A Matter of Truth (Fate Series 3)

by Heather Lyons

  “That seems improbable.”

  “No, I mean—I’d needed a new coat.” I guess I was unconsciously searching for comfort.

  Talk of Jonah reminds me of where he is and what’s going on around him. Karl must see the panic on my face because he says, “I got an update on the mission while you were in the shower tonight. He and Kellan both checked in with Zthane on time. The Guard is requiring them to check in every two hours.”

  I want to press for more about the mission, but Erik is asking everyone to quiet down. Once they do, he recaps the situation for the crowd. After eight months of quiet, the Elders have reappeared and managed to catch a thirty-something Métis named Burt Eversgreen unaware. His body was been found on the outskirts of Anchorage; apparently, according to Erik, it looked like he aged a hundred years in death.

  In all the time I’ve dealt with the Elders, I’ve never seen a victim before. Or even thought to ask what happened to them. “Is that normal?” I whisper to Karl.

  He nods gravely.

  For nearly fifteen minutes, debates rage on about whether or not people should flee Anchorage and find a new city to colonize or even go underground. Will eventually joins us at the far edge of the room; we are the three outsiders in a group of outsiders.

  “What are we going to do about this?” Will whispers to us.

  Karl’s eyes don’t leave the trio of Métis debating the merits of joining Oklahoma City’s colony. “Meaning?”

  “They said that there were a handful of these beasties. I suggest we go find them and kick their arses. That way, nobody will have to leave.”

  “Are you serious?” Karl asks, voice low. “We need to call in a team to scout for them.”

  It’s obvious this displeases Will. “What, like one of your Magical Guard teams?”

  I take a deep breath and remind myself that I no longer have the luxury of being a coward, even when I’m scared at the mere thought of what I’m about to say. “Between the three of us, I think we can do it.”

  I briefly debate if I just lost my mind, especially with how Karl is glowering at me.

  But no—this is the right thing to do. “Lee is still in town, right?” He nods, so I continue, “If need be, we can get him to track their location. But Karl, let’s be honest. No team is going to effectively neutralize the Elders. Now that we know I can do it—”

  He leans in and practically hisses, “From what you two told me, you two very nearly didn’t come out the victors. Look at you. You’re a mess and will probably take a Shaman at least an hour to fix apiece. I shudder to think just how much blood you lost. Or what that guy over there even replaced it with.” I open my mouth to counter him, but he steamrolls over me. “Have you forgotten in this last half year that we must have a living Creator?”

  My spine straightens. “No. But I’m not going to stand by while these things hurt people. I can . . .” I can’t say it, can’t willingly admit how easy it is for me to murder beings, even ones as evil as these. So I compromise with, “Take care of the Elders. None of the rest of you can. Somebody died here in Anchorage, and chances are, it was because of me.”

  “Don’t you think that’s going a bit too far?” Will murmurs.

  “Not at all. The Elders have left Anchorage alone for awhile. You heard what Cailleache said. They want me. They’re looking for me. Burt is dead because he happened to be in the city where they’re hunting me. I am not okay with anybody risking their lives because they happen to be caught in the crosshairs of the Elders’ efforts to get to me.” I look up at Karl. “I hope you don’t make me issue an order, because I’d hate to pull rank on you like that again. But the simple fact is, several Elders have been sighted in town. You know they’re looking for me—and now possibly you, since you’re here, too. It is imperative that we take care of this matter now.”

  Karl studies me for a long, uncomfortable moment. It’s then I notice that the room has hushed and all eyes are on us.

  But then an amazing thing happens. He smiles. It’s not a big one, nor is it snarky. He’s proud of me, and that means the worlds right now. “Tell me what you need from me.”

  Relief whooshes out in a surprised breath. I tap his hand. “This.”

  He makes the call to Lee Acacia.

  While Lee scouts the area for the Elders so he can lure them towards us, I’m taken to a few of the larger Métis homes nearby to reinforce their walls. Cameron and Erik organized everyone into groups for safety and have warned them to only leave these houses when absolute necessary until Karl and I have had a chance to deal with the Elders.

