by Laken Cane
“Why not?”
“I’ll find another.” And that was all he’d say.
He didn’t have to explain. She had a good idea of what he’d found inside the house.
He found another one and went to clear it.
“I know this house,” George said. “My mom’s friend lives here.”
But Fie wouldn’t get out of the car. She hung on to the back of Rune’s seat and screamed.
“Fie, come on,” George said. “They’re going to fight zombies. They might get in the car.” And finally, he was able to pull Fie from the SUV.
They left the children there with promises to return as soon as they could.
“There they are,” Jack said, five minutes later.
Up ahead, tall pole lights shone down on what looked like a hundred zombies. They blocked the street, an undulating mass of rotting flesh and eerie moans. They spilled into yards and lurched into trees, trampling each other in their desperate attempts to find living food.
In the middle of that mess were her men.
Tremors of excitement unfurled inside her belly as she jumped from the truck. If there was anything that would take her mind off Z and Levi and Denim and fucking hell, it was killing the enemy.
They cut their way through the zombies, desperation riding them as they tried to reach Raze, Levi, and Strad.
Despite her attempts to shut off her thoughts, worry that another of the crew would be infected stayed on her mind.
What if Strad got bitten? He’d decapitate himself before she had a chance to heal him.
Her injured hand screamed with hot agony and the recent, barely healing wound broke open and began to bleed. Not only could she not afford to lose more blood, but the scent of it was sending the zombies into a frenzy.
Their moans and eerie vocalizations were haunting and horrifying. Even as she rid them of their heads she shuddered with a strange empathy and something close to reluctance.
It was like they were all trapped in an ancient insane asylum.
It was like the zombies were her children.
She fought harder.
Dark splashes of blood flew through the air to land in unseen splats, converging with shadows neither the streetlights nor the moon could illuminate.
But the blood was less than it had been when the crew had first fought the zombies. The zombies hadn’t eaten for a while—a little fact they hoped to rectify as they went for Rune and her people.
Still, there was blood—and she needed it. She opened her mouth for it, drank it down, and sighed with delight at the potent mix of magic and life.
And because she drank, her monster woke up.
Suddenly she was Rune the Invincible again.
And that made her ecstatic.
Nothing could touch her. She flung herself into the crowd of zombies with screaming glee, slashing her way to the center. To her men.
She saw Strad thrust his spear into a zombie’s head. He turned to get the one behind him and spotted her.
She winked at him, acknowledging the beauty of his white smile, then she annihilated three zombies in as many seconds.
She was fast, faster even than she’d been before. She didn’t question it. She was somehow better, and she used that speed to thin the zombies.
Her hand was healed.
She hadn’t noticed when all five claws regenerated, but there they were, as strong as ever. Stronger.
She threw her head back and screamed, daring fate, maybe, to take her crew. You won’t get them. You won’t get any of them.
And in that second, once again, something changed inside her. Something big.
“Z,” she cried. She sliced neatly through the neck of a female zombie who possessed some of the longest teeth she’d ever seen, then yelled his name again as she whirled around and took out two males. “Z!”
She could feel him coming toward her, running like a dark, unstoppable force, and she didn’t care that he might be a zombie, might be her slave, might be pissed.
She just didn’t give a fuck.
He slung zombies out of his way as he came for her, came to her, his perfect green eyes bright with life and hate and knowledge.
He might have hurt her then, if he’d been anyone but Z.
But Z did not hurt women. And he especially did not hurt Rune.
His maker, his mistress.
She grinned, could feel it stretching across her face like a hideous mask. “Welcome back, baby.”
He fought with his crew, his cuts as neat and quick and amazing as they’d ever been.
Z.
As though drawn to him, Levi muscled his way through the remaining zombies until he reached Z, and shot out a hand to clap him on the shoulder.
She would swear later she saw a spark fly from his touch. Later, when she had time to recall the events of that moment, that fight.
She’d brought them both back. They were hers now, hers in ways the others were not.
Was she a god?
Fuck no.
She was a goddess.
And as she threw herself back into the battle, she thought she heard the mad master Llodra’s laughter, chilling her to her very bones.
Chapter Fifteen
She couldn’t stay high forever, and when she came down, she came down hard.
The area was ominously quiet once the crowd of zombies had been destroyed. The crew regrouped silently, waiting for Rune to tell them what to do.
Z stood off to himself, his back turned, and no one approached him except Levi. Z had glowered at Levi, told him to get the fuck away from him, and hadn’t said a word since.
The crew would give him his space.
For a while.
“Should we get some food then do a search and destroy?” Jack asked.
“No,” she decided. “We try to get the kids out of town.”
They’d been lucky so far. No one had died. She glanced at Z and amended that thought. No one had stayed dead.
“We can’t leave until we find Denim,” Levi said.
Rune nodded. Levi seemed more like his old self. He’d hugged Lex and kissed her forehead, smiling when she’d grabbed him to her and wrapped her arms around him. But even though she’d refused to let him go for ten minutes, her anger was palpable. The twins, her guardians, the two people in the world she could count on, had left her.
