Hellbender (The Fangborn Series Book 3)

by Dana Cameron

  “I know why you’re here,” he said. “Present your case.”

  Senator Knight handed him a file folder. He flipped through it, his face contorting with anger. He handed it to his second, who looked at it and swore, throwing it to the ground. I picked it up when no one else went for it. One photo showed a large barn on what I assumed was Carolina’s property, covered with some kind of mushrooms.

  Then I realized the things on the wall were ears.

  There had been an orderly pattern, lined up neatly in rows. The oldest ones were now just blurs of weather-beaten flesh and rusty nails that punctuated the ancient wood of the barn.

  I’d never really understood the notion of tacking animal hides or ears or tails to a fence to “scare off” would-be interlopers, but I got it, a little, when situated in the context of fear, superstition, and a struggle for survival. But these days, I was less sympathetic to the gesture, if not outright hostile to it, and I felt my blood boil over as I realized what these trophies were.

  They were human ears, and the reason they’d been hung up next to the wolf ears and snakeskins was because they had been taken from Fangborn.

  As much as I’d like to think we might some day as a species find our way out of the pits of hatred and ignorance, it wasn’t happening anywhere near here, anytime soon. It made me think twice about I-Day.

  I was experiencing something I felt certain was very close to the hatred the Order felt for Fangborn. The killing impulse didn’t fade with that understanding, which distressed me for about a microsecond, and I knew I was heading into murky philosophical waters. The urge to do violence didn’t go away, but I could channel it to suit me: I wasn’t necessarily going to slaughter whoever’d done this, but I was going to give myself a lot of leeway in how I addressed the situation.

  The senator and Passey shook hands on the deal. As the senator turned to go, Passey said, “Will you stay a moment longer, Zoe Miller?”

  Not liking the feeling of danger that suddenly coursed through me, I looked to the senator, who nodded. “We’ll see you at the landing point,” he said as he and Jason left.

  I expected to be asked about my unexpected trip to Japan, or introduced around as a courtesy, a stray to a new group. Instead, I was confronted with a picture of Fatima Breitbarth’s body in the snow.

  “You left your friend, your Family, to die, while you escaped?” he demanded.

  I gasped, shocked by his accusation. “No! The Makers—”

  There were uneasy sounds in the rest of the group, as if I had invoked some holy name.

  Eli held up a hand to quiet them. “I’ve heard about your powers, everyone has, and still you didn’t save her. What, were you trying to get some of her abilities for yourself? That’s what you do, isn’t it? Suck the power from other Fangborn. You’re some kind of vampire now? Or are you in league with the Order?”

  Stunned by his accusations and total lack of understanding, I said, “What? No, I never—”

  “What about Toshiharu Yamazaki-Campbell? Everyone knows that you assaulted him.”

  Passey suddenly reminded me of a Fangborn version of Buell, and I was shocked at just how much that frightened me. Logic didn’t enter into addressing something as deep as a cultural bias. It was more dangerous than religion, because in this case, there was no higher power, no rules to temper his response. It was Passey’s ideas alone driving him, and it made him dangerous. Disagree with him, and he’d claim you were anti-Fangborn, which, with this crowd, was something you didn’t do.

  “What? No! He and I were . . . competing for the power from an artifact. I won. He’s still Toshi; he’s still got all his vampire powers. That’s just a false rumor. He’s in Boston now! You can ask him!”

  “We’re not in contact with him.”

  “That doesn’t make me a liar.”

  “Uh-huh. Well, I’m not convinced. In fact”—Passey glanced around at the crowd of angry Fangborn around me—“none of us are convinced. I’m calling for Examination.”

  Whatever, if it would just get us moving. “Great. AP English or history? Trivial Pursuit?”

  Passey looked aghast. “You take this very lightly. Too lightly. Call your Family together; let them stand with you.”

  “I’m a stray, you know that. What am I supposed to be taking so seriously?”

  “Examination is our justice. If you’re found guilty, you undergo a shedding.”

  I shook my head at this sudden madness. “I don’t know what that is.”

  He looked shocked. “How can you not? Stripped of your powers. A group of vampires drains the life from you, almost—and injects certain chemicals. It has the effect of permanently removing your powers, your ability to Change.” Passey smirked. “No more Miss Showboating Stray.”

  “But I didn’t do anything!” I insisted. “And you’ll be able to tell I’m telling the truth. You bring those vampires in here right now!”

  “We know you’re not lying. But if you’ve broken our laws, you pay the price.”

  “I was trying to help!” I looked around desperately. “Ask them! Ask Toshi!”

  “Not necessary. We ourselves have proof of your lawbreaking. Your image, your name is what was broadcast to all of our people, on two occasions now. That resulted in the death of several Family members, thus breaking the law.” He spat. “We abide by the law, even if you don’t. Resign yourself.”

  I didn’t have time to waste with this. I knew I’d done nothing wrong, and I didn’t have the time to work it out by trial. But I couldn’t risk any ill will that might jeopardize our mission tomorrow.

  I had to get out of here.

  I could feel the antagonism toward me building, and knew that it wasn’t going to be talk that got me out of here.

