The Night Before Dead

by Kelly Meding

  “I know.”

  They clearly had a direction in mind. Something from the elves’ conversation with the Tainted down in that cave poked at my brain. “Astrid, did you know that Brevin was going to offer to give back the Tainted we contained as payment for helping us stop Amalie?”

  “We discussed it. He felt it would be their best incentive to cooperate.”

  “Where is it being stored?”

  Her end went silent.

  “It’s at the Watchtower, isn’t it?” I said.

  “Yes.”

  A Watchtower recently damaged by the earthquake and full of wounded who had no idea what was coming. “Call Rufus right now and warn him. Then get in touch with Aurora and tell her to meet me, um.” I looked at my location. Apartments. Fire escapes. “Meet me on the roof of Glennview Apartments on Riverside Road.”

  “I will. I’ll let you know if we intercept them.”

  “Thanks.”

  The fire escape took longer to ascend than I’d have liked, thanks to my hand, and I wasn’t risking the energy suck of a teleport. The building was only five stories, but I was exhausted and in desperate need of twenty hours of uninterrupted sleep. Once I collapsed on the tarpaper roof to catch my breath, I called Milo again.

  “You guys get power back yet?” I asked when he picked up after way too many rings.

  “No, but we have some generators going.” He said something to someone else. “Sorry, it’s pretty chaotic right now. Everyone’s been accounted for, though.”

  “Good. Listen, Astrid is filling Rufus in on this but I need you to find the pups and sit on them.”

  “Not literally, right?”

  “If you have to, yes.” I told him my suspicions about the direction of our Tainted friends. “If the pups realize that Wyatt is distressed or angry, it will affect their mood. It may force them to shift or do something dangerous.”

  “Like bite me? Are you crazy?”

  “They’ve sworn to me and Wyatt they won’t bite anyone. Please? Wyatt’s mood will affect theirs, and if they get upset, it might make everything worse for Wyatt. Things are awful enough right now.”

  “Okay, I’ll find them. I think they’re still in the infirmary helping. Are you coming back?”

  “As soon as possible. Astrid is still tailing them with the tracking dye, and Rufus will know once they hit the perimeter.”

  “Goodie.”

  “Be safe.”

  “You too, Evy.”

  My thirst became more desperate in the few minutes I paced the apartment building roof, waiting for my ride. And my vantage point sucked. I was surrounded by taller buildings on three sides, so I had no idea what was going on in the streets below. Police sirens drifted around me, along with the occasional scream.

  The city was at war with itself, and I couldn’t do anything to stop the carnage because I had three demon hosts to intercept.

  Aurora swooped down out of nowhere, her blade streaked with different colors of blood. Some splattered her chest and neck, making her look the part of the battle-weary warrior that she now was. “I was told you needed a fast ride across town.”

  “I’d appreciate it, yeah.”

  “Assume the position.”

  While she sheathed her blade, I crossed my arms and tucked my hands beneath my armpits. Aurora stepped up behind me and looped her thin arms around my waist, holding my back tightly against her chest. On a rush of air and great flap of her wings, we were airborne. Soaring low over buildings, she flew us with a speed I didn’t expect. The wind rushed around us, chilling my face and arms, and it was almost difficult to breathe.

  Out of Mercy’s Lot, we crossed the Black River where it met with the Anjean River, and she followed it south. Once upon a time the rivers were used as shipping routes, and some of those old docks still stood, aging and falling into the water. To my right were the glittering skyscrapers and business offices of uptown. To my left the dreary, poverty-stricken homes of the east side.

  I’d never seen so much of the city from this vantage point—the stark differences of two areas separated by nothing more than a waterway.

  The white U-shape of the Watchtower came into view. Magic rippled across my skin as we crossed the border spell. Aurora landed in front of the main entrance, instead of the roof, which turned out to be a good idea. A welcoming committee in the form of a grizzly bear, Paul with a rifle that I hoped was loaded with sedative darts, and two more Coni warriors.

  It took me a few seconds of orienting to gravity again to realize the bear was Dr. Vansis.

