Web Master (#8 Shifter Squad)

by J. C. Diem

  “How come you look like a human, except for your eyes and tongue?” Kala asked. “I thought lamias had the body of a snake.”

  “We are able to remain in our human form indefinitely. Being in my true form is far too dangerous nowadays.”

  “Yeah,” Kala agreed. “Humans tend to run screaming in terror when they see anything supernatural. They’re fairly predictable that way.”

  “Let’s search the rest of the cells,” Mark instructed us. “Flynn, why don’t you stay here with…” he turned to the lamia.

  “I am called Sabine.” Her accent was as exotic as her face.

  “We won’t be long,” Mark said to Flynn. He motioned for us to leave the pair alone and we continued on down the hall.

  After a quick search, we didn’t find anyone else alive. We returned to find Flynn and Sabine lost in each other’s eyes. Kala cleared her throat loudly, breaking them from their silent contemplation. “Let’s get out of here before a golem turns up.”

  Sabine was instantly alarmed. “You have seen a golem?”

  Flynn offered her his arm as Mark hurried back the way we’d come. Like the other prisoners, she wore a white t-shirt and white drawstring pants. Her tiny feet were bare. She trotted to keep up as Flynn answered her. “We’ve fought three of them so far. We defeated them by chopping off their heads. It stops them, but whoever created them keeps stealing their heads back. Only destroying their master will ensure that they won’t be resurrected again.”

  “Very few creatures are evil enough to be willing to create golems,” she said. She was understandably disturbed by this information. It was refreshing to meet someone who wasn’t just aware of the dark underworld, but was one of the few species of benign supernatural creatures that inhabited it.

  “That’s what the Queen of the fae told us,” Kala said as she reached the elevator. She jabbed the button and the doors opened.

  “You have met Laurylayne?” Sabine asked. “I am beginning to think you are not normal, even for shifters.”

  My dad slanted a look at me. “I’ll tell you later,” I murmured. He had no idea who Laurylayne was or what had happened to us since I’d seen him last.

  Trotting through the halls, we soon retraced our route to the exit. Reece opened the door and swept his gaze across the yard, searching for threats. Finding none, he stepped outside. We hurried towards the hole in the fence, skirting around the bodies of the fallen agents.

  We were almost past them when Zeus growled and looked up at the sky. It was the first sound he’d made since I’d brought him back from the dead. It sounded hollow and strange, but his warning was clear. We were being watched.

  “What is it?” Mark asked. Tilting his head back, he couldn’t see anything.

  “It’s a drone,” Kala said. Flying high above us, it was almost invisible even to our enhanced senses.

  Backtracking to the dead agents, my dad took a sniper rifle from one of Kendricks’ men. He handed it to me rather than trying to take the shot himself. The night vision scope had been destroyed by gunfire, which meant he wouldn’t be able to see the target.

  It was an unfamiliar weapon, but it would get the job done. With the scope out of commission, I had to sight on the drone manually. The night sky was bright to me and I saw the drone as clear as day. I aimed and pulled the trigger. Bright sparks flared when I hit my target. It fell from the sky and hit the ground half a mile away with a tiny explosion.

  Zeus growled again. He heard the oncoming vehicles even before I did. His senses were now preternaturally sharp.

  “Trucks are coming,” Reece informed the group. “They’ll have us surrounded in minutes.”

  Reece and I could easily have carried everyone back to our SUV using our vampire speed, but I had a better idea. I just hoped it would work. “Gather around,” I said and motioned for them to move closer until we were all touching. “I’m going to try something. You might want to close your eyes and mouth and hold your breath,” I warned them. Then I let my death magic envelop us all.

  Sinking into the ground, I thought of the location that I wanted to go to. A moment later we were standing next to the SUV. Kala staggered and spat out a mouthful of dirt. “What the hell just happened?”

  “I warned you to keep your mouth closed,” I told her then explained what I’d done. “I used the same trick that zombies use to travel quickly beneath the ground. I moved us to somewhere I’d been before.”

  “Is that how you managed to escape from the silver mesh?” Flynn asked.