  Even still, the Métis regard us suspiciously; their distrust burns, but I can logically get where it comes from. Whispers always follow us—our crafts rather than names are thrown around—but I force myself to ignore their fears and instead focus on my own.

  Because, yes. Obviously I have fears. A ton of them are filling me up, like sand in the proverbial hourglass. The last time I faced a single Elder, she nearly killed me before I figured out what I was doing. Before that, one shattered my kneecap and arm. It’s not like I haven’t risked my life with these things before. And now? I’m purposely seeking a group of them out in an effort to take a stand.

  Only a fool wouldn’t be scared. Or Will, who practically radiates his boredom as he drives me around Anchorage. I wish I had his nerves.

  At the last house, right before I leave, the owner, a pretty thirty-something named Kathryn comes up to me. Her voice is quiet and sweet as she tells me her story. “I was born in Annar, but left with my mom when I was eight because people were really mean to us. I was called a freak by the kids I went to school with. My mom was made to feel like the only reason my dad was with her was because they got pregnant while dating. Which—it was true, but I genuinely believed my parents loved each other, despite their fighting.” Her smile is shaky. “Shows what I know. My dad is still there, said he couldn’t give up being a Magical, not even for his family. I haven’t seen him since the day he closed the door behind us. He doesn’t know my children. He didn’t see me graduate high school or college. I have to admit, I’ve hated Annar for a long time, believing it took so much away from me. But tonight . . .” She sucks in her lower lip as she studies me. “You don’t have to do this. You’re willingly going to go stop these things, and . . .” Her slim hand grabs mine. “Thank you. I’ll be praying for your safety.”

  Will’s phone beeps; it’s a message from Karl. Lee says 4 incoming. Get ready to get back to warehouse.

  We hug goodbye; when Kathryn closes the door, I alter the wood until nothing can bust it down. And I vow that the she’s not going to have to fear door closures anymore. Not from me, and not from Annar.

  Because the Elders aren’t the only thing that needs to be taken down.

  “This is stupid,” Will says. “You two need to be with the others. After all, aren’t you leader-y types?”

  Cameron merely smiles indulgently at his son. Erik motions at Karl and me like we’re idiots. “What if you bleed out? What then? I’ll be damned if Annar comes blaming the Métis for the loss of two of their more powerful Council members. You two need me and my skills here.”

  Karl says, “I can call in a Shaman—”

  “The closest portal is in Juneau,” Erik counters. “That’s a twenty-two hour drive; even by airplane it’d take too long. When you’re losing blood, even an hour is too long to wait.” He motions to a small cooler on the floor that holds bags of blood. None of them are specific to Magicals, but he claimed, since they came from first generation Métis donors, they’d do in a pinch until Shamans can check us out.

  “Well, then you two are staying in the office.” Will peers out of the window; according to Lee, now lounging on Cameron’s old couch while flipping through a fishing magazine like he hasn’t got a care in the worlds, the Elders were last spotted a mile and a half away from the warehouse.

  “Don’t worry, hot stuff,” Lee drawls, without looking up from an article on the best flies to u
se. “I won’t let anything happen to dear old Papa and his friend.”

  I think I preferred his stutter.

  Will snatches the magazine out of his hands and tosses it on the table. “If I’m not mistaken, you’re a Tracker.”

  Lee snatches it right back. “That’s right. Since you’re new to the Annar scene, let me illuminate you. Not only am I brilliant at finding tangible items and people, I am also quite adept at locating hard to find exits and hiding places.” He flips the magazine open to the page he’d last been on. “Therefore, let me once more reassure you that if things go south for you all out there, I will ensure that these two make it to safety.”

  As the two of them jockey for who can outsnark the other, I pull Karl to the side of the room. “Can I borrow your phone?”

  There’s no hesitation. “No.”

  I sigh through my nose. “Look. I totally butchered the last call. I don’t want Jonah not knowing how much I love him if I go and die tonight or something.”