Every so often Levi would peer at Rune and frown, but he didn’t ask any questions. He’d squeezed her shoulder once and said, “Thanks for saving my life.”
And that was all.
In the end they split up—Strad drove Raze to get his truck where Owen had abandoned it, and Rune took the others with her to look for Denim. Raze was going to pick up Fie and George as well. If they couldn’t find Denim soon, one of the men would have to take the kids to River County.
She was worried about Denim, but she didn’t share her uneasiness with Lex and Levi. They were worried enough all on their own.
Her cell rang and even before she saw RISC on the display she knew it was bad news. “Elizabeth?”
“They know, Rune. The military is being sent in. You have to get out now. If they find you there—”
“I understand. But first we have to find Denim.”
“There is no time. Don’t take a chance with the crew. Get them out of there.”
“As soon as we can.” She hung up.
“What is it?” Jack asked.
“Elizabeth ordered us out. The military is coming.”
“Not without Denim,” Levi said.
“Fuck.” She hit the steering wheel. Where are you, Denim?
She tossed her cell to Jack. “Let Strad and Raze know.”
Denim was probably already dead. One man alone in a town of zombies, especially zombie Others, was not going to survive long.
She listened to Jack talking to Strad and wished for one weak moment she was back in River County. Back in her bed with the berserker.
“Rune,” Lex said, leaning up from the backs
eat. “There’s something here. Stop the car.”
Rune stopped immediately. No one made a sound as they listened, searching the night outside the windows for whatever it was Lex had sensed.
And then Rune saw a movement from the corner of her eye. “Vampires.” She wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a very bad thing. Her fangs dropped in response. “I’ll talk to them.”
She climbed out, eager. Eager for what, she couldn’t have said. Fighting? Being close to those who were almost her own kind?
But then a vision of Llodra swam into her mind.
Get out of my head, Nick.
She held a gun in one hand and a silver blade in the other.
She felt her crew at her back and her stomach tossed with anxiety. She’d become terrified of losing them, and she was going to have to get over it. It was a dangerous job. She had to stop thinking like an overprotective mother.
But she didn’t know how many vampires were lurking or what they had on their dark minds. She could handle whatever they dished out. Her crew might not be able to.
“Do you think they’re infected?” Jack asked.
“The wolves and shifters were,” she said. “But the vampires? I doubt it.”
But she had been infected—she’d just managed to fight it off. If she could get infected, so could the other bloodsuckers.
It was the most fucked up zombie infection she’d ever heard of.
“We have no time,” Lex whispered.
Rune nodded and stood still, staring into a blackness barely illuminated by the moon, the streetlights, or her headlights. “I need to talk to you,” she called. “We’re not going to hurt you.”
Laughter floated from the shadows. “I’ll try to control my terror.”
It was a soft, feminine voice, musical and full of sunshine.
“Who are you?” Rune asked, and held her gun a little tighter. There was something about that voice. It was too…sweet. That made her cautious.
Then the woman materialized. It was as though she’d been there all along but Rune hadn’t been able to see her until the woman—the vampire—had allowed it.
Rune brought her gun up. The lady vampire was the most beautiful woman Rune had ever seen. And judging from the indrawn breaths at her back, the crew agreed.
The vampire looked at Rune’s gun. “Please. If you lower your weapon, I will love you forever.” She smiled, and her eyes smiled with her. “It makes me nervous.”
“I’ll keep it where it is. I’ll only use it if you or your people come too close.” Rune smiled back at the lady, pretty sure her eyes did not smile with her. “I promise.”
“I completely understand,” the vampire said, nodding. Silky black hair slid over her shoulders to her waist. “My name is Marta, and I am the vampire mistress of Rock County.”
“I’m—”
“Rune Alexander of River County’s Shiv Crew.” She kept her smile. “You are very well known. Unlike my poor worthless self.” She motioned at something behind her. “My people and I prefer to remain as inconspicuous as possible.”
It was as though they were having tea and cookies. “Marta, we need to get out of this city. The military is coming in and they won’t leave one fucking thing standing—including us if we’re caught here. I suggest you and your children take off.”
Marta widened her eyes. “How awful. We will leave soon, of course.”
“Answer some quick questions first.”
“Happily.”
“How is it the Others are infected? Can the vampires be infected? And where are the rest of the Others? I’ve seen only a few, and they were all zombies.”
Finally, a spark of something other than amiability flashed through the vampire’s eyes. “Dead, zombies, and in the Camp.”
Rune shivered. “Tell me.”
“We were overrun by corrupt, greedy, sadistic men. They loaded the Others into the Camp for the slightest infringements—most of the charges were fabricated by law enforcement. To keep free Others in line, their loved ones were hurt.” The vampire held a hand to her chest. “Darkness has covered Rock County like a blanket, and no one knew. No one cared.”
“What’d they do in the Camp?”
She pursed her lips, then shrugged. “Among other things, they fight the Others for money.”