  I couldn’t kill or hurt them. We needed them in the fight against Carolina and the Order. I needed another way out.

  The bracelet flared; I recalled the brightness of it underwater in the bath at Kanazawa. It was camouflage. I needed camouflage now . . .

  The idea seemed to feed into the bracelet, making it alive, glowing brighter, and brighter, until the colors washed out and went to—

  Blinding white light, as everything went online, burned on. I felt a thousand suns light up inside me, as if floodgates had been opened, a connection made, a damper removed.

  If I thought I was the only one who could see it, that this was a private showing, I was wrong. The rest of the Pack could see it, too, and threw their hands up over their faces, threw themselves on the ground to keep from being blinded.

  “Don’t lose her!” I heard Passey shout.

  Five more seconds, and I could feel the light softening, going dim again. I cursed myself for not having the brains to run when I could have. I hurried as far over to the gateway as I could, trying not to step on too many people as I ran. I didn’t oppose squashed toes or crunched fingers, not at the moment. I was just trying to keep as inconspicuous as possible while I fled.

  The light vanished, and I was face to face with three very angry werewolves and a vampire. I stopped short, wishing I’d thought to run along a wall, and at least be able to fight with my back to that.

  “Who has her?” The vampire in front of me Changed, gone to gray scales with yellow streaks. He was so huge, I couldn’t imagine what kind of snake he resembled. Maybe he was the Loch Ness monster.

  Then I realized he was staring right at me and still couldn’t see me. Couldn’t smell me. Maybe he was still blind, suffering the aftereffects of—

  He turned and made eye contact with his equally confused partner. They could see each other . . .

  No time for questions. Time to jam.

  I started to tiptoe around the trio, when one of them, searching for me, whirled around, his arm out. I braced for the impact and the brawl that would follow.

  It never came. His arm went straight through me. In fact, now he was standing exactly where I was.

  I couldn’t feel him. He couldn’t feel me. So I needed to get the h
ell out of here while I could.

  I ran while they were still hollering and groping for me. I ran until I was pretty sure I was safe, then ran some more to confuse my trail, and then ran a bit farther because I was scared to death.

  I kept running, also, because at least it felt like I was alive. My heart pounded, my chest heaved, the sweat rolled off me. I was afraid if I stopped running, I wouldn’t be able to feel the ground, that I would be stuck otherwhere, out of sight forever. I was afraid I would learn I’d turned into a ghost.

  It was tripping and measuring out my length on the pine needle duff that finally convinced me. Ghosts can’t stub their toes.

  The bracelet went from living color to dull, so that it looked like an ordinary mortal accessory. I could see myself solid, again.

  I raced for the landing site.

  “What did they want?” the senator asked. His question was all innocence but with no surprise that I’d been running.

  I eyed him, half wondering if he hadn’t offered me up to them on purpose, especially after the demonstration, when I’d seen him lose his cool. I caught my breath. “They wanted to subject me to Examination and shedding. I escaped.”

  “Did you kill anyone?”

  He didn’t ask why, I noticed. “No. I knew better. That would void their contract. Will my escape affect your deal?”

  The senator leaned back and shook his head. “As long as no one is dead, they are allowed to fight with us, and if I-Day comes within the year, they are content.”

  “Fine.”

  We sat in silence, waiting for Jill the raven to return with her intelligence, and then left for the island.

  I had been fast asleep that night when suddenly the alarms sounded in the lab. I materialized there immediately.

  “What the hell is that?”

  Sean stared at a screen flashing red, lighting up his face. “Intruder alert. They’re coming in from all over.”

  “What? We don’t have an intruder alert. We can’t have intruders, because we’re . . . me?”

  “Dude, I can only tell you what the screen says. Anything else, you have to figure out yourself. The software is only as good as the user.”

  “Yeah, whatever, shut up a second.” I thought furiously. “Okay, Sean, stay with me.”

  We were in the coffee room, the space where the men I’d killed—some from the Order, some mercenaries from Dmitri’s employ—hung out. Basically, if their blood was on my hands, they were here and I had access to their memories and knowledge. “Whatever you guys used to do back in the day, you’re doing it for me now. We have intruders, and we can’t afford that. If I go, you go. We’ve got to get them out of here, ASAP.”

  “Zo, are you sure that is a good idea?” Sean asked. “What if they belong here, came in with the other artifacts? New abilities, new minds, like Dr. Osborne?”

  “I wondered about that, but it was the fact that you called them intruders, Sean. New rule: anyone who wants to be in here has to introduce themselves to me, shake my hand. Got it? No skulking in around through the lab without a pass, which . . .” Suddenly badges appeared on everyone around me, including me. “Which you all have. We’ll sort out levels of access later. Sean, where we got them?”

  “Five different points. Here.” He raised a hand, and suddenly a plan schematic of the lab, now a full-on office park, appeared. It was far bigger than I thought, even with the new lab attached.

  “Okay, five teams, divvy up according to abilities.”

  Instantly, the mercenaries who worked for Dmitri Parshin in life now formed teams in their afterlife to fight for me. They appeared to be armed again, but that was my intent. No weapons allowed in my mind-lab but those I authorized.

