The Life After War Collection

by Angela White

  Vlad spurred his horse faster and gathered his power. He would miss the main fight, but in the aftermath, he might go unnoticed and be able to help.

  “Or I’ll kill that bitch,” he growled. “If Jack dies, so will she!”

  4

  “It’s time,” Angela intoned. “Bring the girl.”

  “I don’t have Adrian on my grid anymore,” Marc called from the next ramp up.

  Angela didn’t answer. She focused on the main road beyond the gate, where a dust cloud was forming. “Shields up!”

  Each of the descendants on the gate concentrated and the crimson bubble appeared over them.

  “Now shrink it to the gate!” Angela commanded, showing them mentally how to do it. “The gate has to hold.”

  “Everyone from the camp is in the cave,” Kenn told her as he joined her on the second ramp. “Jennifer, Doug, and Charlie are on it.”

  “They won’t be able to keep our people in there for long,” Angela stated. “We need to get this over with as fast as we can.”

  Angela knew the people inside those caves weren’t ready to witness her throwing fire or being hit with it. They had mostly accepted magic now, but not happily or easily. They didn’t need these constant reminders that they were weak in comparison. It would drive wedges too deep and ruin the future.

  “What’s going on!”

  “Give us guns! Let us in and we’ll help you!”

  The shouts from Zone C had been loud and annoying since the Eagles had begun carrying up guns and ammo, but Angela didn’t shut them down.

  “Let them yell while they still can,” she murmured when Kenn would have shouted at them.

  Kenn didn’t want to follow that thought and took a place next to Tonya. “Surprised you’re here.”

  Tonya didn’t take her attention from the foggy landscape she was sweeping with her glasses. “Dawn’s almost here.”

  “You feeling okay?”

  Kenn’s question was unexpected and Tonya burst out laughing.

  Heads swiveled toward them, and the sound of her laughter even silenced the slightly drunken shouts from Zone C.

  “That’s sweet,” she got out between laughs. “Fine, really.”

  Kenn noticed the bandolier of knives stretched out in front of her and understood she was here because of her skill. “Can you get through their shields?”

  “No,” Marc answered. “Just like they can’t get through ours.”

  “So why the guns and knives?” Kenn asked, spotting Eagles with extra mags and weapons at hand.

  “Because we also can’t fire through our shields,” Angela informed him. Kenn had missed all of her descendant meetings while she was becoming an Eagle. “When they lower to fire, there’s an instant of opportunity. Make it count.”

  Angela regarded the little girl now climbing up to her, with Tara right behind.

  Missy stopped as she met Angela’s questioning stare.

  Tara frowned. “What’s going on here?”

  “You can still stop this,” Angela stated. “Will you change your mind and at least speak to him?”

  Tara shook her head, paling, and Missy bared her fangs at Angela.

  “You promised!” Missy shouted.

  “And I’ll keep my word,” Angela stated. “But you have to help.”

  “What do you want us to do?” Tara asked, pulling Missy against her.

  The little girl winced, but didn’t struggle.

  “Tell me how to get him away from his men.”

  “Mommy can,” Missy said and dropped her head when Tara’s hands became claws in her shoulders.

  “No,” Tara protested. “I can’t do this. You have to do it.”

  Angela smiled coolly. “I promised to defend you, not to do your dirty work.”

  “He’ll kill me,” Tara gasped out, drawing sympathy.

  “If you want freedom,” Angela stated evenly. “You’ll do it. Bring him toward us. As soon as he’s out of range of his pet killers, Missy will tell me and I’ll take it from there.”

  Tara had been shaking her head the entire time Angela was talking, but she stopped when she realized she didn’t have to kill him. “Just get him out of range?”

  “Yes.”

  “O-okay.”

  “Great.” Angela grabbed her arm and led her toward the gate. “You can wait for him out there. I’ll watch over your daughter.”

  Marc rested a gentle hand on Missy’s shoulder as Angela took her mother down to the gate, still giving instructions.