  No one looked scared, only pissed off and ready for a fight.

  “Tainted plan not working out so well?” Paul asked. His shoulder had been re-bandaged and was blood-free.

  “We had an unexpected hiccup,” I replied. “Rufus fill everyone in?”

  Lots of nods.

  “Should we remove the crystallized Tainted from the Watchtower?” Aurora asked.

  One of the Coni, a woman with snow-white wings and matching white hair, stepped forward. She held a metal box the size of a basketball, and even from six feet away, I felt the power inside of it. “We are prepared to do that very thing should violence erupt,” she said.

  “Which forward thinker in the group came up with that plan?” I asked.

  “I did,” Milo said, emerging from the shadows. “Rufus agreed.”

  “What are you doing here?” Besides the fact that he was leaning heavily on a cane and his color was awful, he had another job to do.

  “I talked to the boys, and they agreed to let me lock them inside the interrogation room, just in case. They’re already stressed, and they understand the need for desperate measures.”

  “Oh.” That had been unexpectedly reasonable of them. “Okay then. But still, what are you doing here? Things could get dangerous.”

  He glared. I didn’t care. Not even when Paul handed him a second rifle.

  “How in control of our people are the Tainted?” Paul asked.

  “We’re not sure,” I said. “They took off without a word, and even though they’ve stopped a few times to slaughter Halfies, they are definitely on a mission south. Most likely here. The Tainted are more rational than Amalie led us to believe. They know that we have a family member locked in that box, and they want him back. Hopefully our people are in charge enough to keep this from getting violent.”

  I couldn’t stand to watch Wyatt torn apart by bullets or blades if he turned against us and started hurting innocents.

  It would kill me, too.

  I swapped my blade to my left hand so I could answer a call from Astrid.

  “They’re less than a mile from the Watchtower,” she said. “We’re making good time finally but they’ll beat us to you.”

  “Thanks, Astrid.”

  I repeated that to the group, pocketed my phone, then switched knife hands. “Just so no one’s surprised,” I said, “they’re really, really ugly. And purple.”

  “Purple?” Paul said.

  “Quite purple,” the white-haired Coni said. “And among us.”

  I pivoted, unsurprised to see the three Tainted slowing from a run to a long-strided walk as they made their way across the inner parking lot to us. My stomach still twisted unhappily at the sight of my lover so deformed and my friends as potential new enemies. The Coni woman took to the sky in a whoosh of air that swirled around us. Her shadow lingered above, so she wasn’t fleeing. Only putting herself and the box out of range.

  The Tainted didn’t rush us or attack. They stalked toward our group, a fuming trio of hate, anger and determination, spackled with drying blood from various kills. We formed a line, myself in the center, Milo off to the side so he could brace himself with the doorway.

  The trio stopped a few feet away, Wyatt on point with Marcus and Phineas flanking him. Marcus’s head swiveled, and I knew the moment he spotted Milo by the way his nostrils flared.

  “Why did you leave the Olsmill site?” I asked, reaching for some of my o
wn anger to keep any tremors out of my voice. “You agreed to assist us in defeating the Fey.”

  “And we will abide by that bargain,” Wyatt said in his inhumanly deep voice.

  “By sprinting through the city and coming here?”

  “We relieved you of several of the half-Bloods who plague this city. You’re welcome.”

  That tiny sparkle of Wyatt came through in those words. “Why did you come here? There are too many innocent lives inside. We won’t allow you to enter.”

  “Entry is not necessary to acquire what we want.”

  Fuck me.

  Wyatt. Sanctuary. Gifted. The box.

  “Get that out of here now!” I shouted to the Coni in the sky, even as the first ripples of Break power caressed my skin. Not from my tap, though.

  From Wyatt’s.

  He raised his clawed right hand, palm up. Too fucking calm.

  A red feather appeared in his right shoulder, and he ignored it. The second made him drop his hand and sway, no box in sight. Marcus and Phineas snarled, but made no move to attack. Probably because Wyatt hadn’t toppled over or even fallen to his knees, and one of those darts was supposed to be able to take down a charging buffalo.

