by Laken Cane
She’d been splintered, and there she stood, holding the wooden spike in her hand.
Wooden.
“I’ll be damned.” She stared into space, ignoring the curious faces that peered from the shadows. She’d been staked and it hadn’t hurt her.
Because the splinter hadn’t been obsidian.
Word would spread quickly. Those who thought they’d found Rune Alexander’s weakness would now assume she’d become immune to staking, and that, by God, would make the sons of bitches stop trying.
COS had likely hired the would-be assassin to take her out. And when the thought entered her mind, she realized they wouldn’t have stopped with her.
“Fuck,” she yelled, and though she needed badly to feed and had been injured, it didn’t slow her down.
She reached her house in two minutes. “Lex,” she yelled, barreling through the front door. “Lex?”
Lex ran from her bedroom, her hair standing up in a dozen different directions. “What? What?”
Rune put a hand to her chest. “You’re okay. Twins?”
Lex ran, Rune at her heels, to the twins’ room. They pushed open the door and the twins sat up at once.
“What’s wrong?” Denim asked.
Rune swallowed and took a moment to calm her racing heart. The abused organ beat fast and hard, and it hurt.
Despite that, she grinned. “I was attacked on the street a few minutes ago, and I was afraid COS had sent—”
“What?” Ellis popped up like a jack-in-the-box. “Oh my God, you’re covered with blood.”
She frowned and peered at him. “Ellie, what are you doing on the floor?” At least he’d thought to bring a thick sleeping bag.
“He wouldn’t listen to me,” Levi said, rubbing his eyes. “I told him to go home.”
“You also told me I could get into bed,” Ellis said. He stood and studied Rune. “Where are you hurt?”
“I was shot,” she told them. “And staked.”
“But you’re…” Lex gestured.
“Yeah. I was staked with wood. Obviously the only thing I’m sensitive to is obsidian. And that’s a secret we need to keep.”
“But the birds knew to use obsidian,” Denim said. “Didn’t they?”
She shook her head. “The birds use obsidian for everything. It was my bad luck they used it to make a splinter.”
“And Llodra?”
“Llodra just knew.” She didn’t look at Ellis. She still hadn’t told him that Nicolas Llodra had been her father.
Levi patted the bed. “You need to feed.”
But she backed away. “I want to clean up. Go back to sleep.”
She was going to call the berserker.
It was time.
Chapter Thirty-Four
She showered, put on a clean T-shirt, then paced her room.
She wanted to call Strad. Needed to call him—not only for her, but for him. He had to be in agony as the addiction, unsatisfied and unrelenting, ripped its way through his body and brain.
“Shit.” She tossed the cell on her bed, stared at it for a minute, then snatched it back. “Dammit.” She pushed her fist into her abdomen. Could she do it? Could she?
She punched in his number.
“Rune?” he said.
She blew out a breath. “Yeah.”
“I’m on my way,” he said, and hung up.
When he pulled up in front of her house, she opened the door and stood in the doorway, waiting.
She folded her arms and leaned against the doorframe, hoping he wouldn’t notice that she was a raw bundle of nerves.
He stood in front of her, finally. He watched her, his eyes glittering, his hair unbound and messy, streaming over his massive chest.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
She opened her mouth, but nothing came out.
“I hurt you. I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to make it up to you.” His voice was deep and soft, drifting into the cool air, into her mind, into her heart.
“Berserker. We’re not even—”
“Yes, sweetheart. Yes, we are.”
She closed her eyes for a long moment. “Fuck.”
He waited.
She opened her eyes, and then, she opened her arms.
He didn’t hesitate. He pulled her to him and wrapped her in his arms, his breath leaving him in one long sigh.
At last, she stepped away from him, took his hand, and led him into her bedroom. She slid into bed and under the sheets, watching him as he undressed.
He left his boxers on, then got into bed beside her. He slid his arm under her head and pulled her against his warm chest.
