by R. L. King
There was no answer.
They were out in the atrium now, running past the food court. Stone still couldn’t see any sign of Tani up ahead. Ian ran along next to him, his shield blazing around him.
Another scream came from somewhere near the left-side anchor store, but this one was more despair than terror.
Stone exchange glances with Ian and pushed himself to run faster, already gathering magic to him. There were no more calls on the radio.
“Dad!” Ian pointed ahead, off to the side.
Stone whipped his gaze that way, and skidded to a stop. “Oh, bloody hell…”
Tani was hunched over a prone form on the ground, her shoulders shaking.
“Oh, no…” Ian muttered.
“Keep your shield up.” Stone crept closer, pulling up magical sight again. Tani’s aura blazed bright, but the prone figure’s—Maisie’s—barely registered.
He dropped down next to them. “Look around, Ian,” he ordered. “Don’t let anything sneak up on us.”
“Yeah. I’m on it.”
“Do something!” Tani rasped, her voice shaking with grief.
Stone leaned in, raising his light spell. Maisie lay on her back, her entire upper body soaked with blood. The source was obvious: a deep slash to her neck that had nearly decapitated her. Still, her eyes were open and her mouth worked as if she were trying to tell them something.
“She’s not regenerating!” Tani wailed. “Stone, do something!”
“I—I’ll try. But I’m not a healer.” His emotions roiled, threatening to engulf him. Where were the others? There was no sign of Verity, Jason, or Amber anywhere around. Had they run away? Left Maisie behind to escape the ambush? Were they dead somewhere too?
He could barely concentrate—but he had to, if Maisie was to have any chance of survival. “Ian, are you any good at healing?”
“No.” Ian looked miserable too. “We never focused much on that. It’s not really Gabriel’s specialty.”
Can’t imagine why, Stone thought sourly. He suspected dragons didn’t need healing very often, so they didn’t focus on getting good at it. “Okay. You keep watch. I’ll do what I can.” He bent over Maisie and began forming the pattern for a healing spell. It wasn’t a strong one, but perhaps if he could stabilize the ghoul long enough, her own natural regeneration would take over.
The wound was so grievous, though…
He did his best. He gripped Maisie’s shoulders, pouring Calanarian energy into her, trying every trick he knew to kick-start her system into taking up some of the slack.
Ian paced back and forth, trying to keep an eye on every direction at once.
Tani crouched next to Maisie, holding her hand, alternating between muttering reassurances to her and glaring at Stone.
No matter what Stone did, no matter how much energy he pumped into Maisie, it soon became clear it wasn’t doing any good. The slash had more than halfway severed her head; as Stone continued to fight, he saw no sign that the horrific wound was beginning to stitch back together. Her aura flickered and dimmed steadily.
“No, damn you!” he growled. “Come on, Maisie! Fight!”
But she had no fight. She looked up at him, almost in understanding. Then her eyes closed. Her aura flickered twice, seemed to rally for a second, and winked out.
“Oh, no, no…” Stone slumped over her, still gripping her shoulders.
Next to him, Tani wailed, shoving him aside and pulling Maisie’s body up into her arms.
Stone dragged himself to his feet, heart still pounding, despair washing over him. Why were they even here? Why had he brought all his friends into this danger? Was saving Grider and Lu—who might not even be here, or even alive—worth risking all these other lives? Was it worth losing Maisie? They’d been here for less than fifteen minutes, and already one of their number was dead, and three others were missing. Why had he led them into this?
“Dad…” Ian ventured.
He didn’t answer.
“We can’t stay here…” His son’s voice was gentle, but firm. “We have to find the others.”
Stone nodded, pulling himself together. Whether he wanted the job or not, he was the leader of this doomed expedition, and he had a job to do. What’s that he’d said? No acceptable losses?