  Karl leans back against the wood paneled wall. “Then don’t die.”

  Did he just really say that? “One call—”

  “Last I heard, he’s working the riots; his position is precarious, at best. As it’s not likely that Jonah has a team of bodyguards around him to protect him from bullets, there’ll be no distracting him from his mission simply because you’re finally willing to step up to the plate after abandoning him.”

  His kick to the gut lands exactly where he wants it.

  The hard angles of his face soften a tiny bit when he leans forward. “As somebody who has a Connection, I can safely say that, no matter what he thinks and feels about you right now, Jonah is aware that you love him.”

  He doesn’t understand. I try again. “He also knows I love his brother. It’s—he needs to know that I—”

  Karl’s not having any of my rationalizations, though. “I guess that gives you incentive to get us out of this alive tonight, huh?”

  I’m not the one to answer him, though. Screaming in the distance does it for me.

  “Ready?”

  I can’t help but smile at Karl’s whispered word, because, honestly. What a ridiculous question. Is anyone ever ready to go to battle? Take a chance and know it could be your last? Die? Granted, I have the upper hand—I can actually kill these things. Only, I apparently need to be up close and personal to do so, which means, while I can kill them, they can kill me just as easily. My Frankenstein monster-like stitched up body is a living reminder of that.

  But I tell him yes anyway. I have to be ready. I have too much to lose right now if I’m not.

  We’re barricaded inside the office, just waiting for the proverbial hammer to come down. Will lets out a long, quiet breath, his focus on the ceiling, the sword he fought with before now remade and tight in his grip. I think even Karl is nervous—not that he’d show us, but he’s quieter than normal. And it just serves to remind me that it’s my duty to protect these men that I love, that even though there are four Elders out there and we’re outnumbered, I’m going to make sure Karl gets home safely to Moira and Emily, Will escapes unscathed (well, at least not adding copious amounts to his laundry list of current injuries, anyway), Cameron and Erik are untouched, and the Métis in Anchorage are safe once more.

  “You should have a weapon,” Will tells Karl. Naturally, Karl holds up his fist. “Yes, fine, you’re badass with the earthquakes and all, but are you really ready to send Alaska into the Dark Ages because of these arseholes?”

  Karl’s smile is vicious. “I don’t need to hit the ground to have an impact. You guys said they bleed. If they can bleed and be staked to the ground, my fist can connect with their matter. I might not be able to kill these things, but I should be able to knock their asses out long enough for Chloe to do her thing.”

  Will’s impressed.

  I whip up a multi-view screen on one of Cameron’s office walls that shows us the activity outside the door. These things have once more molded themselves into humanoid shapes, and in the dark, their nebulous forms, floating a good couple of inches off the ground, are the creepiest things I’ve ever seen. Plus, there’s the whole bit where, like Cailleache, they’ve all extended their limbs with weapons.

  Frankly, I want to shriek in terror like some chick in a horror film. Turn and run and hide. One was bad enough. Four? Four is flat-out petrifying. What was I thinking, luring them here?

  Courage, I tell myself. Think of everybody who’s counting on what you’re about to do. I force myself to take a deep breath and count to ten. Then twenty, as Karl begins to detail our plan of attack.

  When he’s done, he asks me once more if I’m ready.

  I nod and place my palms down against the stained concrete. Within a second, I’m kneeling in dirt. Cameron and Erik both gasp quietly in the background, but I can’t let myself be distracted by them.

  “Lee?”

  He’s somewhere right behind me. “Yeah?”

  “Remember what you promised. Any signs of trouble, and you get these two out of here.”

  He lightly touches my shoulder before backing away. I count to ten once more and then reach out and grab an arm of the two men insane enough to willingly fight with me. “You don’t have to do this—”

  “Not this fucking speech again,” Will mutters.

  “Chloe.” Karl’s eyes bore into my own. “If you think I’m going to ever send you out in a situation without my protection, then you don’t know me at all. I made that mistake once; I won’t fail you again.”

  What is he talking about? “You’ve never failed me!”

