by Laken Cane
The kid didn’t answer, just stared quietly at the glove he hadn’t managed to pry loose. Duct tape had been wound around and around the glove and covered most of his forearm.
“I’ll put him in my car,” Raze growled. “Drop him at the hospital.”
“No,” the boy said, and after two attempts, finally made his way to his feet.
Rune and Z stood with him, Z reaching out a hand to steady the boy. That made the kid jerk away and stumble back so quickly he once again fell to the ground.
“Dude,” Rune said. “You’re injured. We’re taking you to the hospital. Would you like one of us to kick you in the head? We can get you there before you wake up.” She thought her offer was pretty damn reasonable, but Jack raised his eyebrows and sighed.
“What?” she asked.
He grinned and winked at her. “I’ve got this.”
Rune backed up and spread her fingers. “Be my guest, baby.”
He went to the boy, confident, stepping over piles of dead rat shifters and pools of blood. He wiped his blades on his pants, stuck them back into their sheaths, and held out a hand to the boy. “You can trust me.”
The boy stared up at him, his eyes dull from pain and cold, and at last, he pushed himself once more to his feet. He ignored Jack’s hand, but it seemed to Rune that he looked at it with longing.
“Good,” Jack said. “What do you want, boy?”
“To be left alone.”
“I understand that,” Jack replied. “Let’s take you to Rune’s house, get you patched up and fed, and then we’ll talk about the next step. Deal?”
The boy glanced around at them all before he nodded.
“Give us a name,” Jack requested.
After a short hesitation, the boy said, “Ben. Just Ben.”
Jack looked at Rune. “Okay with you?”
Rune watched the boy step a little closer to Jack. He seemed to think Jack was the lesser of the Shiv Crew evils. She shrugged. “Yeah. Take him to my place.”
And as they walked once more toward their cars, she couldn’t help but throw a glance back over her shoulder.
Fucking berserker.
Chapter Two
“One more block to our cars, kid,” Jack said. “We’ll get there a hell of a lot faster if you let me carry you.”
The boy glared as he hobbled up the street. He wasn’t willing to let one of them carry him, but he didn’t object too strenuously to Jack’s arm across his back.
“What’s up with the glove?” Rune asked him. “Is that some sort of makeshift splint?”
He said nothing.
“Kid,” she prompted. “What’s the deal with the fucking glove?”
He frowned, but must have figured out she wasn’t going to let up until he answered. “I put the glove back on after I left.”
It wasn’t an answer, really, but she didn’t push it. Sometimes, kids were just freaks.
He swiveled his head from side to side, his stare watchful. Maybe he was afraid more rats would arrive to avenge the ones Shiv Crew had killed.
Or maybe it was something else.
The streets of Spiritgrove were unkind to the vulnerable.
And even as she had the thought, master vampire Nicolas Llodra stepped out of the shadows and into her path.
Ben gave a startled yelp and turned to run, but Jack grabbed his arm. “Hold up there, boy.”
“It’s almost insulting, isn’t it?” Z said. “Shiv Crew surrounds this kid, but he’s still terrified of the Others.”
Rune shrugged and looked at the vampire. “What do you want, Llodra?”
Several of his children came to stand at his back, silent but alert. He tilted his head and watched her, his dark eyes full of shadows and past agonies that only a master vampire would have experienced. He was old, though his face didn’t show it.
He’d been turned when he was young.
“Ms. Alexander,” he said, finally. “That’s a very interesting young man you have there.” And he turned his face slowly to spear Ben with his sharp, dark gaze.
Ben shrank away but stared at the vampire as though unable to look away, despite his terror.
Jack loaded his hands with silver and stepped in front of the boy. Z and Raze stood ready, eager fingers caressing silver weapons. All they needed was an excuse.
Nicolas knew better than to give them one. “We are going to the club.” He inclined his head at the building across the street.
Rune glanced at Club Kiss, standing with silent darkness between an adult store and a head shop. The club appeared empty and abandoned, but one had only to open the doors to see a place so full there would be little free space to stand or walk.
