How to Wake an Undead City

by Edwards, Hailey

  Since the old girl would outlive me, that seemed like the most binding promise to make. Assuming she got her wish and I did have fifty billion children, I would ensure they grew up right alongside Oscar, treated him like a big brother, and always made him welcome in our home. Because they would grow up and move out, but he…wouldn’t. Unless he trusted one of them to wear his button and take him with them, and I had trouble imagining I would ever trust my offspring that much. They would have me for a mother, after all.

  And sure enough, the thought of kids had popped right back into my head the second Woolly’s traitorous roofline came into view.

  Grumbling under my breath, I narrowed my eyes at her. “Your day is coming, missy.”

  Oscar sat up and looked around. “Who’s Missy?”

  “Someone who is going to be in a lot of trouble when I have a spare minute.” I lifted Oscar and set him on his feet. “Here’s the deal. You can’t let the sentinels know you’re here. Some of them can see you, and some of them can’t. Let’s just assume they all can and not let them spot you, okay?”

  Oscar drifted up to my eye level. “Boaz and his friends might take me if they find me?”

  Leave it to a kid to see right through adult BS. “Yeah.” I tugged on his collar. “They might try.”

  “I’m not worried.” He jutted out his chin. “You won’t let them.”

  “No, I won’t.” I ruffled his hair. “But I hope it won’t come to that.”

  “I’ll be good,” he promised. “I’ll go play in the basement.”

  “Not the…” I blinked, and he was gone, “…basement.”

  Linus and I had made the space as ghost boy friendly as possible, but I didn’t want him treating downstairs like a playground. As much as I hated the role of disciplinarian, I might not have a choice but to reinstate his ban.

  With Oscar sorted, at least for now, I went in search of Linus. I found him standing on the porch, deep in conversation with Woolly. A noise that I swear resembled a baby rattle shook nearby. I decided to pretend it was bags of rice shifting on the sorting tables and not yet another hint dropped with the force of an anvil.

  “I’ve made the arrangements,” he greeted me, smile seesawing on his lips. “Change, and we’ll go.”

  The battle between grim acceptance of our destination and Woolly’s total and complete lack of subtlety had him close to caving into a full-on grin, and I found that impossibly adorable.

  “What’s the dress code?” I took the steps and kissed the corner of his mouth twitching the most. “You’re dressed to the nines as usual. What should I wear?”

  Puzzled by the kiss, he didn’t hesitate to return it. “A burlap sack?”

  “Shoot.” I snapped my fingers. “Neely threw out my very last one when he purged my closet of clothes that no longer fit.”

  “What you have on is fine.” He tugged the hem of my shirt, his fingers sliding underneath to touch skin. “You are, however, covered in mud. I would appreciate it if you changed your shoes before we get in the van.”

  “We’re taking the van?” I couldn’t stop my gaze from skating across the yard in search of Hood. “Is this not a solo mission?” I popped his hand when he tickled my ribs. “And by solo, I mean other people will be joining us.”

  “You have made your stance on solo ops quite clear.”

  “Good.” I reared back. “Give me ten.”

  As I hit the stairs on the way up to my room, I heard Linus on the phone with Bishop. I was tempted to loiter and see what I could overhear, but we had a car ride ahead of us. I could quiz him then.

  Woolly stuck with me while I pulled on jeans, a soft tee, and clean sneakers. I wasn’t sure what one ought to wear to face one’s kidnapper, but the fact I was walking into a prison of my own free will meant I had earned the right to be comfortable while I was doing it.

  A rustling noise drew my attention to the podium where Eileen resided when not in use.

  “I would forget my head tonight if it wasn’t sewn on.” I lifted the fabric covering her, and she blinked up at me. “I’ll be back in a bit.”

  The grimoire basked in a moonbeam, her pages fluttering in what passed for a contented sigh.

  On my way back to Linus, I considered the ramifications of the times when I used my own blood as ink on her pages. Maybe she was just shy, and she was finally opening up to me. Or maybe I had somehow given her already impressive reanimation a boost.

