. “Good luck, Honored Paladin.”
Derek was still getting used to being called that. But he also thought it was about time that baselines got a title of their own. Sparing it no more thought, he slowly lowered himself down until he was hanging from the line by his hands. Despite his own fears, he sped forward much faster than Loga or Laura. He had a bit more confidence in his rope-braiding abilities than those two. It was surprising how often you needed to make one rope out of two when you were out hunting.
All in all, it only took him five minutes to cross, though going faster than was probably safe. The line creaked dangerously a few times, but he didn't worry about it too much, and it held. He had used ziplines before, so he knew better than to look down or do anything else stupid.
When Derek took Van's hand and climbed onto the server building's roof, he found Laura standing there, arms crossed and eyebrow raised.
“Something wrong?” he asked. Why was she mad? They had wasted enough time as it was, wasn't it better to get across faster?
She just rolled her eyes. “Show off.”
They found the stairs down, and Van broke the metal door off its hinges with a few good rams from his shoulder. They made sure to wedge it back into place as much as possible. It was unlikely, but the screamers could get up here, and then all the ridiculousness with the power cords would be moot.
The next level down, they barricaded the door with a free desk. There weren't a lot. This was a server farm, which meant rows and rows of blinking machines, with enough air conditioning to make their breath visible. The desk seemed to belong to the maintenance man. They carefully stacked his pictures on the chair before putting the desk on its side against the doorway, so he couldn't complain too much.
They made sure to barricade the next few floors as well. The zombies probably wouldn't get up here in the first place—they'd shown no preference towards climbing—but better safe than sorry. When they got down to the first floor, they found two vampires waiting for them, rifles ready.
“Honored Paladins Darin and Laurel?” the one on the left demanded.
“Derek and Laura, actually,” Derek corrected him tiredly, recognizing it as a test. “And this is Honored Hunter Van McDowell, and... uh...”
Laura stepped in quickly. “Loga'ha'shanar of the Sky-Borne Lords,” she said. “Take us to wherever you're keeping the captured screamers. Immediately.”
“You can explain to me later,” Derek said as the vamps started leading them away. “I'll start briefing the commander.” He turned to their escort. “Who's in charge here?”
“First Lieutenant Nathaniel Vovk,” he said as they exited the server building. A few other 'sarians locked and barred the door behind them, and the other vampire split off with Laura and Loga. “He's a lupe anthro, so don't freak out...” He glanced at Van. “Nevermind.”
Derek frowned. “People are discriminating against anthros now?”
The 'sarian snorted. “Of course they are. People discriminate against everything. And with Necessarius spread thin with the screamers, we're having trouble containing the riots. The packs do their best, of course, but they're just militia, and a lot of them are just bullies anyway.” He shrugged. “But the Big Boss will deal with it, sooner or later. Here's the Old Wolf. I have to get back to the front.” He trotted off.
It was easy to tell where Vovk's title came from. He was old, covered in silver fur, with sharp wolf ears, wide wolf fangs, and long claws.
It took Derek a second to realize that despite the vampire's assumption, he wasn't actually an anthro. The “fur” was actually hair, and his fangs were contained within a human mouth rather than an animal snout. His claws were steel, not keratin.
He was talking to another 'sarian. It took Derek a moment to recognize Kelly, her crimson hair gray with ash. She had a few good burns, but otherwise looked none the worse for wear. Derek didn't didn't see any sign of the rest of the retinue.
“Sir,” she said to the lupe, while indicating Derek. He turned.
“You're the paladin the Big Boss sent for, then?” The lupe looked him up and down. “Derek Hunter, was it?”
“Derek Huntsman, actually. What's the status of our defense?”
“We're holding pretty well,” Kelly reported. Vovk didn't seem to mind her cutting in. Leading by following the right grunt was a time-honored officer trick. “We haven't seen any more singers since Miss Medina gave the kill order, so we're having an easier time than before.” She glanced around. “Where is she, anyway?”
Derek jerked a thumb back the way he had come. “Inspecting the captured screamers. I'm not sure why. She'll fill us in later.”
“Or I could fill you in now.”
He turned to see Laura walking up to them, her mouth set in a grim line. Loga was nowhere to be found.
“How did the boy take it?” Van said.
She sighed. “Better than expected. He's restrained and sedated now. Once we clear out this mess, we can do some non-invasive tests.”
“Wait one second,” Derek said, holding up a hand. “What exactly is going on with the changeling?”
She smiled sadly. “He got infected by a singer. When I killed her, he went back to normal.”
He nearly staggered, but kept his composure. That meant there was a cure. Perhaps not an easy one, but if they killed the singers...
“...but we already killed the other singers,” Derek said slowly. “And no one else was cured.”
She nodded, the same sad smile still on her face. “I know. I had... issues with that.” She shook her head, clearing her thoughts. “But Loga might be the key. He's a changeling, so who knows what's unique about him. He might be the source of a cure.”
“But he's baseline,” Van said. “I mean, he wasn't always, obviously, but he got all his toys removed when he escaped. You're not going to find your magic bullet there.”