It would be bursting with music, laughter, dim lights, and vampires—as well as humans. Humans who liked to live dangerously, who were there on a dare, or who’d decided trying to find immortality was worth the risk of playing with the undead.
And bite junkies. It would be full of the desperate bite junkies.
“Then go,” she said.
“You are welcome to join us, Ms. Alexander,” he said, smiling slightly. “On this eve of Christmas, we have many exciting activities planned.”
And again, he glanced toward Ben, who was peering around Jack’s bulk. “Your young friend would be welcome as well. Your men should stay away, though. They’re too dangerous.”
He was suddenly standing right in front of her, too close. Much too close. “I know what the child fears. And I know what you fear. Have you realized what you are?” Again, he tilted his head. “What exactly are you, Ms. Alexander?”
Rune felt the blood drain from her face. She growled and pulled her gun, shooting the vampire full of silver before she’d realized she’d even wanted to. The shot flung him back against his children, who, even as Rune aimed for another round, never made a sound.
They flowed around their master like rippling water and carried him off.
He’d heal, the bastard son of a bitch.
“I’m dangerous, is what the fuck I am,” she bit out, thrusting her gun back into its holster with a little too much force. Fucking vampire.
“You sure are in a bad mood.” Jack reached around and yanked the kid out from behind him. “You don’t have to be scared, little buddy. We won’t let anything happen to you.”
“We’re Shiv Crew,” Raze agreed.
“I’m not scared for me,” Ben said, his voice full of scorn. “It’s everyone else who should be scared.”
If their chuckles bothered him, he didn’t show it.
But when Rune looked at him, her eyes narrowed, he didn’t meet her gaze.
The kid had a story. She had a feeling that by the time she learned it, she’d wish she’d never set eyes on him. She’d learned to trust her gut.
“Dammit, kid,” she murmured.
Llodra’s words echoed in her mind. “Have you realized what you are? What exactly are you?” And his eyes had been full of mystery, curiosity, and knowledge. Too much fucking knowledge.
He mocked her.
“Rune?” Raze thumped her back, sending her staggering off the empty sidewalk. “You okay?”
“Ease up there, dude.”
The others laughed, and even Ben looked a little less grim.
She saw their cars ahead, lined up neatly at the side of the street, and thought for a moment they might actually reach them without further interruptions.
Then her cell rang. “Shit,” she muttered, looking at the display.
“Who is it?” Z asked.
“Jeremy.”
“Don’t answer,” Jack suggested.
She blew out a hard breath and put the cell to her ear.
“Where are you?” Jeremy asked. His voice, full of promise and pain, slid into her ear.
“Heading home. What is it?”
“Swing by Wormwood. There’s a human taking shots at Others.”
“Yeah? So?”
“Rune. See what’s going on.”
“Fine. I’
ll check it out.”
“What?” Raze asked, when she pushed her phone back into her pocket.
“Altercation in Wormwood. Jack, take the kid to my place. Ellie’s there and will make you guys some dinner. Z and Raze, come with me.”
“Jack,” she called, when Jack turned away with Ben. “Figure him out.”
He nodded. “I got it.”
Raze followed her and Z to Wormwood, his car and hers very nearly the only vehicles on the road after they left town. Snow began falling, gently at first, growing steadily harder the closer they got to the cemetery.
“I’m glad we got Ben out of this weather,” Z said. He leaned forward and started looking through the glove box. “Do you have any food stashed in here?”
“Some candy bars. Give me one.”
She pulled up to the gates of Wormwood as he handed her a bar of candy, and thought about how she’d gladly trade the chocolate for a cup of hot coffee.
“Raze didn’t wait for us,” Z said, taking a bite of his candy bar.
“I didn’t expect him to. Come on, let’s go see what the fucking Others are up to tonight.” She got out and strode to the gates, shivering in the cold.
Z had his coat halfway off before she noticed what he was doing and stopped to glare at him. “Get your jacket back on, Z.”