  Mulling that over, I posed a theoretical to Linus. “You know how Boaz sprouted a new leg when I used that healing sigil on him?”

  “Yes.”

  “Do you think Eileen could sprout—and I’m just spitballing here—arms or legs if she really put her mind to it?”

  For a moment, he only stared at me. “You wrote the healing sigil on her pages in your own blood.”

  “I did.” I chewed my bottom lip. “As a book, she’s never had arms or legs to regrow but…”

  “…the leather used for the cover belongs to several different fae.” He rubbed his jaw. “Why do you ask?”

  “She’s always blinked at me, but now she’s rustling pages to get my attention, that kind of thing.”

  “You are the most fascinating woman I have ever met.”

  Flushing beneath the undeserved praise, I passed the credit. “The book is the one doing all the tricks.”

  “We’ll put it on our to-do list.” He checked the time on his phone. “We don’t have long.”

  “Visitation hours about to end?”

  “There are no visitation hours where I put Volkov.”

  Until this exact minute, I hadn’t realized he had put Volkov anywhere. “But you can get in.”

  “I can.” He ducked his head. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

  “Linus…”

  “You’re healing,” he said softly. “Bit by bit, day by day. You’re mending what Atramentous broke.”

  “I’ll always have moments where I hear water dripping or smell mold that isn’t there. Small, dark spaces will probably always make me hesitate.” I shrugged like it cost me nothing. “I’ll never be the person I was before Maud died, and I’ll never be the person I’m becoming if I shy away from the hard stuff.”

  “As I said, you are the most fascinating woman I have ever met.”

  Footsteps on the stairs kept my center from fully liquefying in a rush of lovey-doveyness.

  “Ready?” Hood, back on two legs, jingled keys in his palm. “The van’s at the gate.”

  “Where’s Lethe?”

  “Napping.” His eyes softened. “She ate all twenty-four of her donuts, then shifted and chased me until she passed out. I had to carry her from the den up to our room.”

  Awed by her stomach capacity, and grateful for yet another excuse not to tell her about Midas, I took the stairs first, which is why I was the one who bumped into Boaz, who still hadn’t budged from where Adelaide left him. Though Amelie appeared to have given up on him and gone back to work.

  Head down, he didn’t waste energy lifting it. “Where are you off to?”

  “We have some business to handle.” Figuring he could use it, I squeezed his shoulder on my way past. “We’ll be back.”

  The procession caught his attention, and his eyes cleared a bit. “Do you need another set of hands?”

  A distraction might be just what he needed, but we couldn’t afford one where we were going. “We got it, but thanks.”

  “Hood won’t be allowed past the front gate,” Linus said. “We could use a third man on the inside.”

  Until he mentioned it, I hadn’t considered the ramifications of bringing Hood along. But he had a point. Lethe, Hood, and Midas had worked for my grandfather at one point, on the estate where I was held after Volkov kidnapped me. The magically enforced NDA they signed might cover Volkov to some extent. It was hard to know, and we couldn’t afford to guess when we only had one shot at getting this right.

  Despite the valid reasons, I was still shocked he had extended
an invitation to Boaz.

  Granted, he was the only non-human, non-gwyllgi in sight, but I figured he would need to be the last man on Earth to earn a hand up from Linus. Maybe I was projecting, and I was the petty one.

  “Okay.” Purpose shoved Boaz to his feet. “Where’s our ride?”

  “This way.” Shaking his head, Hood started toward the gate. “You got shotgun.”

  Mild surprise that Hood offered made me wonder if I had missed a memo somewhere.

  They were both being nice. To Boaz. Without me begging, threatening, or bribing them first.

  The thought crossed my mind that Adelaide had spoken to them too, hoping they could help pull Boaz out of his tailspin, but I didn’t think she’d had the time. With gwyllgi hearing being what it was, Hood might have overheard what she told me and relayed it. Though that sounded like a more Lethe thing to do.

  Whatever brought about this stroke of good luck, I wasn’t going to question it. I was too glad to share the burden of Boaz to needle Linus and Hood to death over their motives. The bottom line was they were both good men, and while they might not respect Boaz, they respected his grief over the decision he’d had no choice but to make.