“Fuck.” It was a big money maker, fighting Others. Like cockfights and dogfights, Otherfights were illegal but that didn’t stop them from happening.
“The Camp is not a pleasant place.”
“I don’t understand. Vampires are powerful. Why didn’t you—”
“My responsibility is to my coven. The Others would have rebelled eventually and all hell, as they say, would have broken loose. But then, someone worse came, and the zombies came, and Rock County has already become a ghost town.” Marta motioned to something behind her. “Beside me, children.”
Rune watched, breath held, as small black cats began slinking from the shadows, curling themselves around Marta’s legs, trying to get as close to her as possible.
“Cats?” Rune asked. “Your children are cats?”
“What the fuck?” Jack muttered.
“They are now. Most of them. There is a being. A witch, if you will,” Marta said. “She goes by the name Damascus. She’s…unimaginable.” She paused, her eyes shining like pieces of glitter had been caught inside the black orbs. “She did this to my vampires. We need you to send her away.”
“Me?”
“The witch has to die or be sent back to her world. No one else we know has a chance against her—but then, no one else we know is brave enough to try.”
Rune raised an eyebrow, unimpressed with the flattery.
Marta continued when Rune remained silent. “The vampires, the Others, the humans…we are powerless against her. But you are more than vampire. You are more than anything I’ve ever seen, second to Damascus.” She stepped closer, despite the gun Rune continued to point at her heart. “You must save us.”
“There is no time,” Levi said. “They are coming to level the place.”
“Let them destroy the witch,” Jack said. “We can’t.”
“No,” Marta said. “Guns or blades or bombs cannot destroy Damascus. Her parts will knit back together and she will be better than ever. This is what she does. She is not exactly…physical. It will take a special kind of magic to stand against the witch. To defeat her.” She looked once more at Rune. “You have that power inside you. Nicolas Llodra assured me of this.”
Rune’s legs weakened and she forced herself not to tremble. “How do you know Llodra?”
Marta smiled gently, almost pityingly. “We are vampires, Rune. We know each other.”
“What does he have to do with all of this?”
“Nicolas knows the witch and knows her well. He knows her weaknesses and her strengths.”
“How?”
Marta leaned over to stroke one of her cats. “She is his maker.”
Rune couldn’t breathe.
She frowned as a memory, just out of reach, swam through her mind. “He’s mad. And probably already dead. My people—”
“Nicolas lives,” Marta interrupted. “But not for long. He is being starved and tortured. Your people are not much different from the Rock County humans. They are slowly killing him, and you must not let that happen.”
And suddenly she remembered. Remembered Llodra in her head, telling her to save him.
“Nicolas is a bit mad,” Marta continued. “He has made mistakes. But he is not an…evil vampire, really. He needs help.”
“I don’t get it.”
“The witch Damascus terrifies him. Nicolas escaped her. He had another witch surround him with a…scrambling spell, if you will, in the very distant past. Damascus could not find him until a few days ago. She was off by a few miles and landed here thanks to...” She shook her head impatiently. “That doesn’t matter. But she didn’t believe he wasn’t here hiding or that we weren’t hiding him.” She gestured at the
cats. “Her excuse for tormenting our Others.”
“She created the zombies,” Jack guessed.
“It’s a complicated story,” Marta said.
“Then condense it for us,” Rune suggested. “Please.”
“The child Stefanie brought forth the first zombies,” Marta said, “before Damascus even arrived. Stefanie’s mother had died. The children were devastated.
“The authorities discovered her…gift and were going to sell her to the highest bidder. But then Damascus came.” She shrugged. “Stefanie was partly responsible for the witch arriving here. Princess of the dead calling to the queen of the dead, perhaps. If not for the child, I’m sure the witch would have appeared closer to your town.”
“Because she finally tracked Llodra.”
“Yes.”
“Tell me about the zombies.”
“Damascus is controlling the newly infected dead. She is animating them with her filthy magic. That is why the Others are being infected—because of her. If you send her back to her world, those animated with her magic will end.”
“How do you know so much about the witch?” Jack asked, mistrust evident in his voice.
“I know because we are connected. Damascus is Nicolas Llodra’s maker. And he is mine.”
She gazed steadily at Rune, her eyes glittering in the darkness. “If you send the witch away, the new zombies will be destroyed. If you don’t, they will infest the world. You will have a zombie apocalypse.”
“What about the regular zombies?”
Marta’s smile was wide and a little superior. “You and the humans will manage to put them down. They are easier to deal with, are they not?” Then she dropped her smile. “But I care little for that. The witch wants Nicolas. And she will find him. If she reaches him, everyone in your RISC building will die, and she will take the master.” For the first time, Marta’s voice broke and the jolly façade began to crack.
“How can I kill her?”
Marta shook her head. “I do not have much faith in your ability to kill her, but I do believe you can send her back. If you make her fear you, she will go. You have to try. But first, you have to make your people release my maker.”
“I don’t have to do anything,” Rune said.
Her cell rang, the sudden sound causing her to jerk. She holstered her gun and pulled the cell from her pocket. “Raze?”