  Missy, who was enjoying herself now, leaned against him like she’d seen the boss lady do. The humming resonated in Marc’s mind. She was cute.

  Marc’s heart expanded and he swung the child up onto his hip.

  Missy buried her head against Marc’s chest, little arms wrapping around his neck. “You smell good.”

  Marc was saved a reply by the gate opening and he frowned as it shut behind two shadows. “Figures.”

  Angela stayed with Tara as dawn lit up the mountainside and a group of riders appeared in the road.

  “He’s here.” Missy squirmed out of Marc’s hold and took a spot behind the ladder.

  Her fear angered Marc and he leapt from the top of the gate to land in front of the women. He clicked his radio twice and then drew both deadly Colts.

  “He won’t give you a chance to use those,” Tara whispered nervously. “He’ll attack any second now.”

  “Well, we can’t have that,” Angela stated. “Send the signal.”

  “We have your people!”

  Jack’s happy voice echoed up and down the mountain. “I will kill them.”

  The three hostages exchanged glances that said to be ready. Becky and Seth had been found wandering, and Cynthia had been captured while trying to sneak into Vlad’s camp to spy on them. They’d done exactly what they were told to, minus the final moment, and all three of them began to inch into the right positions. Their captors were occupied with the words being flung back and forth, and didn’t notice.

  A bottle rocket exploded and Jack waited for it to fade before shouting,” I want my daughter!”

  “Come in alone and we can talk!” Angela shouted.

  Jack raised a hand to give the order to open fire.

  “Coward!”

  Marc’s shout was sent with the command of an Alpha, demanding his surrender and Jacks’ attention was snared.

  Behind him, Seth and Becky exchanged a look. The rocket was the signal and both of them began struggling with their captors.

  In the very rear, Becky also fought, but her focus was on Jack and it was all mental.

  Jack felt the pricks at his shield but he had his hands full repelling Marc’s energy. In the battle, his hold over his own men slipped.

  “Now!” Tara shouted from Angela’s side. “Do it now!”

  Stunned, Jack forgot everything else and aimed for his betrayer.

  Taking advantage of the moment, Jack’s horse bucked him into the air.

  Jack flailed, all concentration gone.

  Gunshots echoed, a large knife flew through the air, and time slowed as Jack arched repeatedly.

  Angela watched Jack’s body fly to the ground, blood pouring from multiple wounds and she raised a hand.

  Around her, the Eagles ceased fire. Behind Jack’s stunned men, the three Safe Haven hostages began backing out of the line of fire.

  Angela and Marc walked toward the group, their shields bright and tight in the early morning. As they approached, they let their eyes glow red and their demon faces bleed through. They didn’t look at each other.

  No longer under Jack’s evil control, each of his men made the safest choice and wheeled their mounts toward the road leading down the mountain.

  “Take the rear rider,” Angela instructed.

  Marc fired once before remembering their shields wouldn’t let anything through. Frustrated by the lack of physical fighting, Marc concentrated on capturing his first mental prey.

  Stephens s
tiffened in his saddle, gaze going to Jack’s corpse, and he turned as if a puppet on strings. He met Marc’s gaze and broke out into a sweat as he tried to resist the order Marc was giving.

  Becky came over, not shy around the horse, and placed a hand on the man’s leg.

  Stephens glanced down, concentration breaking, and he never saw Seth’s knife coming as it slid across his throat.

  Cynthia, assuming they were supposed to kill them all, sent a blast of icy wind toward the retreating figures and it shoved the closest rider hard enough to make the animal slip and take its rider over the edge.

  “Enough!” Angela yelled. “That’s enough.”

  Marc escorted their people toward the gate, thinking they should leave the bodies for nature to clean up. It would be a warning to all who came here thinking they could take over.

  The carnage on the road was ugly, but little compared to their previous slaughters and Angela motioned the Eagles to leave it. Marc was right. They needed a caution sign outside their gates and bones were as good a sign as any.