“Something was different about him,” she said. “Maybe it was his physiology, maybe it was his psychology, or maybe it was something about his circumstances.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “But he was a screamer, and now he's not.”
Vovk growled. “I do hope you explained the situation to his keepers. If he reverts, we'll have a screamer in our camp.”
“Of course. As I said earlier, he's heavily sedated and strapped down. But I told him everything as well, so he shouldn't have any problems.”
“Good,” Van said decisively. “Then let's get back to the matter at hand, shall we? We can't perform experiments in a warzone.” He turned to Derek. “This isn't really the place for me, Honored Paladin. Send me to where I'll be most useful.”
Derek turned to Laura. “I haven't seen him fight. What's your take?”
She scratched her chin. “Send him to George. He probably has a spare minigun, and even if not, Van's nailgun will still be useful. Unless...” She glanced at Kelly. “Everyone else is still okay, right?”
Kelly nodded. “Everyone accounted for. Minor burns, none worse than what I've got. Ling got scorched pretty bad on one leg, but the medics are looking at her now.”
“Good,” Derek said. “Specialist, take the Honored Hunter to George, if you would.”
She obeyed without another word, heading off to a distant corner of the front lines. The melano saluted crisply before he left, and Derek returned the gesture.
“What now?” Vovk asked, once the other two were out of earshot.
Derek frowned. “We're down one paladin, but that shouldn't be too much trouble. We just need to make sure we get them all.” He listened to his sixth sense, the zombies screaming in his brain. “They're pretty much all in front of us, as far as I can tell. You have some big guns?”
“A couple Gatling guns. Though I'm not sure how long the ammo will last.”
Laura frowned as well. “The real problem is that we couldn't hear the singers. We have no
way of being sure they're all gone.” She grimaced. “And there's still the possibility they got to the Princess of Killing Sparrow.”
“Unlikely,” Derek said. “The fey are crazy, not stupid. And she clearly knew what the singers could do.” He looked towards the front lines. There wasn't much to see since the smoke covered everything in an impenetrable cloud. But the Necessarians held the line anyway, shooting wherever the flames originated.
“Okay,” Vovk said with a nod. “Time to get to work.”
Chapter 19: PIETAS
BUTLER
Artemis Butler was very, very tired.
He always found it hard to complain at times like this. He hadn't been directly involved in the fighting. The 9th South Central Infantry Battalion had fought the screamers for hours and taken heavy losses in the process. They'd need to be merged with another battalion sooner rather than later. The 16th might be a good choice—one of their companies had been nearly annihilated in the biter attack on Saturday.
Artemis hadn't fought. He couldn't fight. His body was too weak. He had a number of incurable degenerative muscle and bone disorders that had kept him bedridden most of his childhood until he was surgically implanted with steel and titanium bone reinforcements. Even with that, normally at his age he would be long dead. But the toy maker could hold even the worst diseases at bay. For most with similar conditions in Domina City, there was a simple monthly procedure to let them live a normal life. Expensive, yes, but well worth the cost.
But Artemis was lutum informis, “the unformed clay.” He was resistant to the toy maker. Irony of ironies.
He received weekly treatments, but his body was still frail. He could stand, he could walk, he could even run if he really had to. But he couldn't fight. It just wasn't possible.
His phone rang in my pocket, five simple beeps. He clicked the desktop terminal, which also put it on speaker. It was just easier that way.
“Yes, Mary Christina? What is it?”
Her simple program responded quickly and smoothly. “Senator McDowell is on the line. Would you like me to patch him through?”
“Yes, thank you.” He switched on his monitor as well. The senators almost always used video calls.
Evangel's face appeared on his screen within seconds. As usual, his black and white fur was carefully groomed, and his teeth brushed until they shone. His blue eyes, however, had lost some of that gleam Artemis had grown to expect from him. He was tired too.
The ursa anthros were still a little odd. Most of the other kemos were obviously human, albeit in animal skins. But ursas looked like nothing so much as bears lumbering around on their hind legs. That was the point, but it was a bit disconcerting.
“Senator,” Artemis said with a smile. Evangel and he might not be friends, precisely, but he found his debates intelligent and well-reasoned. “You look tired. I take it news of the screamers woke you?” He frowned as he realized the full implications. “Actually, don't you live in that area?”
“Yes,” he replied tiredly. “I've been fighting with your troops since this all started.”
Men and monsters. Artemis bit back a curse and kept his face passive with decades of practice. This was either good or very very bad.
“I trust they were more than competent,” he said.
Evangel grinned toothily. It looked a bit crazed. Stars above, he needed sleep more than Artemis did. “That's a pretty apt description, actually. More than competent.” He shook his head. “And those Paladins... I don't know where you found them, but well done.”
“Luck,” Artemis said. “Nothing more. But I'm guessing you didn't just call to praise my new troops.” While he had done that before, he had always waited until he had rested. No, this was something else.
Evangel nodded. “Indeed. First, it's about the captured screamers. I believe in addition to the burners, you still have a biter?”
“Yes. And our tests are inconclusive. We tested on a few volunteers, and preliminary assumptions were correct: They are still contagious. Killing the singers hasn't seemed to change anything.”
“On that note, what about Loga? He hasn't reverted, has he?”