  “I did. Last year, when I left you alone in a house and one of these bastards came and used you as target practice. I should have been in there with you.”

  My insides go a bit gooey. “You have nothing to feel guilty about. Nothing.”

  “Funny. Kellan and Jonah both felt quite differently.” He pulls me in for a brief hug, before shoving me away. “Behind me at all times. Got it?”

  I nod.

  Will positions himself at the rear of our line. I’m sandwiched in between the two men that have become more family to me over the years than my own biological one. I don’t care what anybody says. These two are my brothers. And like good big brothers, they think they’re protecting me from the boogeymen outside.

  The truth is, I’m the one who’ll be protecting them. Because I’ll lay down my life today to make sure they get out of here alive.

  The door and surrounding walls disintegrate when Karl kicks it, shards exploding out into the warehouse. It’s enough to both alert the Elders and stun them, because for some dumbass reason, they don’t charge us immediately in the bottleneck.

  I cock an arrow in my bow as I reconstruct the door behind me, reinforcing it until I know nothing can get in there that I don’t want to be there.

  Whispered words echo through the room until it surrounds us, filling the air from ceiling to floor: Earthmover. Creator. Half-breed who reeks of metal.

  It’s Karl’s first time hearing them talk, let alone see those gaping maws that serve as mouths, but he only falters a single step. “Well, well,” he says, voice loud and clear, knuckles cracking as he flexes his fingers, “there’s a party going on and I didn’t get an invite. That makes me sad.”

  The whispering transitions to hissing.

  “Perhaps it’s a party of stray cats,” Will says. He taps the blade against an open palm. “It’s one’s duty to neuter such creatures, lest there be hordes roaming the streets.”

  I choke back my laughter even as the Elders approach us from four sides. But we’re now standing in the close triangle Karl wanted us in.

  “You killed Mother.” The one closing in on me says this, black smoke trailing from its mouth. It’s male, that much is clear. And pissed.

  Will’s blade swishes in the air until he’s standing in position, blade out. “Let’s not give our friend here all the glory. I made sure your mum was stuck like a pig on a spit before Chloe killed h
er. It was a team effort.”

  Karl wants us to get them mad. Anger allows confusion and poor judgment. So I add as nonchalantly as I can sound, even though my knees are knocking and my palms sweating, “She bled. It was nasty looking, though, all dark and steamy in the snow. Sort of like . . .” I’d snap my fingers if I weren’t holding the bow so tight. “Acid. Will? Would you say that it looked like she had acid dripping out of her? It would make sense, as she was a monster and all.”

  I’m pretty sure the hissing and screaming just burst at least one of my eardrums, not to mention every window in the warehouse.

  “Was she maybe a Gorgon?” Will muses. I’m still amazed at how calm he portrays himself. “Oh, wait. We didn’t turn to stone when she looked at us. Pity, as she was an ugly thing.”

  Apparently insulting one’s mama serves as their breaking point, because all four charge us, lightning fast. Karl swings an arm out, his fist colliding hard with an Elder. What I can only describe as a sonic boom detonates in the warehouse, breaking the last bits of glass that hadn’t already shattered from their screaming. Will and I both stumble to our knees, but we’re right back on our feet in time for what’s coming at us.

  Thwang. Reload. Thwang. Reload. Two are charging me, which, I get. Big catch apparently and all, but they’re lithe like Cailleache and able to dodge most of my shots. Out of the corner of my eye I see Will kick an Elder right in the middle of its so-called chest, sending it sprawling.

  Karl shouts, “Ten seconds!”

  I fire another arrow. It streaks against an Elder’s arm; the monster streaks high into the air above us, momentarily losing its shape as it howls in mixed rage and agony.

  Ten seconds. Karl unleashes a sonic boom against these things and they’re only down for ten effing seconds.

  Thwang. Thwang. I want to check in on Will and Karl, but I have to trust they’re holding their own. The two hunting me charge at once, and the next thing I know, I’m on my ass in the dirt, my shooting arm bleeding like a geyser set free.