The trembling started inside her, spreading outward until her entire body was shuddering against him.
He said nothing, just held her.
And gradually, the trembling stopped.
“Berserker,” she whispered, her lips touching the softness of his throat.
“I’ll always be here, Rune. I swear it.” He touched her cheek, caressing. “I’ll never hurt you intentionally, and I will never leave you.”
She smiled, a little. “Not even if I want you to?”
“Not even then,” he promised.
And she didn’t care if it didn’t make sense, didn’t care if it wasn’t right. Didn’t care.
She dropped her fangs.
His blood sang through her and as she drank, she swallowed hope and life and belief that the world could be less dark.
That she could be okay.
That she could trust the berserker.
Completely.
Could he trust her?
Maybe.
But maybe he shouldn’t.
Finally, replete and buzzing with the sort of high she would only ever be able to get from blood, she retracted her fangs.
Heavy-limbed and tired, she fell asleep with her lips pressed against the stickiness of his wound.
She awakened immediately—how much later she couldn’t have said, but it felt much, much later—at the tapping on the front door.
Strad stiffened and she knew he was aware.
Carefully, they slid from the bed. She scooped a gun off the dresser and tossed it to the berserker, then released her claws.
If it’d been one of her people, they’d have called first.
Lex appeared from the dark recesses of the house. The twins and Lex’s bedrooms were at the back of the house, and it would have been nearly impossible for them to hear the tapping.
Lex’s hearing had become extra sensitive, but most likely she’d been roaming the house. Rune had discovered that the little Other didn’t require a lot of sleep.
The tapping came again.
“Who is it?” Rune asked.
“It’s Fin. Can I talk to you?”
Strad pulled open the door, and Fin’s eyes widened. “Strad.”
“I didn’t think you were going to show,” Rune said.
“Yeah, imagine,” Fin replied. “A bird with some honor.”
She retracted her claws. “Who wants coffee?”
“I’ll make some,” Lex said.
Strad leaned against the counter, not bothered in the least by the fact that he wore only boxers, or that an angry red wound and traces of blood marred his neck.
“Cree is okay,” Fin said, as though someone had asked him. He sat stiffly in his chair, his gaze darting and nervous. “It’s not easy for us to live outside the family, but we’ll survive.”
Rune lifted an eyebrow. “Too bad. You have some information for me?”
He flushed and tugged at his hair, as though making sure it covered his scars. “Yes. I promised to tell you everything about the dead Others. You can tell Bill Rice what you like.”
“Let’s hear it,” Rune said.
Fin nodded. “Lara wanted to be a scepter, and she wanted it in a hurry. She was…bad.” He looked at Strad. “You know that.”
“Go on,” Rune said.
“Lara was planning to fight Loraine for her spot. Sh
e would have killed Loraine, or at least, that’s what Cree feared. So once COS was hiding on the mountain, Cree approached Bach Horner. She asked him to kill Lara.”
Strad took a drink of the coffee Lex handed him. “Little idiot,” he muttered.
“You know how Cree is. Impulsive. Immature. She wanted Lara out of the way. If Lara had killed Loraine, she’d have been Cree’s superior.”
Strad sighed. “Cree didn’t have Lara killed because she was afraid Loraine would die. She and Lara were in constant competition.”
Fin nodded. “They hated each other. Lara as a scepter?” He shook his head, his face paling. “Not good for any of us. We can’t kill each other, so she asked COS to do it for her.” He shrugged. “It’s almost understandable. But she never thought this far ahead. She never thought her actions would be discovered and get her banished. Never thought COS would force her to abduct you, Rune.”
“There was no force,” Rune said.
“She knows Loraine is dead?” Strad asked.
“Thank you,” he said to Lex, when she gave him his coffee. “Yes, Strad. And she knows who killed her.”
Rune smiled. “We can have a discussion about it anytime she wants.”
Fin placed his mug carefully on the table. “What she wants,” he said, “is to join your crew.”