  As they reentered the gates, the Eagles let out a cheer and the refugees in Zone C kept their mouths shut, stunned from everything they’d witnessed.

  Angela ignored the large group as she passed them, not sure why they were still alive. In her vision, one of Jack’s men had gotten off a single shot that had lit the entire zone on fire.

  “Something went wrong,” she muttered, not aware of the celebrating men and women around her. “What did I miss?”

  She shoved by Tara, who grabbed Missy and scurried toward the caves.

  “Someone get Jeremy in my tent and do it now!” Angela ordered, ending the noise.

  Her tone said they had another problem and everyone resumed the watchful alertness they had started the morning with.

  5

  “Don’t do it, boy. We don’t have orders for this fight.”

  “Well, we should!” Charlie nearly snarled in anger, but he forced his finger away from the rifle’s touchy trigger. “We should be doing something!”

  “We are, boy,” Morgan stated kindly. “We’re making sure those gates aren’t breached. We’re tending her herd. It’s a more important job than even she has.”

  Charlie didn’t believe that, but a rocket in the air stopped his protest and he watched with the other snipers as the fight started. He’d been happy to be assigned as a sniper, until now. Now, he wanted to be at Tracy’s side. He hadn’t seen her yet today, but he knew she was down there, ready to fight and die upon his mom’s command.

  The battle below was over quickly and Charlie was forced to admit that the snipers hadn’t been needed. The Eagles on the ground had been more than enough.

  Charlie tried to control his frustration, turning to survey another part of the camp. He hated this feeling of being left out, and he still hadn’t found an outlet for his anger over Tracy being hurt. These days, he spent his time away from his mom and dad because he couldn’t stand to be around them. They didn’t care that Tracy had nightmares, that she jumped when touched, that all the progress he’d made with her had been wiped out in a single night.

  “What’s moving behind us?” Morgan directed the sullen teenager to a new path, hoping Charlie would let himself be distracted. He was handling a man’s life and doing a good job so far, but it would get harder from here. Morgan had a soft spot for Charlie. He often reminded Morgan of his own son, who probably would have been in the same classes here, had he survived the war.

  “The movement is Samantha’s team coming in.” Charlie turned to regard him. “I didn’t know you had kids.”

  Morgan was instantly glad for the opening and took it. “George was a good boy. A little hotheaded when he found a cause, but still good. He was shot by draft soldiers who were stripping our garden.” Morgan sighed. “I was at work when they came. After I buried my family, I set out to kill every soldier I could find.”

  Completely distracted, Charlie frowned. “I’m sorry. I guess we’ve all lost someone.”

  “And managed to survive,” Morgan pointed out. “Some of us had rougher days or nights than the others, but we haven’t given up. Like your Tracy. She’s a good girl.”

  Charlie waited for more, realizing this conversation was preplanned. He could tell by the way Moran kept judging his reaction.

  “You blame her? Mad at her?”

  “No, I’m not,” Charlie denied, and then realized that he was. “Well, maybe a little, but she has to tell my mom no. She should have said no.”

  Morgan studied the boy, trying to remember what it had been like to be so young and full of fire. “None of us will do that, son. Your mom is why we’re here, why we’re alive and free. We need you to understand that.”

  “I can’t,” Charlie stated harshly. “And I won’t forgive her, so don’t ask me to.”

  “What does Tracy tell you when you say that to her?” Morgan pushed.

  “She says I’m wrong, that my mom didn’t know it would happen. She’s covering for a liar.”

  “Son, you should listen to her. She went through it. She probably relives it every night. If she doesn’t blame your mom, you shouldn’t either.”

  Morgan wanted to add more, but knew it wouldn’t sink in. Charlie would have to keep sorting through this one until he concluded what everyone else already had. Tracy’s abuse had served a purpose and Angela hadn’t let it happen lightly. Despite her hard shell, they all remembered the Angela who cared deeply about them, enough to give her life if it was called for.

  “In time, you’ll see her the way we do,” Morgan promised. “Until then, at least try not to hate her. It solves nothing.”