  “Yep.” I put my hands in my pockets, waiting for everyone to freak out. When no one did, I realized they were still shell shocked from our battle with the demon. After seeing something crawl out of hell, I guessed me being able to transport us like I was a zombie wasn’t all that alarming.

  There were too many of us to fit into the SUV, but I’d only brought us here to grab our gear. I wasn’t about to leave my sniper rifle behind. We only had a few changes of clothes with us. Most of our gear was back at the compound.

  Mark’s hand went into his pocket and pulled out a set of bloody keys. “I’m sure Kendricks won’t mind if we borrow his truck.” I hadn’t even seen him pilfer the O Squad leader’s corpse. He could be smooth when he wanted to be.

  My father took the keys before Reece could reach for them. Both men were alphas and were used to being behind the wheel. “This thing is far too conspicuous,” my father said as he eyed the truck. “We’ll have to find something more suitable before they spot us.”

  “I’ll disable the tracking device,” Mark said. “Climb in the back and make yourselves comfortable,” he instructed the rest of us.

  Reece opened the back door and Flynn lifted Sabine inside. Kala jumped up after them then Zeus leaped in next with no visible sign of exertion. He trotted soundlessly over to Kala when she took a seat with her back to the wall. He flopped down next to her and put his head on her thigh. She put her hand on his head and his eyes closed in bliss when she stroked his soft coat.

  I leaped inside and Reece entered last. He swung the door shut just as the truck lumbered to life. Riding in the back of the armored vehicle wasn’t going to be pleasant, but the Obliteration Squad had managed it and so would we.

  Duffle bags were piled in one corner of the truck. Flynn rifled through one and found enough kits for us all to clean our weapons. It was a familiar process and it was almost soothing to break my Beretta down and clean it thoroughly before piecing it back together again. I hadn’t used my sniper rifle this time, but I gave it the same treatment. Sabine watched us in fascination as we each made sure our weapons were clean and functional.

  We suffered through the noisy ride for almost an hour before we stopped. I wasn’t claustrophobic, but it had been stuffy riding in the enclosed space. It was a relief when Mark opened the door and fresh air wafted inside.

  “Did you have a pleasant ride?” Mark asked.

  “Not really,” Reece said on behalf of us all. “I’d prefer our SUV any day.”

  We leaped to the ground and Flynn helped Sabine out last. I was sure she could have jumped down without assistance, but he was too much of a gentleman to let her. Reece lifted his eyebrow at me and I smirked. We both knew I wouldn’t put up with him treating me like a fragile princess.

  Dawn was nearing and we had to find a new ride before the PIA managed to track us down. My dad had parked the truck in the woods, but it wasn’t going to be hidden for long. I saw the lights of a small town just down the road. Once the sun came up, the truck was sure to be spotted. It was nearly impossible to hide something that big.

  “Wait here,” my father instructed us. “I’ll be back soon.”

  “Do you need any help?” Kala asked.

  He smiled at her indulgently. “That won’t be necessary, Agent Walker. I learned how to hotwire a car before you were born.” He winked then turned and jogged towards the small town.

  Fanning herself with her hand, she grinned at me. “Your Dad is hot.”

>   I didn’t allow myself to rise to her bait this time. “It’s a pity you can’t have a foursome with him, Cole and Kendricks now.”

  “Yeah,” she agreed sadly. “Kendricks didn’t look so pretty with half of his face missing.”

  Pale and subdued, Mark stood a little apart from us. Reece walked over and touched his arm. Lost in his thoughts, Mark gave him a strained smile. “Are you okay?” Reece asked. I kept my distance to give them a semblance of privacy, but I listened in to their conversation. I was just as concerned as he was about our boss. He wasn’t acting like himself at all.

  “I’m fine,” Mark replied. “I just need some rest.” His tone and scent told us that he was lying. He was hiding something from us, but Reece wasn’t going to try to force him to talk. He’d tell us what was bothering him eventually.