“I’m sorry, Tani…” he murmured. “I’m so sorry. I wish I could have done more…”
Tani swallowed hard. She gently laid Maisie’s body down, shrugged out of her jacket, and covered her friend’s face with it. “Yeah,” she rasped. “I know.” She rose and met his gaze, all her anger at him gone now. “It wasn’t your fault. You tried. I’m not sure even V could have done it.” She jerked a thumb over her shoulder toward the anchor store’s entrance. “It’s their fault. And those motherfuckers are gonna pay for this. Come on. Let’s go find everybody else. We’ve got to—”
Stone’s radio squawked.
All three of them stared at it in shock.
Stone jerked it from his pocket. “Jason? Verity? Amber? Is that you?”
“Heeeyy, Stone.”
The voice was none of his friends’, but it was familiar—drawling and cocky.
Stone clenched his fist. “Lane.”
“Oh, good, you remember me. I guess I should be flattered. But then again, I did fuck you up pretty good before, didn’t I?”
Stone’s rage rose, and he fought to control it. He couldn’t lose his composure now—that was exactly what Lane and his puppet-masters wanted. “Where are my friends?” he demanded. “Are they dead?”
“They’re not dead. Not yet, anyway. Not unless you kids don’t play nice. Hang on. I’ll let you talk to them.”
There was silence for several seconds. Stone exchanged fierce glances first with Ian, then with Tani. He was about to move when another voice spoke.
“Al.” It was Jason, and he sounded defeated.
“Jason! What’s going on? What happened?”
“They got us, Al.” His sigh came through even over the radio’s spotty connection.
“How? Are Verity and Amber all right?”
“He’s got ’em. Both of ’em. They were hiding behind an illusion in one of the stores, so we didn’t see ’em until it was too late.”
“What do you mean, he got them?” But before he finished the sentence, he knew the answer. “Oh, gods. His power.”
“Yeah. They had a mage hiding them—even their smell, so we didn’t spot ’em. They hit Amber and V with it, and next thing I know Amber’s got a knife at V’s throat, and V’s not even struggling.”
Lane came back on, laughing. “It was so easy. I’ve got a good hold on both of them, Stone, so unless you want your pretty little apprentice to sprout an extra smile like the other one, you’ll do what we say.”
Stone’s grip tightened on the radio. “What do you want?”
“You, mostly.” His tone was mocking now. “But we’ll take all of you. The boss wants to keep you all on ice until after the ritual’s over, in case he needs some more sacrifices.”
“You’re playing a dangerous game,” Stone growled. “If you hurt any of them, I promise I will kill you and your entire diseased lot. That includes Richter, Padgett, and Brathwaite.”
“We’ll do it anyway!” Tani yelled over Stone’s shoulder. “You bastards killed my friend!”
Stone waved her gently off and turned away.
Lane laughed. “Go ahead and posture, but I’d say you haven’t got much of a leg to stand on right now.” He considered. “Want one? I could have one of these bitches chop one off the other one—or off your other friend here. He’s got some good muscle. Should be a nice snack for your little ghoulfriend.”
“Stop it,” Stone snapped. “Let them go. If you want me, take me. But let the others—all of them—go. I’ll come along willingly. I give you my word.”
“Dad—” Ian protested.
He raised a hand. “No, Ian. Quiet.”
“I’m afraid it doesn’t quite work like that.” Lane�
��s voice dripped with fake disappointment. “Here’s how it does work, though: You all be good and turn yourselves in. If none of you try anything, I won’t have these two chicks rip each other and their boyfriend to shreds and deliver pieces to you a few at a time. Got it?”
Stone wanted to growl, or scream defiance at the world. He wanted to use his magic to reduce Lane and this entire mall to their component atoms—as slowly and painfully as possible.
Instead, he sighed. “I’ll go,” he said wearily. “I can’t force anyone else to go, though.”
Tani’s expression was hard as steel. “You’re not getting rid of me.”
“Yeah,” Ian said. “We’ll go.” He glared at Lane. “But if you hurt anybody…”
Lane laughed. “Yeah, yeah. Go ahead and get your tough-guy act out of the way now, kid. The boss will be glad to see you, Stone. It’s been a while. I hear things didn’t end well for that pretty little bitch of yours.”