  Charlie refused to answer and went back to scanning, but in his mind and heart, a battle was still happening that only concerned his own desires. He still loved and wanted Tracy, but after what she’d been through, he had no right to ask her for more than friendship. It was heartbreaking because he still wanted a future with her and that wasn’t possible now.

  6

  “Oh, you traitorous bitch!” Vlad swore lowly from his cover of trees. “You killed Jack!”

  There was no way that Vlad could go to the body and try to heal him without drawing attention. He was forced to retreat after the remaining members of Jack’s crew, with vengeance burning brightly in his heart.

  “I’m gonna make you pay, baby,” he promised, leading his horse away. “The rest of our men are on the way and you are gonna die a horrible death for this!” Vlad’s thoughts went to Adrian. “I’ll have a taste of your pain now.”

  7

  “There’s the signal. Move in!” Kyle ordered.

  He and his team had been watching Jack’s camp since dawn and they rushed in with weapons drawn, even though Adrian was the only one there.

  It only took a moment to swing the unconscious man up onto a horse and ride away, but Kyle didn’t like it. He didn’t want to save Adrian. The traitor didn’t deserve it.

  The team was quickly out of sight and Kyle shifted so that he could dig a syringe from his kit. He spurred his mount to reach Adrian’s and he jabbed the medication into the former leader’s leg. He then dropped back to watch the effects. If fate were kind, Adrian would wake up off balance and fall beneath the hooves of his horse.

  Adrian jerked into alertness and instinctively held onto the fast running mount he was lying over. Pain squeezed his head and he retched as he hung on, stomach protesting.

  “Figures.”

  The angry voice clued Adrian in to who his rescuers were and he shut his lids as the ground flew by. When he thought he could, Adrian carefully lifted a leg and straddled his horse, sitting up. Dizziness assaulted him and he allowed Whitney to keep the reigns while he tried to recover. Being hit with triple juice and jerked out of it with a counter-drug was rough on a body.

  Adrian’s heart gave a nasty thump in agreement and he fumbled for a nitro from the hidden pocket that he’d sewn into every shirt he owned.

  Kyle hardened his emotions, not
wanting to feel sympathy for Adrian’s weak heart or the abrupt waking. For all he knew, it was another trick.

  Adrian waited for his heart to settle into a normal rhythm and then began rooting through the saddlebags of the thundering horse, holding on tightly with his right hand. If he had an episode, the left hand would go numb. He knew that from experience.

  Kyle watched Adrian, letting Whitney and the others lead the way. Angela’s message had said they would have a short time to grab their target and then reach their destination before the rest of Jack’s men would arrive. Kyle didn’t intend to be late and he urged his mount faster, forcing the others to keep up. Every second saved now was a second that could be used later.

  As they rode, Adrian felt his strength slowly returning and found a moment to be grateful that Angela had provided for him again. She could have left him there to face Vlad’s wrath or be picked off by a predator while unconscious. He owed her more than he could ever repay.

  Kyle, sensing Adrian’s thoughts had gone to the boss, said,” She has orders for you, if this goes well.”

  Adrian knew from Kyle’s tone that it wasn’t good, but he didn’t waste his mental energy trying to puzzle it out. “What is it?”

  “She wants Zone C thinned out–regularly.”

  Adrian blanched. How low I’ve been placed.

  Kyle understood the feeling, the awful contempt it would give Adrian to do such things, and let it go for now. He wanted to enjoy this hit before he delivered any more.

  Adrian swallowed it and pointed to a long, rusting building coming up on their right. “That’s it. Give me the bag.”

  Whitney passed a heavy duffle bag to Adrian and then split off to the left to allow Adrian room to go by. Kyle’s team wasn’t staying to help, but each of them rotated on their mounts to watch the former leader jump the gate to the rail yard. If he were successful, they would hear it. If there was silence, Kyle planned to turn around despite his orders not to. Jennifer and Autumn were in Safe Haven and these new descendants couldn’t be allowed to get that far.