“You don’t always have to be such a hardass, sweet thing. You’re cold. I’m not. Take the coat.”
And as she opened her mouth to argue a hoarse scream sounded, rising sharply before falling into an abrupt silence.
Z dropped his coat, and they left it lying in the snow behind them as they sprinted through the gates of Wormwood.
Chapter Three
“Raze,” Rune yelled, as she ran through the gates.
“Over here,” Z said. He jogged past her, then took a sharp right at a tall tombstone.
She was seconds behind him and when she reached him, he was already standing with his blade to an Other’s throat.
The Other was backed up against a tree, his eyes wide, his hands in the air.
“Dammit, Z, that’s the ghoul. Gunnar. He’s harmless.” Gunnar the ghoul was always lurking somewhere in Wormwood, sneaking around, doing God knew what.
Z backed away slowly, taking his shiv with him. “Sorry, ghoul. You ran, and that made me want to chase you.” He looked at Rune.
But Gunnar didn’t appear to have heard him. His hollow stare was planted firmly on the candy bar peeking out of Z’s shirt pocket.
“Dude,” Rune said. “We were told a human was in here causing trouble. Do you know where he is?”
“And who was screaming?” Z added.
Gunnar’s gaze went back to the candy bar. “No.”
Rune narrowed her eyes and fished her own Baby Ruth candy bar from her pocket. Gunnar’s stare immediately swung to her.
Rune peeled the wrapper from the chocolate, then took a gigantic bite. “Oh, that’s good. Mmmm. So good.” She couldn’t believe the ghoul actually wanted to eat the stuff—after all, ghouls ate the flesh of the dead, didn’t they?—but he wanted it for some reason.
He put his long, skinny fingers to his chest, and there was no mistaking the longing in his eyes. The craving.
Rune softened. A fucking candy bar-eating ghoul. She grinned. “Gunnar, I’ll trade you the candy for some information.”
He nodded and tried to snatch the bar from her, but she was too quick for him. “No, no, dude. You’ll answer my questions first. Then you’ll get the candy.”
He appeared to gather his self-respect as he straightened his spine and stared down his nose at her. Wisps of long, black hair floated around his head, though there was no wind. Snow settled into his locks, adding to his slightly demented, otherworldly look.
At last, he curled his lip, just slightly, and bowed from his waist. “Of course, Your Highness.”
Z gave a quick laugh but cut it off when she turned to glare at him. He cleared his throat. “Sorry,” he muttered. But the grin was still there.
“Where’s the human we’re after, Gunnar?” Rune asked, turning back to the ghoul.
When the ghoul hesitated, she waved the candy under his nose.
He pointed. “That way. The last time I saw him he was shooting at a pike. I do not think he meant to kill her.”
“Why is he here, Gunnar?” Z asked.
Gunnar turned his nose up and continued to stare at Rune.
Rune sighed. “Do you know why he’s here? What does he want?”
“He seeks someone. The master told him the one he hunted was here and that the Others were hiding him. The master lied.”
“Llodra sent him here?”
Gunnar pursed his lips. “That question was already answered.”
She frowned. Smart ass ghoul. “Do you know the human’s name?”
“I do not.”
Then he leaned forward slightly and sniffed. “You smell of him. It is a fresh scent.”
“The master?”
“The human.”
She’d touched dozens of men that night. Some she’d fought, some she’d dragged to jail, and some she’d rescued from Others. There was no way to know exactly which human Gunnar had scented on her. She held the candy out to Gunnar. “Bon appétit, ghoul.”
Again, he bowed. “You are welcome, Your Discourteousness.”
“Freak,” she murmured, and left the ghoul with what was maybe his first candy bar as she went to find the human.
No other screams sounded, and there were still no signs of Raze. Cell phones wouldn’t work inside Wormwood, so she couldn’t call him.
“Why would Llodra send a human into Wormwood?” Z asked, running beside her.
“Because he’s fucking Llodra.” But she knew there was more to it than the master being an asshole. “I don’t know.”