  “Really?” I snapped. “What was the plan? Summon the box, free your son, and then go tear apart my city?”

  Wyatt’s eyes blazed. “No. We simply do not trust your kind to withhold your end of the bargain. We were ensuring our kin was returned before we did your bidding.”

  “My kind? Truman, I was listening in when the elves made their deal with the Tainted, and I am telling you demons inside my friends that we will abide by the bargain. Help us defeat the Fey? You get your family back. Period.”

  Several long, painful seconds passed.

  “I believe her,” Phineas said. “She will return Darash to us.”

  “She had better,” Marcus snarled.

  Yeah, because poor Marcus was housing Darash’s wife. Good thing no one besides me and Milo knew that little factoid.

  I glanced across the parking lot toward the street. “Shouldn’t Astrid have been back by now?”

  As if in reply to my question, a distant screech of tires was instantly followed by a dull crunch and rumble. I ran toward it without thinking, unsurprised when all three Tainted went right past me. At the end of the mall structure, they paused for a moment, then angled to the right. When I caught up, I made a sharp turn and nearly stumbled.

  The SUV had smashed right into the side of the old department store, hard enough to accordion the front end. I could see the remains of at least two goblins poking out between the stone and the vehicle’s grill. Another one lay on the ground, and one swift smash from Phineas’s foot splatted its head into bits. Wyatt made fast work of two more goblins who were trying to run off.

  Marcus tore off the passenger side door. I got as close to him as I dared while he gently lifted Astrid out of the front seat. Blood poured down her face from a cut I couldn’t see, and she was struggling to stay conscious.

  “Came out of nowhere,” she said. “Little shits. Out of nowhere.”

  I circled the SUV to the driver’s side. The window was busted, and Hendrix was draped over the steering wheel, but her fucking door wouldn’t open. I yanked helplessly at the handle, one second away from screaming my frustration, when Wyatt pulled it right off. Heart hammering, I pressed my fingers to her neck.

  Steady pulse.

  The seatbelt wouldn’t budge. Wyatt ripped that like it was paper, then gently removed her from the front seat. Her head lolled back, exposing several long, bleeding scratches on her neck. I couldn’t see her crashing the car on purpose, but fear and pain did things to a person’s sense of direction. A goblins probably smashed through the window, gored her neck, and panic mode took over.

  “Infirmary,” Marcus growled.

  “You aren’t allowed inside the Watchtower,” I said. “Aurora?”

  She took Astrid from Marcus and flew off. The other Coni took Hendrix from Wyatt and did the same. I wanted to follow to make sure Astrid was okay, but the current situation needed my attention.

  And I had no idea what to do next. So I called Rufus.

  “Ops,” he said.

  “It’s Stone. I’m outside with the three Tainted. They’re finally behaving, so what should I do with them?”

  “If they’re on a leash, we need them in Mercy’s Lot. I can’t keep up with police reports of unusual attacks. A giant cloud of insects near Grove Park. Businesses being ransacked downtown by furry creatures with claws.”

  “Fantastic. Listen, we’re—”

  Bear-Vansis roared.

  I turned around.

  The Three Tainted were almost out of sight already, moving north at breakneck speed. Heading toward Mercy’s Lot.

  “You have got to be shitting me,” I said.

  “What?” Rufus asked.

  “Therian hearing, I guess. The Tainted are off and running toward danger.”

  “Alone?”

  “Dude, they have like, cheetah land speed.”

  Rufus made a noise. “Fine, let them go fight it out. I’ll make sure our teams on the ground keep an eye out for them.”

  “Don’t you mean ‘get a car and follow them, Stone’?”

  “No. We’re a mess, too, and I need you here.”

  I glared into the distance. “Fine.”

  Instinct told me to disobey that order and go into the city anyway. Another deeper gut feeling told me to stay. Nowhere was safe today, and I had too many injured allies in a damaged building to risk leaving them.

  After today, nothing will ever be the same.