Chapter Thirty-Five
No one said a word.
Then the berserker strode to Fin. “Look at me.”
Fin did. “I know,” he said, holding up his hands. “I know.”
“No. You don’t know, or you wouldn’t have said such a stupid fucking thing.” Strad was getting angrier by the second. “Go back to wherever the two of you are holed up, and tell Cree that if I catch her anywhere near Rune, anywhere near the crew, I will kill her.” He clenched his fists. “And then I will kill you, because God knows the two of you can’t bear to be separated and I am just that fucking generous.”
Fin paled. “I’ll tell her.”
Strad gave a sharp nod and moved away from the bird. “Finish your story.”
“Once COS killed Lara for Cree, they owned her. That’s why she took you, of course.” He waved his hand impatiently at Rune. “And that doesn’t make it okay, I know. Anyway, COS wasn’t supposed to make Lara’s killing public. They promised to kill her, bury her somewhere, and that would have been the end of it.”
“But COS tortured Lara and nailed her to a wall,” Rune said.
“Yes. And that started the humans—and you—scrutinizing the birds a little too closely. Cree was terrified the scepters would discover what she’d done.”
“Ah,” Rune said. “So she killed the second Other to take suspicion off the birds.”
He nodded. “I didn’t say it was smart. She was desperate.”
“Did you know what she was doing?” Strad asked.
“No, I swear. Not until it was too late.”
Rune stood. “I’ll tell my boss. He’ll send people after Cree. And you.”
Fin took the hint and stood as well. “She has her wings, thanks to you. They won’t find us.”
“You lied about COS being in the Camp,” Rune said. “We were there.”
He shook his head. “It’s what Cree told me.”
“Before you go,” Rune said. “COS hired a mercenary to take me out. Who is he?”
“What mercenary?” the berserker asked.
Fin frowned. “If COS hired someone, the birds know nothing about it. If there had been even a hint of an assassin, I’d have known. Nothing stays secret on our mountain. Not for long.”
“Rune,” Strad said. “What fucking mercenary?”
“Let’s see Fin out and I’ll tell you all about it,” she said.
“Wait,” Lex said. “I remember. Fin’s voice echoed in my head but I couldn’t figure it out until now.”
“What, Lex?” Rune asked.
“I…I think I remember Fin’s voice when I was with the twins. He talked to them. Or…he talked near them.”
Fin’s eyes widened and with a habitual movement, he flicked his hair to cover his scarred face. He glanced at Rune, then Strad. “I gave them food sometimes. I never wanted the twins hurt.”
“You tried to stand up for me against Horner,” Rune said. “That’s the only reason I’m letting you walk out of here right now.”
Strad wasn’t mollified. He stared down at Fin. “You didn’t tell me the twins were there. You didn’t tell me Rune was there. You’ll answer to me for that.”
But Rune put a hand on his arm. “But not right now.” Why she was protecting the bird she couldn’t have said. He was as guilty as any of them.
She was getting soft.
Maybe it was because Fin hid his scarred face. Or because he’d grown up knowing nothing but the birds and their ways.
Or it could have been because something about him reminded her just slightly of the little bite junkie, Amy.
The girl her father had killed.
Strad’s forearm bulged beneath her fingers as he clenched his fists. “How about an exact location of the coming ritual? COS tell you that?”
He shook his head. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I wish I had grown a backbone and told you everything. And no, I don’t know the location.”
“But you did hear Horner’s plans. He is carrying out the sacrifice on the night of the new moon?” Rune asked.
Fin hesitated, his eyes darting from Strad to her. “Yes,” he said, finally. “That’s right.”
She watched him for a moment longer. Something wasn’t right, but she couldn’t figure out what. “Go away, Fin. If I were you, I’d leave the city.”
As the door closed behind Fin, the berserker leaned down to kiss Lex on the cheek. “Goodnight, Lex.”
She grinned and turned away. “I can take a hint.”