  A group of ten interns stood there. “You guys—just keep out of the way.”

  “Zoe, hang on,” Sean said. “The lab rats, the undergrads—they’re not dead, remember? They’re constructs, kind of subprograms you created to sort some of the information so you could study it.”

  “Yeah? Right, they’re not mercenaries, not trained soldiers.”

  Sean looked pleased with himself. “But they can be.”

  Holy shit. They could be anything I wanted. I was still figuring out how all this worked, but the bigger I could imagine, the better they’d be. “Right. You guys . . .” I pointed to the undergrads and interns and waved my hand. “You now have the skills those guys have. And you’re all on my side, no divided loyalties here.”

  Instantly, they wore gray fatigues and snapped to attention.

  “Okay, good enough.” I’d been hoping for white-armored storm troopers or giant battle bots, but this was all I was capable of mustering up at the moment, apparently. “Break off with the other teams, same drill. All of you, ask questions first, but return fire if the intruders get aggressive in any way. Got it?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Go.”

  I was going to have to train them to say, “Yes, ma’am.” “Sean, let’s go find the biggest ones.”

  Sean kept an ear open and told me when the other teams found humanoid invaders in areas around the lab; my guys were doing a competent job of containing them. What the invaders seemed to be doing looked to me like sabotage, a rogue demolition team. They ignored my guys until their pry bars and toolboxes were taken away from them, and they attacked. This is exactly what Dmitri’s ex-mercenaries wanted, and the first three groups of invaders were crushed to dust. Too easily. They failed so quickly that I had to assume that was intended: There was nothing left for me to examine or interrogate.

  The invaders Sean and I found, on the other hand, looked like a couple of industrial-sized yeti and I suspected were much tougher than the ones Sean had reported elsewhere. They’d made straight for the boiler room, their intent clearly to shut us down.

  I hauled off and punched one in the head. He didn’t even look up. He wore green overalls with no markings; his “skin” was traffic-cone orange and his head was hairless as well as featureless; there was nothing but a kind of fuzzy flatness where his face should have been. I felt a little sick, like the time when I saw the little bumps all over my arm and realized I had caught chicken pox.

  “Zoe, our guys are back in the lab,” Sean reported, pointing out that the faceless goons we were confronting had materialized there as well. I noticed he now had a very flashy military-looking earpiece with which he was communicating with the other teams. “They couldn’t even make a dent in these guys. They sort of . . . bounced . . . right off them.”

  “Okay, Sean. You go help that team, pronto. Then I want you to divert all the power you’re not using to repel any other invaders to tracking and nailing that last team. Anything left over, you ship it straight to me!”

  Sean vanished.

  On my own, I took a deep breath and tackled the one nearest me. He was easily twice my size and removing the plates from what looked like old-fashioned fuse boxes and control panels. I bunched up both fists and slammed him in the back of the head. He backhanded me without even looking, and I sailed across the room. I picked myself up and put a hand out to steady myself. I felt teeth moving under my tongue.

  I Changed to my werewolf form and decided to use his own power against him. While he worked, I snuck up behind him and pulled a file from his kit. Using all my might, I rammed it through his neck at the base of the skull. I felt the blow reverberate through my whole body, and then I felt like I’d been hooked up to the electrical mains myself as a jolt of power about fried me to death. The file sizzled, and I let go. He collapsed in a pile of pixels and sparks and flaming circuitry, which flared up and then zapped out. Nothing but a pile of dust left.

  The last one was twice the size of his friend, and he was busily disconnecting ductwork. I knew enough not to go in barehanded, so I picked up the hammer that he wasn’t using—he had a fine, daunting collection of scary tools—hauled back, and swung.

  Not so much as a grunt, no break in his concentration. He was doing very bad things to the beating heart
of the lab facility and I had to stop him . . .

  But the hammer I’d taken from him was suddenly much bigger, like Mjölnir’s cousin. It stood to reason if these guys were here to bust down the structures of the bracelet construct, then the tools they had were related, somehow. I had those powers, so I could use those tools against them, too.

  I swung, and it felt . . . like it was part of me.

  I squashed him like a bug. He dissolved into dust.

  No time to think about this new development. “Sean! Where is the last group? Have you got them contained?”

  No answer.

  “Sean?” Panic welled up in me. Had I scrambled my own systems, using the bracelet inside the lab, using the invaders’ own power against them?

  Static in my head. “—facts—” was all I could make out.

  At least it was Sean’s voice. The last of the intruders were in the artifact storage area, which struck me as the true brain of the lab. I found myself there and got just a glimpse of the two invaders, easily as large as the ones I had fought just now, as they vanished.

  Sean and the rest of my makeshift security team were picking themselves up off the floor. They were covered in bruises, some bleeding, and had clearly been no match for the invaders.

  “Sean, where did they go?”

  He just shook his head, trying to catch his breath. Sean’s arm was shredded pretty badly, and I realized that he couldn’t talk because some vital part of my systems, my ’verse, had been compromised.

  Okay, think, think . . . “Hey, Doc?”