“Oh, far from it. In fact, as far as we can tell, he's exactly the same as the Paladins now.”
Evangel blinked. “Really?”
Artemis nodded. “Yes, he's immune to infection, and he has a power—pyrokinesis, in his case. I don't think we have to worry about him reverting any time soon.” Artemis sighed. “The bad news is we still don't know why he was cured when his singer was killed, and no one else was. The only logical explanation we have right now is that it's because he was only infected for a few moments.”
“Which would mean the others are incurable,” the senator said. He frowned. “You're not going to make him a Paladin, are you?”
“Of course not. He's far too young, even considering the fact that he's a changeling. He might be useful as an early warning system since he can hear the screamers as well, but we're not sending him into combat.”
Evangel nodded in agreement and steepled his claws in front of him, thinking. “What I'm more worried about,” he said slowly, “is that the singers were apparently seeking a fey.”
“They didn't find her,” Artemis said.
“Yes, but the fact that they thought to look indicates an intelligence behind these attacks.” They had assumed that from the beginning, of course, but this was unshakable proof. “Zombies are a nuisance, Mister Butler. If they have something pulling their strings...”
“I am well aware of the problems this presents, Senator,” Artemis said quietly. “And I promise you we are doing everything in our power to find this perpetrator and stop him.” He smiled. “But for now, I have work to do, and you need to go to sleep. You've earned it.”
Evangel just chuckled. “I didn't do much, but I'll admit that I need it. I pray for your continued success.” He hung up, and Artemis' monitor switched back to the desktop.
He sighed and sat back in his chair. So tired. But he had to stay up. Had to coordinate rebuilding efforts in the damaged district, console the populace, make sure Isaac wasn't getting too caught up in his experiments...
He got up out of his chair and headed towards the door, leaning heavily on his cane.
It was necessary.
Chapter 20: CONSEQUIA
KELLY
Sitting in the driver's seat, Jarasax clicked through something on his phone. “I think that went pretty well, don't you?”
Kelly raised an eyebrow. She was sitting in the passenger seat right next to him. “Over a hundred people screaming and who knows how many dead, and you think it went well?”
From the back of the van, George grunted. “I think he meant the Paladins held themselves together pretty well, all things considered.” He checked his minigun briefly, then threw a blanket over it and pushed it into a corner. “And I have to agree. It could have gone much worse.”
Kat's fingers flashed, and Kelly nodded.
“See, that's what I meant. The kids did great, but there were some stupid mistakes. Medina should have stayed with us, for one thing. The strategist shouldn't be on the front lines.”
Kat's fingers twitched again.
Jarasax rolled his eyes. “Don't encourage her.” He waved away our complaints as he pocketed his phone. “Medina knew what she was doing, and it all worked out in the end.”
“And we got some interesting intelligence out of it,” Alex said as he pared his fingernails with one of his mirrored dayknives. “That changeling boy might be able to help us win this thing before it even really starts.”
George rubbed his forehead. “Someone needs to explain that to me. I keep hearing about this kid, but no one has had time to tell me why he's so damn important.”
“He was a screamer,” Alex said. “Then Medina killed the singer that turned him, and suddenly he wasn't.”
George pursed his lips. “Ah,” he said quietly.
“Yeah,” Alex said with a grin. “Ah. Quite im
portant indeed.”
Kelly pulled her ratburger out of the lunch box at her feet and handed Jarasax his sandwich. “I heard some interesting rumors about that. One of Doctor Henry's aides mentioned that the changeling had fire powers now.”
Kat's fingers twitched briefly.
“Right,” Kelly said around a bite of her burger. “Sorry, I forgot.” She swallowed. “Belman Henry is one of Clarke's aides. He was put in charge of the changeling.”
George grinned. “That's amazing. And useful. Another Paladin will help a lot.”
“If it's true,” Alex said. His knife disappeared with a flick of his wrist as he finished his nails, and it took Kelly a second to spot it in its sheath on his hip. “This friend of a friend rumor is hardly trustworthy.”
“We'll find out soon enough,” Kelly said. She noticed Jarasax glaring at her burger with something like disgust. “Something wrong?”
He turned away and shook his head. “Sorry. Those seaweed buns just make my stomach churn.”
She snorted, almost choking on the bite. She made sure to swallow before speaking. “My salary isn't good enough to splurge. I can afford my fixer or wheat bread. Not both.”
Kat signed something again.
Sax cocked his head to the side, frowning. “Was that sarcasm? I can't tell.”
A few more finger flashes.
He grunted and turned back to the wheel as if he actually had to pay attention to it while we were parked. “No need to be rude.”
“I really need to learn battle sign,” George said from the back. “I keep missing out on Kat's jokes.”
Kelly resisted the urge to laugh—she didn't want to choke again. “You're not missing out on much, trust me.”
Kat growled a little under her throat and opened the van door to leave.
“Hey, don't be like that! I was just joking.”
She rolled her eyes—it was hard to notice with all-black nighteyes, but still—and signed something.
“Oh. Sorry, I forgot.” Kelly turned to Alex. “Alex, you want to go with her to pick up that new game?”
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