Nicolas Llodra always had an agenda.
The night, dark even beneath the evenly spaced pole lights, was alive with moving shadows, darting figures, and odd sounds. Thumps, whirrs, growls…
And finally, she spotted a body so huge it could only have been Raze. “There,” she said, relieved.
She swerved off the path, Z beside her, and ran toward her fighter, a blade in each hand.
Raze had the human backed up against a gnarled, short tree. As Rune and Z arrived, he twisted the human’s gun from his grip and stuck it into his belt. “Just caught him,” he told her. “He’s not a professional.”
Rune put her blades away. “What the fuck are you doing here, dude? We could have been home drinking coffee instead of trying to protect an idiot who thinks he’s safe in Wormwood with a fucking gun.” She crossed her arms.
“Five more minutes he’d have been dead,” Raze growled. ”Wolves were already closing in when I found him.”
“I didn’t need protection,” the man said, finally. He clenched his fists but made no move toward them. Obviously he wasn’t quite that stupid.
He was well dressed for the cold night, wearing a heavy coat, a scarf, and a hat. His hands were bare. He was unremarkable in looks—medium everything. Medium height, hair length, weight. He looked like he belonged behind a desk, not in an Other graveyard waving a gun around.
“Cuff him, Z. He can talk as we walk him the hell out of here.”
The man pushed himself back into the tree and raised his hands. “Leave me to my work. You don’t know what you’re doing.”
Raze grabbed him by his jacket, flipped him around, and shoved him against the tree so Z could cuff him. The man sagged against the bark, trying to regain the breath Raze had knocked from him.
Seconds later, they were pushing him through Wormwood toward the gates. “I’m going to ask you once more,” Rune told him. “Tell me your story or I’ll arrest you and you can spend a couple nights in jail.”
“On what charge?” he cried.
She shrugged. “We’ll think of something.”
“Bastards,” he spat.
“Fine. Raze, toss him in my trunk. I’ll haul him to ja
il.”
“Wait,” the man said, as Rune opened her trunk. “I’ll tell you.”
“Good.” She opened the back door and nodded at Raze, who pushed the guy inside.
“Talk,” she said.
The man stared straight ahead, glaring at nothing. “I’m looking for evil. When I find it, I mean to kill it.” Then he turned to look up at Rune, and the weak moonlight glinted off the desperate misery in his eyes. “I have to kill him.”
“Who?”
He swallowed, and once again, he looked away. “My son,” he whispered. “I have to kill my son.”
Chapter Four
“My son,” he continued, his voice soft, “was born evil.”
“What do you mean?” Rune’s voice hitched, and Z moved a step closer to her. Born evil…
“No one could do what he does and not be filled with evil,” he replied. “His touch is wicked. He touches…”
“Dude,” Rune said, starting to relax. “Your son had sex with someone and you think that’s wrong? Is that what you’re telling us?”
But he speared her with a stare as intense and serious as it was intelligent. He wasn’t some judgmental bible thumper looking to shoot the sin out of someone.
“No, that’s not what I’m telling you. My son is a murderer. He does something a lot more harmful than sex. He kills. He’s full of power and he has to be stopped.”
Rune felt trapped by the horror in his stare. “Who did he kill?”
“And how?” Z asked.
“When he was three years old he got out of his restraints and touched a cat. In my world, touch means kill.” He attempted a smile.
“Restraints,” Rune said. “You tied down a fucking baby?”
“I didn’t tie him down.” But the anger in his voice had fled, leaving only exhaustion. “I covered his hands with gloves and cuffed them behind his back. I should have cut them off,” he mumbled.
“He accidentally killed a cat when he was a baby and you want to kill him for that now?” Raze leaned forward slightly, his eyes narrow.
“That was the first time he killed. His…power didn’t really manifest until he was seven months old. There were differences to him, of course. When he was born, he burned my wife as she delivered him. She had no idea she was pregnant and delivered him herself. Alone. I was at work,” he said sharply, as though they’d accused him of neglect.