A few years ago, Stone might have lost control—which was no doubt what the man wanted. Now, though, after spending time with people like Trevor Harrison and Stefan Kolinsky, he was finally learning the value of restraint, even though his rage at the memory of Deirdre’s fate rose to a boiling point. “It’s not going to work, Lane.” His voice shook a little—he couldn’t help it—but remained mostly steady. “Suppose you just shut up like a good little lackey and do what your boss tells you to do.”
“Watch your mouth, Stone. Or I might just slip and kill you as soon as I see you. The boss will understand.”
“You bastard…” Tani muttered.
“Yeah, that’s me,” Lane said cheerfully. “I’ve even got it on my business cards. Now come on, all of you. We haven’t got all day.”
“Where?” Stone hated himself for saying it, for acceding to what this man wanted. But until he was sure Jason, Verity, and Amber were still alive and safe, he’d have to go along with the charade.
“Back to the big store in the middle. I’ll meet you there with some friends and take you where we’re going. Don’t keep me waiting, Stone. I’m serious. If you’re not here in five minutes, one of your little friends dies, so chop-chop.”
The radio went dead.
“Fuck,” Ian said.
“Yes. That’s a good summary of our situation. Come on. We’ve still got options as long as we’re alive.”
“We’re not all alive,” Tani said bitterly. She was staring down at Maisie’s body.
“I know.” All Stone wanted to do was move, but he kept his voice gentle. “I know, Tani. And I’m sorry. I promise, we’ll come back for her.”
“Yeah. After they’re all dead.” Something in her eyes blazed, making her look more like one of the feral ghouls her kind abhorred.
With a final look back at Maisie, the three of them set off at a jog toward the center anchor store. Stone and Ian kept both their shields and magical sight up, but nothing appeared as they entered and picked their way past the homeless man’s corpse.
“Where the hell are you?” Stone called.
“Oh, we’re here. Don’t worry.”
Several figures stepped out from behind cover. Lane was directly in front of Stone’s group, twenty feet away. As Stone remembered from the last time they’d encountered each other, he was dressed in designer jeans and a baby-pink polo shirt. His blond hair was neatly styled, his handsome, grinning face tanned.
“Hey, Stone,” he said. “Long time no see. You look good, man. Who’s the kid?”
“I didn’t agree to tiresome small talk. If you’re taking us somewhere, let’s go. I want to see my friends.”
“You never were any fun.” He glanced at the shadowy figures on either side of him. There were at least four of them that Stone could see. “But that’s okay. The fun’s coming soon.”
“I want to know my friends are still alive,” Stone said without moving. “I’m not going anywhere until I do.”
Lane rolled his eyes. “Fine.” He pulled out a radio—it looked like he might have taken it from one of Jason’s group—and keyed it. “Put one of them on.”
There was a moment’s pause, and then Jason’s voice came from the little speaker. “Al? Are you there?”
“Jason! Is everyone all right?”
“They’ve got me in a storeroom. I don’t know where V, Amber, or Maisie are. They said if I try anything they’ll kill them. Where are you, Al?”
Stone started to say something, but Lane made a show of pulling his thumb from the mic button and stuffing the radio back in his pocket. He laughed. “He thinks I’m still down there. And I’d better get back down there before anybody figures things out. Come on, you three.”
Stone had to restrain himself from attacking, and he could see Ian and Tani were going through the same temptation. He wished he could tell them what he suspected: that if Richter and his group hadn’t killed them yet, it was because he had something planned for them. Probably, as Lane had mentioned, using them in some capacity in the upcoming ritual. It wasn’t the best situation to be in, but at least it meant the ritual hadn’t completed yet, and they wouldn’t be killed immediately. And that, in turn, meant they had time to make plans. He glanced at his two friends and gave a subtle head-shake.
Ian nodded—he got it.
Tani glared at him, but sighed. “Where the hell we going?”
Lane gestured. “Follow me. The rest of you, make sure they don’t try anything. But first, let’s make sure you don’t have anything fun in your pockets.”
The figures stepped from the shadows. There were actually six of them. Stone swept his gaze around, and something chilled in the pit of his stomach. Two of them, steely-eyed and silent, were obviously human—probably mages. The other four were…something else. With their gray skin and blank expressions, it wasn’t hard to figure out what.