  Hood led the way, and Boaz followed him. Linus and I fell in behind them, and I couldn’t resist sneaking a peek at his face to see if I could divine what he was thinking. He caught me at it and dared me to ask with a look, but Boaz was too close for me to pose the question without him overhearing and me coming off as an ass, and Linus knew it.

  With no other recourse available, I was forced to elbow him.

  He laughed under his breath, his eyes crinkling at their corners.

  Annoyance fluttered away, as it always did when he let me see him, the real him.

  To ensure his passengers kept to their assigned seats, Hood held the door for Boaz to make certain he sat shotgun. As a nod to his doorman days at the Faraday, he bowed to Linus and me while he opened the side passenger door for us. We climbed in, and I happily claimed my usual seat while Linus sat across from me. Our knees bumped, and I didn’t think it was an accident. I also didn’t think I minded.

  Flirty Linus was irresistible, and that’s exactly what he was being by nudging my foot with his.

  Leaning forward, I whispered, “What has gotten into you?”

  PDA wasn’t his style when Boaz was around. Usually, he kept his hands to himself to avoid sparking yet another confrontation.

  “Am I not allowed to play footsy with my fiancée?”

  “The timing, not the activity, is what I find questionable.”

  “We need to light his fuse and see if he explodes. This ought to do the trick.”

  “Ah.” I saw the logic at once. “You want to see if he’s steady enough to be our wingman.”

  “We need Volkov to cooperate.” Linus scooted to the edge of his seat. “More, we need his consent. He isn’t required by law to share his blood, and we can’t take it without sparking a fresh conflict between what remains of the Undead Coalition and the Society.”

  “I’m willing to take it for the sake of protecting our remaining sentinels.”

  “I hope it won’t come to that. He’s been reasonable thus far.”

  “He’s slick as spit, all right.”

  “He’ll strike a bargain with the proper motivation.” Linus tapped my knee with his fingers. “He claims he wants to apologize to you, to start making amends.”

  “I can fake amends-making if it gets us a pint or two of contrition out of him.” Just the thought of playing nice with Volkov twisted my gut into knots, but I could do it for the sentinels. “I assume there is a medical wing in this facility?”

  “Yes.” Linus kept inching closer, and I mirrored him. “They’ll provide all the supplies we need to draw his blood and transport it back to Woolworth House.”

  Lips brushing his, I murmured, “Good.”

  “Stop making out back there,” Hood yelled too loudly. “Strap on your seat belts.”

  Muscles clenched in Boaz’s nape, and his shoulders flexed, but he didn’t turn.

  “How much farther?” I kept my nose touching Linus’s. “And who else knows where to find him?”

  “About five minutes, and only the sentinels on staff and my mother.” He reclined as my question hit its mark. “Do you think Lacroix will come for him?”

  “I doubt he’s a priority.” I bit down on my next thought. “Corbin was primed to be his heritor-in-waiting. Lacroix had started grooming him for the position. Now that’s blown up in his face.” I leaned back too. “I don’t know if he’s holding on to Corbin in the hope he can be indoctrinated over time, or if Lacroix plans on using him as leverage when or if the right opportunity arises.”

  “It depends on how desperate he is to sire his own vampire bloodline.”

  “The former means he won’t need Volkov. The latter makes a rescue attempt a possibility.”

  “We’re here.” Hood rolled to a stop and popped the locks. “See you in thirty.”

  “What’s the plan?” Boaz twisted in his seat. Relief that he hadn’t caught us necking was plain on his face, but he kept a civil tone. “You want me to play guard dog?”

  Hood cut him a look at that, but he rolled his eyes rather than take offense.

  “Volkov wants to see Grier. I’m going to offer him the chance if he cooperates. The visit will be supervised, by the two of us, while he gives his donation. I won’t keep her in his presence a second longer than is required. Your job is to keep your eyes on Grier at all times. My attention will be divided. I need someone focused on keeping her safe.”