  ₪₪₪

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Hearing a vehicle approaching a few minutes later, we turned to see a white van heading towards us. It was fairly new and nondescript with no identifying marks. My father was behind the wheel. He’d no doubt swapped the plates to make it harder for the stolen vehicle to be traced.

  Mark climbed into the front passenger seat and the rest of us climbed into the back. Kala took the front row and sprawled out to take up all three seats. Flynn and Sabine took the next row and Reece and I took the third. Zeus lay on the floor behind us. It was spooky how quiet he was now. If he hadn’t still been solid flesh and blood, I’d have thought he’d turned into a ghost.

  “I have a safe house that we can use,” my father said to Mark. “It’s about a four hour drive from here.”

  Mark glanced over his shoulder at Kala before she could utter a complaint that she was hungry. “That’ll be fine. We can stop for supplies along the way.”

  “Won’t the PIA be monitoring our credit cards?” I asked.

  “Just the ones they know about,” he replied slyly.

  “Should we ditch our cell phones and other electronic gear?” Reece queried.

  Mark shook his head. “The Board aren’t the only ones who planned for treachery. I’ve made sure that they won’t be able to trace us through our cell phones or laptops.”

  “You’re so smart you make me sick sometimes,” I said, borrowing Kala’s line.

  Flynn asked the question that was on everyone’s mind. “What are we going to do now? Our own organization is hunting for us. They’ll find us eventually.”

  “For now we’ll use Philip’s safe house and take some time to recharge,” Mark replied. “I need time to rest and think.” He looked drawn and shaken. This betrayal had been a shock for us all, but especially for him. He’d dedicated two decades of his life to the PIA and they’d turned on him without a second thought.

  We had to travel past our compound on the way to the safe house. Mark decided we might as well pick up our gear. We detoured inside long enough to clean up and pack. Back on the road again, we sped away before anyone from the agency knew we’d been there.

  Nearing our destination two hours later, we stopped briefly at a gas station to buy food before continuing on. It didn’t surprise me that my father had a safe house. He probably had more scattered around the country. His work had made him a little paranoid and that paranoia was coming in handy now.

  It was midmorning by the time we arrived at a remote farm. The house was old, but it was in fairly good condition. We parked around the back where the stolen van wouldn’t be seen. My father led the way down a path to the backdoor. He stopped briefly to pick up a key that was hidden beneath a rock in an overgrown garden. He unlocked the door and we filed inside.

  Large and sprawling, the house was two stories high. We had a short tour and found the bathrooms and bedrooms upstairs. Kala headed straight for one of the bathrooms to take a shower. Mark disappeared into the second one.

  Reece and I returned downstairs and sank onto the plush, but worn brown couch. Flynn and Sabine followed us and sat down at the dining table. They were exchanging backgrounds, getting to know each other. My father stayed upstairs to wait for his turn in one of the showers. Zeus ran a quick check of the house then disappeared outside. I sensed him searching the property for threats. He no longer felt hunger or the need to sleep. He would be a tireless guardian who would always be with me.

  “I’m glad you saved him,” Reece said, reading my thoughts.

  “Did I?” I asked quietly. “Or have I doomed him to wander the Earth forever without the possibility of ever moving on?”

  “You haven’t doomed him,” he said firmly. “I’m not sure what Zeus has become, but he seems to still have his personality. He isn’t mindless like a zombie or aimless like a ghost. He’s something new, like us. I’m pretty sure he’s grateful you didn’t let him just fade away.”

  “I couldn’t let him go. I need him, just like I need you.”

  “You have my permission to turn me into your undead guardian if it ever comes down to it,” he said solemnly. The smile hovering around his mouth spoiled the gravity of his words. “As long as we can still have sex, I’ll be happy.”

  “Eww,” Kala said from the bathroom. She’d shut off the water just in time to overhear us. “Not even I’m into necrophilia. You two are sick.” She sniggered then began blow drying her hair.

  I glanced over at the table to see Flynn holding Sabine’s hand. He barely knew the lamia and he was already falling for her. Whatever he’d felt for McSweeny paled in comparison to how he felt about Sabine. His relationship with the cop had been ill-fated from the start. A human and a shifter would never work in the long term. Two supernatural creatures who shared similar traits would have a far better chance.

