by Laken Cane
And damned if excitement didn’t uncurl in her stomach at the words hunt vampires.
Hunt.
She wanted to go. Wanted to go hunt the bad guys, stake vampires, get back into the routine of the good old days.
She needed to forget that she might be sucked into another world and lose her crew, her life, herself.
She wanted to forget that she was so fucking afraid.
She would take her crew and end the bloodsuckers.
There was no hope for them. They couldn’t survive without blood, and she couldn’t allow them to torture women and children to get what they needed.
Eventually, the world would create a way for the vampires to live once again with humans. In the meantime, they had to go.
Yes, they were rotting and would die anyway, but not quickly enough. Not before they killed—and turned—more humans.
Once again, the vampires were hated, hunted, and killed on sight.
Even the Annex, pro-Other, couldn’t see another way out of that.
Not then.
Maybe not ever.
Chapter Fifteen
“What do you want us to do?” Lex asked. “Are we really going to purge Simon and his children today?”
“Do you know of a better way to stop them?” Rune stared moodily out of her kitchen doorway, into the mean desolation of the Moor. “We have no other choice. They’ve given us no other choice.”
“I know,” Lex murmured. “But it’s not their fault, really. I’m devastated for them.”
Me too. “We have no other choice,” Rune repeated, but her voice was softer.
“There are people working on synthetic blood,” Levi said. He took a cup off the countertop and poured himself some coffee.
“That might take forever,” Rune said. “Labs tried making it before and it didn’t sustain the vampires.”
“They didn’t try hard enough,” Denim said. “And funding was low. No one thought it would be a money maker. Now they do.”
“Maybe,” Rune said. “But synthetic blood won’t keep the sick vampires from rotting.”
“It could keep the vampires from feeding on humans and getting infected in the first place,” Denim said. “And it could stop them from abducting humans.”
“They’ve become wild animals,” Lex said. “The vampires.”
The vampires hated the humans for poisoning them, and once taken, the humans did not fare well under the vampires’ care.
The corpses found lying in ditches and in the woods showed chilling proof of abuse the abducted humans—children as well as adults—suffered at the hands of their captors. Whatever positive changes Simon Kelic had created in River County had evaporated almost overnight.
It began to rain, a cold drizzle that did nothing to help Rune’s frame of mind. The sun was hiding, the sky was overcast and gray, and she felt every bit of it in her mood.
She and her crew would begin the hunt for Simon Kelic, and when they found him, he would die.
More vampires would come. They’d sneak into the county and go to ground, then creep out during the nights to hunt.
It was going to be a long, hard war whether she killed Simon or not.
“What if we kill him and they find a cure next week?” Lex asked. “What if?”
“We can’t go on what ifs,” Ellis said, his voice brusque. He bustled around the kitchen, constantly moving, not looking any of them in the eye.
He didn’t want them to know how relieved he was that the humans were going to war with the vampires. Killing the vampires.
He didn’t want them to know.
But they knew. Of course they knew.
Rune sighed.
“Coffee, Rune?” Ellie asked, his voice a little too high.
“No, baby. My stomach sloshes when I walk.”
“Food, then. I’ll cook something up. You’ll need to eat before…”
“That’s good, Ellie. Make us some lunch.”
He was suddenly beside her, his arm around her waist. “I hate it when you’re depressed. Hate it.”
She drew back, a little, at the savagery in his tone. “I’ll be okay.”
“The world is screwed, Rune. You were right. It doesn’t matter what we do, does it?”
She frowned. “Ellie?”
“Ellis,” Levi said. “Don’t.”
“You’re dying this time,” Ellis said, ignoring Levi. “We all know it. It’ll take longer to destroy you than normal Others, but you’re dying. Maybe your brain will remain, and we’ll scoop it up out of the goo and plop it into a glass so we can—”
“Ellis,” Lex screamed. “Shut your motherfucking mouth.”
Ellis shuddered, then covered his face and started sobbing.
“Fuck me,” Rune said, and went back to staring out into the cold.
“Dammit, Levi,” Denim muttered. “Help him.”
Because Rune couldn’t.
Owen took Ellis by the shoulders and walked him to Levi, then went back to stand beside her. “You need to find your guts,” he said, quietly. “Let your anger out or your fear is going to control you.”
He was right. She wasn’t angry—at least not angry enough. She was afraid, yes. But what held her in a soul-crushing grip wasn’t the fear, it was the bleakness. The desolation.
The uncertainty.
“I need to reboot,” she murmured. And she had no idea how to do that.
“Get out of your own head,” he said. “That’s how you do it.”
She looked at him. He stood slumped against the doorframe, as unaffected by the cold as she was. His hair streamed over his shoulders, and his face was emotionless. Gun belts, holstered weapons, and silver blades decorated his lean body.
“Owen,” she said.
“Yes?”
“Who are you?”
He took a drink of his coffee. “I’m your friend, Rune.”
She smiled. “Yeah.”
He straightened and placed his cup on the table. “Come with me.”
“Where are we going?”