  “I can do that.” A ghost of his old smile flickered. “If it’s okay with Grier.”

  “What we’re here for will help protect the sentinels from another massacre like the one that happened today.” I wanted him to understand there was no room here for personal grudges. If I could set mine aside, then he had to do the same. “For Becky, I trust you to watch my back.”

  With a nod, he shut his eyes. “I deserve that.”

  Trust was a tender subject between us. That couldn’t be helped. And after the stunt he pulled with Adelaide, I wasn’t in the mood to be generous. But I also wasn’t willing to lose more people when between Linus and me, we had the means to protect them.

  “We should go.” Linus reached for the door then stepped out before helping me onto the sidewalk. “We’ll get the time promised to us, but not a second longer.”

  On the ride over, I let myself be distracted by Linus. Now that we had arrived, I had no choice but to soak up our surroundings. The faded Victorian with the small side garden was tidy, but the fence surrounding the yard was high and set my back teeth vibrating. I would bet the first bite out of my next donut that meant high-powered wards.

  “This is it?”

  At first, I thought I had spoken the thought out loud, but Boaz had beat me to it. “What he said.”

  “I had no idea this was in the city.” He studied the street sign, which told me there would be questions raised to his superiors later. “How many inmates?”

  “Six is the max allowed,” Linus informed us, “and they’re at full capacity.”

  Behind us, Hood pulled out onto the empty road while we approached the front door. Here, the pretense vanished. The woman who answered wore her hair shorn on one side with braids tickling her breastbone on the other. Her skin was dark, her hair black, but contacts gave her a yellow iris in one eye and a yellow pupil with a smiley face in the other.

  “Hey,” she greeted Linus. “Didn’t expect to see you back so soon.”

  “We’re cleared for a visit with one of your residents,” he replied smoothly. “Can we come in?”

  “I can’t very well stop you.” She stepped back and allowed us to enter, but she paid me particular attention. “You must be Grier Woolworth. I’ve heard a lot about you. This place must be nicer than your old digs, huh?”

  Impact slammed the woman against the wall, and the porcelain figures on the shelf
above her head rattled. Forearm braced across her windpipe, Linus let her scratch at him and gasp without blinking.

  Boaz looked to me for instruction, but I had nothing.

  I eased a step forward. “Linus?”

  “I endure your sly remarks, Rue, because I don’t care what you have to say about my mother or me.” He gave her just enough leeway to lift her head, then he cracked it against the wall a second time. “Grier has endured enough. Play your games with me if you must, but you will leave her out of them.”

  “Sorry, but that doesn’t work for me.” I closed the gap, anger fueling me. “Rue, is it?” I tapped his wrist, and he lowered his arm. “You’re going to keep your mouth shut and your opinions to yourself. He has never said or done anything to earn the types of remarks I have no trouble imagining you making.”

  Rubbing her throat, she rasped, “You can’t know that.”

  “Yes, I can.” I rested a hand on his shoulder and guided him out of her space. “Linus is a gentleman. The only people who imply otherwise have left him no choice but to repay their behavior in kind.” Her mouth opened, but I cut her off quick. “I saw what you did, baiting him. It had nothing to do with me. You were targeting him through me, and I won’t be used to hurt him.” I folded my arms across my chest. “Now apologize.”

  Her lips flattened into a mulish line. “Sorry.”

  “Great.” I clasped my hands together. “Now we can all be friends.”

  Rue eyed me like I was a few seeds short of a strawberry, but she accepted the temporary truce for what it was and led us past the formal living room you would expect to find in such a home, through a door reinforced with steel backing, and into a narrow hall painted a dull, institution-beige color. Holes had been patched, badly, on the walls. The floor was scarred linoleum, and some squares were missing entire corners.

  This wasn’t the cushy pen I had imagined for Volkov, but it was a long way from Atramentous.

  Three identical doors spanned the left side of the hall, the pattern repeated on the right. Those must lead to the cells, or what passed for them around here. But we didn’t stop there. We kept going, straight for the larger entrance right in front of us.