  “I had a family once,” Sabine was saying. Her tone was sad, yet resigned. “My mother and two sisters were hunted down three hundred years ago. I was out hunting at the time, which is the only reason why I was spared. I came home to our shack and discovered their bodies. That was when I decided to leave Europe and head to this newly settled continent.”

  Reece and I shared a look at the idea of the US being considered newly settled. To her, it probably was.

  “Have you been alone for all that time?” Flynn asked.

  “Yes.” Her nod was full of sorrow. “We were the last lamias. I have wandered without direction for so long, desperate to find someone else like me.”

  “Now you have,” he said and they shared a smile. “I feel like I’ve been waiting for you for my whole life and now I’m complete.”

  Her laugh was sultry. “How old are you, Agent Flynn Bailey?”

  “Nearly twenty-one.”

  “You are practically still a baby compared to me, yet I sense your soul is much older.”

  They’d both suffered sorrow and loss, which gave them even more in common. It was a startling coincidence that she’d managed to survive while every other supernatural creature in the EERI compound had died.

  Flynn unconsciously picked up on that thought. “How did you survive whatever the O Squad did to the other captives?”

  She shrugged one shoulder. She was still wearing the white t-shirt. It was a couple of sizes too large for her small frame. “I am immune to all forms of poisons and toxins.”

  “How did your mother and sisters die?”

  “They were beheaded and their bodies were hacked apart.” Her lips thinned in anger. “Almost anything can be killed by taking its head or its heart. Lamias are no exception.”

  “I’m sorry,” he said contritely. “I shouldn’t have dredged up that memory.”

  “Do not apologize. I wish to know everything about you and for you to know everything about me.” They became lost in each other’s eyes again. I could almost feel their budding romance spilling out to fill the entire house.

  There weren’t enough bedrooms for everyone, so Reece and I curled up on the couch. For a few short hours, we dozed in each other’s arms. The peace was finally shattered when Mark’s phone rang. He might have ensured that we couldn’t be traced, but at least some of
his contacts could still reach out to him.

  “This is Agent Steel,” Mark said. I heard traces of stress in his voice. I was pretty sure he hadn’t been sleeping and had just been lying there, worrying about our future.

  “Mark, it’s Jerry,” Dr. Wright said. He sounded excited. “I just ran some more tests on your blood and I noticed something very strange.”

  Mark was silent for a few seconds then he sighed. I had the sense that he knew what was going on. “I think the whole team will want to hear this. Hang on for a second.”

  The bed squeaked when he stood. Most of us had woken up when his phone had gone off. He only had to knock on my father’s door to rouse him from sleep. Reece and I sat up to make room for Kala. She plonked down beside me. Even with her hair messy and creases in her face from her pillow, she was still gorgeous.

  Catching that thought, she grinned and nudged me with her shoulder. “You’re pretty hot, too.” Her eyes went to my hair and her grin widened. “You’re really rocking the just-woke-up look.”

  As I finger-combed my hair, Zeus wedged himself in between my feet. He sensed our tension and he wanted to be close in case I needed him. My dad entered the room and shot me a curious look. I shrugged to indicate I had no idea what was going on. Sabine sat next to Flynn on the other couch with a serene smile. He slid his arm around her shoulder and drew her to his side, mirroring Reece and me. Mark and my father dragged dining chairs over from the table and sat down.

  “Okay, Jerry,” Mark said and put the phone on speaker mode. “We’re all here. Tell us what you’ve found.”

  “I’ve been running various tests on your blood and hadn’t made any real headway,” Jerry began. “When I examined the samples today, I found that they’d changed.”

  “What do you mean?” Kala asked. “Changed how?”

  “They’re no longer degrading,” Jerry replied. His excitement was tinged with awe. “They’re as fresh as if I’d just taken them a few seconds ago. It’s almost like they’ve been replaced with new samples, but they’re caught in some kind of stasis.”