There were three men and one woman. One man and the woman wore ragged clothes. One of the men was barely more than a teenager, dressed in baggy shorts and the ripped remains of a Budweiser T-shirt. The last man was middle-aged and paunchy, with a bad haircut and a large mustache. He wore a stained security guard’s uniform.
Tani wrinkled her nose in distaste. “I halfway thought you were kidding about undead,” she muttered to Stone.
“Unfortunately not,” he muttered back. “Just keep it together for now.”
The two mages and four shambling undead creatures surrounded them, with Lane bringing up the rear. The mages quickly frisked all three of them, removing their radios from their pockets. They also found and confiscated Tani’s gun.
“Just keep moving forward,” Lane said. “Follow along and you’ll be fine.”
Stone, Ian, and Tani remained close together, where they could keep an eye on each other. The mages led them through the rubble on the store’s floor and through a door into the maintenance area. One of them opened the wide door of a freight elevator.
“Everybody inside.” Lane indicated the space with a flourish. “We’ll be getting a little cozy here, so I’ll remind you again to be good if you want your friends to keep all their limbs where they belong.”
Ian and Tani flashed Stone questioning looks, but he shook his head. He was beginning to form the faint beginnings of an idea, but he wanted time to think it through before he tried it.
The elevator rumbled for several seconds until it reached its destination. One of the mages pulled the rope to open the front, revealing a wide, featureless corridor.
“Here we are.” Lane waved them out.
Immediately, Stone smelled something odd: a combination of smoke, incense, and something rotting. The latter might have been the zombies—they were fairly ripe on their own—but the other two were strong enough to be noticeable above the funk. He glanced at Tani, who nodded. Her sense of smell was far stronger than his.
“What are you going to do with us?” he asked. “Are we to become part of whatever vile ritual your boss has concocted?”
“We’ll see,” Lane said. “That’s not up to me. Lik
e I said before, we’re holding you for later, just in case.”
“And then what?” Tani demanded. “You’re going to kill us like you killed Maisie?”
“Who knows? The boss might have other plans for you. He doesn’t tell me everything—which is fine, as long as I get to have my fun.” He shot a leer in her direction, and she looked away in disgust.
Stone filed that bit of information away. Apparently, Lane’s power did work on shifters, but not on ghouls.
The mages led them past a pair of heavy, closed steel doors, around a corner, and down another hallway with several more single doors lining it. The zombies plodded along, showing no indication of anything but mindless obedience. Stone tried to spot any spark of awareness or intellect, similar to what Sharra had displayed, but he saw nothing. These things were little more than animated dolls, designed to follow basic instructions but that was all. He filed that away too.
“Okay,” Lane said. “Here we are.” One of the mages pushed open one of the doors, revealing a room that must at one point have been an office. Now, all it contained was a broken desk, a wooden chair, and drifts of old papers. He pointed at Tani. “You—in there.”
“Fuck that,” Tani snapped without moving.
Lane merely grinned. “Come on, Stone—better tell her to mind like a good little ghoul. Her friend might be dead, but the rest of you won’t be far behind if you all don’t behave yourselves.”
“Go on, Tani,” Stone said gently. “We’ll sort this out. I promise.”
Lane laughed. “You always were overconfident. I like that. It’ll be fun when I get to mess with you again. And I will. You can guarantee that.”
Tani flashed Stone a glare, but she stalked into the room, where she stood a few feet back and regarded the group.
“Okay,” Lane said. “Here’s how this will work. You!” He pointed at one of the zombies, then at a spot on the floor. “Stand there.”
The zombie obediently shuffled to the indicated spot.
The mage directed a hand at the floor, and a glowing sigil lit up beneath the zombie’s feet.
Lane pointed at it, then looked at Stone. “See, here’s how this goes. As long as our friend here stands on that sigil, everything’s fine.” He pointed at the door and addressed the zombie. “If that door opens or anybody comes out of that room, you take three steps forward. Got it?”