  Chapter Fourteen

  I had no idea where all of the camping lanterns came from, but they were spaced far enough apart up and down the corridors that I could walk freely. And see the damage. Cracks in the walls and floor tiles. Broken glass in some of the old storefront windows. The structure itself had to be sound, or Rufus would have evacuated by now.

  As much as I wanted to check in with the pups first, I headed straight for Ops with Milo. Bear Vansis trundled past us, heading back to the infirmary and his new patients. Everyone else had stayed behind at the entrance to guard it, because God knew what else might attack today.

  The silence didn’t compute right away. I was used to the Watchtower being full of activity at all hours. Today the corridors were nearly empty. The bulk of our active force was out in the city, doing their best to save lives. Everyone still here to was too wounded to fight, so they were either in the infirmary, or in their rooms resting. The quiet reminded me too much of my first time here with Isleen and Alex all those months ago.

  Ops was a special mess. Several workstations had fallen over, and one of the big wall monitors lay on the floor in pieces. The hum of a generator joined the chatter of the half-dozen people inside, and they were all working around a single functioning computer.

  “Any news on Astrid or Hendrix?” I asked.

  “Nothing yet,” Rufus replied without looking up from his screen. He had a map of the city up, with a lot of red and blue dots all over the place, but mostly clustered in Mercy’s Lot. “Say again, Gina?”

  Kismet was reporting from the field. I tried really hard to stave off a pang of jealousy.

  “Okay, thanks.” Rufus glanced up. “A group of Halfies that attacked a grocery store have been dealt with.”

  Meaning killed. “Whoever planned these attacks was smart,” I said. “They’re going after locations where humans gather in large groups. Makes them easier targets.”

  “Agreed. Every school in the city is on lockdown, including the university. The police are overwhelmed, and now I’m hearing reports of civilians taking to the streets with guns.”

  Exactly the kind of disaster the Triads had been formed to prevent. At least, that’s what we’d always believed. Amalie had wanted this sort of war all along, only she’d gone into things hoping that humans would end up standing alone, with vampires and Therians as our enemies
. We fucked with her plan by standing together as allies.

  I just hoped we could get this shitstorm under control before too many lives were lost.

  “What do you need me to do?” I asked.

  “We sustained one coordinated attack already today,” Rufus replied. “I need you here in case we’re targeted again. Get something to eat, weapon up, and then come back.”

  The idea of a nice stack of pancakes was overwhelmingly pleasant, but my nerves were strung so tight I was afraid of barfing it all back up. I could be useful and feed the pups, though. It gave me an excuse to check in on them.

  “Yeah okay.” I nudged Milo with my elbow. “Come on, gimpy. Keep me company.”

  As much as I wanted a hot shower, with my luck that would be the moment the shit hit the fan. So we went to the empty cafeteria and settled at a table near the entrance. I forced down a bowl of raisin bran, while Milo picked at a bagel.

  “Seeing the change on a computer and seeing it in person isn’t the same,” Milo said. His voice was soft but real grief lingered in those words.

  “I know. But our guys are still in there. I see it in how Wyatt reacts to me, and how Marcus reacted when Astrid was hurt.”

  “For how much longer, though? Hours? Days?”

  “I don’t know. However long it takes.”

  “You have so much more faith than I do. Sometimes I really hate you for that.”

  I shrugged. “I should have died half a dozen times these past couple of months. Somehow, for some reason, I keep on ticking. I can’t guess at the future. All I can do is have faith that we’ll be okay, because otherwise I’d curl up into a ball and scream until my throat bleeds.”

  “That’s reasonable, I guess.” He smashed a bagel crumb into the table with his thumb. “It’s how I feel, too, most days. Especially recently.”

  “We’re still only human, pal. Even we have limits to the violence and heartache that we can stand before we break completely.”

  “Evangeline?” Peter’s voice echoed in the quiet room.

  My chair scraped as I stood, surprised as hell to see all three of the pups standing in the cafeteria entrance. “What are you doing out?”

  They glanced at each other in joint confusion.