“We’re going to hunt for some traffickers to kill. I just got a lead. Then we’re going to find and purge the vampires while they’re still asleep. No sense in wasting any more time.”
Eugene had assigned other teams to the normal happenings of the county. Shiv Crew was to search out and destroy all vampires.
That was all. And that was everything.
She put it off. She didn’t really want to go after Simon.
But she’d decided to wait for night because that’s when the assholes would come out to feed. It’d be easier than the almost impossible task of finding the underground nests into which they’d gone to sleep.
She nodded and gave him a lingering look. “Okay. Ellie, forget the food. Call Jack and Raze for me. They’ll be here by the time I weapon up, and we’ll get started.” She strode from the kitchen, throwing back over her shoulder, “Wear your vests.”
She heard Owen begin to bark commands as she left the room.
“Levi, make sure the kill kits are stocked in the cars. Ellis, pack some sandwiches and a couple thermoses of coffee. Denim…”
His voice faded away as she made her way to her bedroom, but the feeling of hope in her chest grew stronger.
They’d been through bad shit too many times to count. For them, it was a way of life. It was even a comfort.
The hesitation and doubt were what killed her spirit.
Kill vampires? Rot into a useless puddle?
Lose the berserker?
She let it go. What came would come, and she was going to do her best to kick its ass when it got there.
She found her guts.
Chapter Sixteen
“If it’s hostile or sick,” she said, “kill it.”
The corners of the cowboy’s eyes crinkled as he grinned down at her. “Welcome back.”
“Thanks for helping me out of the black,” she replied, but she didn’t return his smile.
“I didn’t do anythin
g.”
“You reminded me. Now shut the fuck up. We don’t have time for a powwow.”
He nodded, but his smile lingered. “I’ll protect every part of you, Rune. I’ll always have your back.” Then he shrugged. “For as long as it’s possible.”
“That comes with being on this team,” Levi said. “We’ll all protect her.”
“And each other,” Lex added.
“Hugs and kisses and goddamn happy faces,” Jack growled. “Can we just get a move on?” He yanked a silver blade the size of his forearm from its sheath. “Those heads aren’t going to decapitate themselves.”
Raze almost smiled. “Let’s move.”
Soon it would be dark. They’d already slain so many hostiles they were wearing blood like a layer of skin, and they hadn’t even made it into Wormwood.
The cemetery was full of sick Others, and word had reached her that traffickers were also hiding inside the magical gates.
And the vampires would be rising.
Dying.
Now that she’d made up her mind, had hardened her heart to what she had to do, she was eager to get it done.
Simon would know she was coming, and he would know she had no choice.
He’d been sending his children after the ‘pure’ humans—infants. And he’d been slaughtering pregnant women. He was buying from traffickers.
They all were.
Yeah. He knew she was coming.
He wouldn’t know that she’d find him, though.
Or maybe he was too sick to care.
Ellie had tried to convince Levi to wear his fang necklace. Levi had just snorted and refused to entertain the notion, and eventually Ellis had dropped the vampire repellent back under his shirt.
She had some moments of bittersweet nostalgia as she led her crew, blades and vguns ready, through Wormwood.
Suddenly Raze, as they loped through the graveyard, pulled a small silver axe and sent it whirling through the air. It buried itself in the back of a wolf’s head.
No warning, no hesitation.
“Raze,” Rune said, stopping at the side of the dead wolf. “He doesn’t look sick and he didn’t approach us. Why’d you kill him?”
“If it’s Other, it’s dying,” Raze said, yanking free his axe. “He would soon be sick, if he wasn’t yet.”
Lex made a sound, drawing their gazes.
She looked toward Raze, her eyes jerking, horrified. “What’s wrong with you?”
He closed his eyes for a long second, drawing in a deep breath. “I’m sorry.”
“Rune and I are Others,” she said, furious. “Will you kill us as well?” She strode to him, then bared her neck. “Go on. Cut off my head.”
“Lex,” he started, and reached out to touch her shoulder.
She jerked away from him. “Fuck you, asshole.”
“Lex,” Levi said. “Calm down. We have orders. The Others are spreading the rotting sickness. They’re killing humans. We have no choice.”
“It’s them or us,” Denim agreed.
“I’m a them,” she said.
Raze looked at Rune. “What are we doing?”
She repeated her earlier words. “If it’s hostile or sick, kill it.”
“Kind of hard to figure that out from a distance,” Jack said.
Lex put her hands to her head. “It’s so confusing.”
“I know,” Rune answered. It was confusing. Did they kill indiscriminately? Or did they give those few Others who weren’t sick a chance?
“Rune?” Levi asked.
“Okay, here’s the deal. Kill if you know the Other is sick or hostile. If you don’t know and aren’t attacked, leave it alone. Good enough?”
Because in the end, the Others were going to be wiped out anyway. Lex could have her moment to think otherwise if she needed it.
Jack nodded. “Okay then.”
“Gunnar,” Owen said.
The ghoul had been standing in the shadows of the trees long enough to know exactly what they were discussing. “Do not attack,” he called. “I would speak with you, Your Slaughterousness.”