“I’m not sure I believe him,” Rune said. “He’s holding something back. Question is, what?”
“You can never trust the birds.”
“You can’t either, Berserker. Don’t forget that.”
He followed her back to the kitchen, watching as she rinsed out the coffee mugs. “What happened? And when?”
“Tonight I was attacked by a man wearing a mask.” She paused, reliving the moment, the dawning shock that the splinter wasn’t going to incapacitate her. “He staked me.”
Strad’s eyes narrowed. “Go on.”
“He staked me with wood. It did nothing to me. Oh, it hurt, but no differently than any severe wound. He also shot me.” She pointed to beneath her chin. “But both wounds healed super fast.”
“So you’re sensitive to the obsidian,” Strad said.
She nodded. “Yeah.” She grinned up at him. “Fucking obsidian. That’s my weakness. Stake me with that shit and I’m useless. Stake me with anything else, I’m fine.”
“If we can keep that secret…”
“Exactly.”
“Did he say anything?”
She pursed her lips, remembering. “He said he’d been told staking would incapacitate me. I told him he’d been misinformed and asked him about COS.” She met Strad’s angry stare. “He seemed genuinely clueless about the church. Then he blew half my head off and disappeared.”
Strad pinched the bridge of his nose. “You think it’s someone else. Some fuck has taken out a hit on you.”
She thought for a second, then nodded. “I don’t think he was from COS.”
“And if they believe staking you is useless, they’re going to try something else.”
“They can’t bomb me, or stake me, or shoot me.”
They were silent as they thought about it.
“Fire,” they both said at once.
“That’s what he’ll try,” Strad said.
“Shit. I really don’t like being burned.” Then she clutched her stomach as she realized what else they might do. “Decapitation.”
Strad shuddered. “I’ll see what I can find out.”
“He was human.”
He lifted an ey
ebrow. “Must be a human with a death wish, to take you on.”
She grinned. “You took me on.”
“Not as an enemy.” He held out his hand. “Let’s go back to bed. We have a couple hours before daylight.”
She hesitated.
A spark of rage lit up his eyes before he could control it. “COS is dead. They don’t know it yet, but they’re dead. Let me hold you while you sleep, Rune.”
Fucking slayers.
And right before dawn, when she woke up thrashing with memories of being paralyzed and helpless while slayers brutalized her, the berserker drew her close and murmured in her ear until she drifted off once more into an uneasy sleep.
Chapter Thirty-Six
“Holy shit,” Rune yelled, and jumped from the bed.
“The fuck?” Strad muttered, his voice thick. He shot from the bed, grabbed Rune by the arm, and shoved her behind him.
“Dude.” Rune frowned. “First lesson of the morning. Even if there is danger, you don’t push me behind you like I’m some fucking distressed damsel.”
He rubbed his face. “Sorry. I was half asleep.”
“Yeah. That’s it.” She glared.
“What were you screeching about?”
It had hardly been a screech, but she let it go. “I just realized that last night, I bit the fucking hit man. I bit him, Berserker.”
He stretched, drawing her gaze to his outrageous six pack. He could have caused a person’s eyes to burst into flames, standing there half naked, his long hair snaking like black silk over his shoulders.
She knew exactly how his smooth skin tasted when she touched it with her tongue, how hard and defined his muscles were beneath her caressing fingertips.
How hot his vivid blue eyes grew when she—
“Rune.”
She shook her head hard, trying to chase away the images that caused all her spit to dry up, that made her forget to close her mouth.
That made her lose track of the conversation.
“I…”
He grinned. “Yes?”
She glared, then shrugged and tossed him a smile. “You’d make the dead drool, Berserker.”
“Oh, how I wish I could see,” Lex said, coming into the room.
“Hey,” Rune said, smiling. “You stay away from him. He’s mine.” As soon as the words left her mouth her mortified gaze flew to the berserker, who looked almost as shocked as she felt.