“I’ll be right back,” she told her crew, and jogged to him.
“You have fed?” he asked, when she stood in front of him.
She frowned. “Not for a while.” Not since the fucking berserker.
“It is good that you have your crew to keep you alive. They will feed you.”
“Yeah. What’s up, sexy?”
“Will you slay me if I take the sickness?” he asked, his dark eyes worried.
“You’re not killing humans, are you?”
He put his nose into the air. “Most certainly not.”
“Then I’m not killing you.” She paused, studying his worn face carefully. “You okay?”
“You mustn’t worry about me—we shall worry about you. It is my hope that with the magic inside you, you will defeat any harm that may come to you.”
She put a hand to her chest. “There’s a chance I won’t get sick?”
He widened his eyes. “Rune, there is always hope. That is what I want you to remember. There is always hope. No matter how dire things may seem.”
She let the hope sink in. She might not get sick. She might not.
“What do you know, Gunnar? You’re warning me about something specific.”
“You’re going to see Damascus. You are in need of a warning.”
She shook her head. “No. If she doesn’t somehow suck me in, I’m not going anywhere. If she makes it here again, I’ll run to meet the bitch and do everything I can to slaughter her. But I’m not leaving.”
He let her talk, patient, quietly watching her.
It was not reassuring. “I’m not going there, Gunnar.”
“Your Highness,” he said, gently. “You will go.”
She shuddered. “Fuck,” she whispered. “When?”
He shrugged. “How would I know?”
“Damn you, ghoul. What do you want?”
He still wasn’t back to his old self. His hair was stringier than usual, his eyes were more sunken, and he was skinnier. Everything he was, only exaggerated.
He pushed his hair out of his face. “There is a cure for the rotting sickness, Your Highness.”
She opened her mouth, but only a squeak escaped.
He waited patiently for her to find her voice.
“A cure? A fucking cure?” She grabbed the front of his tattered shirt to drag him to her, and Dawn slunk from the darkness of the thick trees, her fingers curled into talons.
Rune didn’t care about the female ghoul. “Where, Gunnar? Where is the cure?”
“Take your hands off him,” Dawn said. “Or you won’t have a chance to find out.”
Gunnar waved her away. “Rune. You know where the cure is.”
“The Next didn’t create this infection?”
“No human group is that powerful or full of magic.” He bowed his head. “I am sorry.”
She let go of him. “Fuck me.”
He nodded. “This is why you will go there, Your Horror.”
But she shook her head. “No.”
“It is fearsome, that world,” he said. “But you will not falter. It is what you must do.”
“I can’t, Gunnar.”
“You will come back.”
“I can’t.”
“You will come back.”
“But what if I don’t?”
He was quiet for a long moment, his black eyes studying her with too much knowledge. “If you don’t, then this world will fall into chaos and all Others will die—and you will live forever in the world of Damascus.”
She said nothing. Nothing, until Dawn slipped up beside her, leaned down to peer into her face, and whispered, “Your demon is sick.”
It took a full minute for Rune to understand what she meant, and when she finally did, she stumbled back, crying out in disbelief.
The crew came to her then. Including Lex.
“What happened?” Raze asked.
“No,” Raze said. “Don’t say that, Rune.”
Lex began shivering. “I…oh,” she said.
Lex had been exposed. She was sick.
Oh, God.
She was sick.
Chapter Seventeen
They went to work that evening with desperation, horror, and fury. The Others of Wormwood watched the crew coming, and from shadows and sickness, they went to meet them.
Wormwood seemed to watch them all with contempt and its own share of ferocious wrath. The trees awakened, seizing people and Others alike, lifting roots to trip them, snaking out impenetrable vines to snag ankles and necks.
Wormwood came alive, and it was angry.
Sounds of battles spread throughout the vast graveyard. Blood sprayed and hung heavy in the air along with the screams and cries of injured and desperate fighters. The cold ground became muddy and messy with gallons of blood and steaming hot organs.
“Do not split up,” Rune yelled to her crew, once, when they were nearly overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of sick and terrified Others.
Occupied as they were, purging the vampires was the last thing on their minds—until the vampires decided to play.
The day had fled beneath the onslaught of violence and night came eagerly, waking the bloodsuckers.
The starving, sick bloodsuckers.
The moon sagged with grief, looming large and pale above the horror of the killing ground.
“I can’t bring my demon,” Lex screamed, but she fought alongside Rune as she had before her demon had clawed its way into existence.
Mirrored, mimicked, and killed.
And grew sicker by the second, at least it seemed so to Rune’s worried mind.
Rune wasn’t rotting.
Lex was rotting.
Dozens of Others fell beneath the blades of the crew, but some simply curled up and died. Some of the very sick ones still tried to fight, and Rune got an up-close and personal look at what it would be like to get the sickness.
She went after one of them with her claws inches away from taking his head, when she stopped and drew back, fighting not to cover Lex’s sightless eyes.
The sick shifter put his hands to his face. His features melted and ran between his fingers. He fell to the ground, trying to shift, but was unsuccessful.