"Didn't make any difference. They came on us shortly after we saw the flare—must have run up the mountain. They're so fast. They just … came at us."
Angie joined them, peering through the opening. Dozens of chupacabras milled about near the base of the tower, and her stomach twisted into a knot. "Why are they here?"
"Don't know," Tavi replied. "They just ... attacked. We were ready for them, but it didn’t help. They overran us in moments. They went for the men first, ignoring the horses, as if they knew the men were more dangerous. I fought. I cast Shockwave, but … it didn’t matter. Then one of them had me. It was right in front of me, and I froze. But … it didn’t kill me. Instead, it turned and went after someone else." Tavi's eyes were wide, her lips trembling. "What kind of animal does that? Why leave me?"
Angie had no answer.
"Me and two others made it back here and barricaded ourselves. I … I couldn't help the others," her voice broke. "Then those things just … left. They had me in the tower, but they just turned away and vanished. I took a chance, went back down, and set up the Claymore, but I’ve been here ever since. I … I couldn’t help anyone else. They were all dead."
"Tavi," Angie said softly, placing her hand on the other woman's shoulder. "There's no shame in surviving." Was that true? If so, why did she feel so guilty for surviving a helicopter crash that no one else had?
"The other two … I couldn't do anything to staunch those wounds. Goddamn those things!" Tavi's voice broke again, and Angie knew she was barely hanging on. "Why are they doing this?"
"I think we're about to find out," Erin said, peering through the rifle's scope. "Someone's coming."
She was right. Angie watched in wonder as a man on foot made his way among the chupacabras, walking past them as if they were nothing more than pets. He wore the distinctive short cape of a Brujas mage with a saber on his hip. A wide-brimmed Norteno patrol hat with one side pinned up obscured his face. Sunlight glistened from metal on his left forearm. He stopped about fifty meters from the tower stairs and stared up at them.
It was Shane Harper.
Chapter 32
Angie saw the emotions churn through Tavi’s face as she stared at Shane Harper. Now she was more certain than ever that they had been romantically involved. The young Norteno mage stood among the chupacabra pack, clearly unconcerned.
Tavi's mouth opened and closed wordlessly. Finally, she managed a single, "Why?"
"He's controlling the chupacabras," said Erin, stating the obvious. "But how?"
"A talisman," Angie answered, staring at the bronze armband the young man wore. "Char collected talismans, magical objects with unique properties. The Anasazi Dreamcatcher she used to force you to change into a werewolf was a talisman. That armband he's wearing must be another. I was wrong. Those things don’t kill for pleasure. He’s making them do it."
Tavi stared open-mouthed at Angie. "But why? He's one of us. He'd never—"
"He already has, Tavi," said Angie. "Erin's right. He’s controlling them. Why no longer matters."
Shane shaded his eyes with his hand as he stared up. "Tavi," he yelled up. "Come down. There's nothing to worry about. I have them under control."
"He’s half-right," said Erin as she worked the bolt on her Winchester, glancing inside the magazine. "Last bullet, but I can put it through his forehead, turn it to mush."
Angie shook her head. "No, you can’t. He’s got a shade. It'll shield him."
"This is a magnum bullet," Erin said in a measured tone. "Shade or not, I bet no shield stops that. We got nothing to lose by trying."
"Don't. Please don't," Tavi begged. "Let me ... let me talk to him. He's ... we're close. This has to be a misunderstanding."
To Angie's ears, it sounded like Tavi was trying to convince herself. "From up here, Tavi. No one goes down. The barricade stays."
Tavi bobbed her head and placed her face in the opening. "Shane. Honey. What are you doing? What's going on?"
"Hey, baby. You need to come down. Everything will be fine. General Gálvez sent me to help you on your secret mission. I’m your backup."
"How are you controlling those things, Shane? I don't understand."
"Come down and I'll show you."
"Tavi," said Angie hesitantly. "He's..."
"I know," she answered, pulling her face from the opening and wiping away her tears. "I know." She closed her eyes and composed herself then looked through the opening once more. "Gálvez sent you here to help me find the Lost Spear of Destiny?"
A flicker of confusion flashed through his eyes, but it was replaced a moment later by a self-satisfied grin. "Of course he did, Tavi. You and I, a team. We'll find it together and then save our people. Come on, it's me, Tavi." He spread his arms wide, his teeth flashing in a smile.
At that moment, he reminded Angie of Nathan, a man who understood perfectly just how good-looking he was and thought nothing of anyone else.
"Spear of Destiny?" Erin asked in a whisper.
"All right. Give me a minute," Tavi yelled down to Shane. She drew her head back in and faced the other women. "He's lying," she whispered. "Oh, goddamn it, Shane. What have you done? Those things have killed so many people." She shook her head, her emotions getting the best of her.
Angie squeezed her shoulder. "You can't go down there. He wants you alive. That's why he hasn't sent those things to force their way in. Maybe his control isn’t as strong as he thinks."
"Can't stay here, either," said Erin. "We’ll bake. I say we start shooting. Maybe we can weaken that prick’s shade with enough gunshots."
Angie bit her lip, thinking about it. "If we start shooting, they'll charge. Claymore can only take out a few. Those things are strong, and they climbed a walled settlement. Maybe they can climb up here."
"Right now," said Erin, "that sneaky asshole thinks we're considering his offer. But if we wait any longer, he's gonna know we're onto him. We need to take our chance right now."
Angie watched the sunlight flash from Shane’s bracer, and the germ of an idea began to form. "Okay," she whispered. "Here's what I want to do."
Angie hid behind Tavi as the woman yelled down to Shane. "Okay, we're coming out. But make those monsters pull back. They’re scaring the others."
Shane smiled and stretched his arms to the side as if he were helpless. "Tavi, baby. It's okay. I'm controlling them. They won't touch you."
"The others don't know you like I do, Shane. They say they're not coming out until those things move back to the corner of the building or farther."
Shane's smile faltered, but he turned and motioned the chupacabras back. They retreated reluctantly and with more than a few growls, but within a minute, the entire pack had drawn back to the far corner of the complex, at least two hundred meters from the tower. Shane stood alone, but Angie guessed the chupacabras could run back in seconds. Could she do this? Was she faster over a shorter distance? If not, she was going to die.
"Even with a shade, he's smart enough to stay out of the Claymore's kill zone," Erin told Angie.
"Maybe. Maybe not," Angie said, hoping that she hadn't just made a terrible mistake. Shane had no way of knowing what Angie was capable of, but her half-assed plan would fail if she didn’t have enough mana left to pull off one last spell. She gave herself a shake, making fists of her hands. "You'd better be on point, Longshot."
Erin arched an eyebrow, smiled ruefully, and then patted the forestock of her Winchester. "You just do your part. I'll do the rest."
"If we're going to do this..." Tavi whispered, her voice faltering.
Angie's fear grew as she and Tavi climbed down the spiraling metal staircase, leaving Erin hiding in the dome, where Shane couldn’t see her. Tavi held the clacker in her hand as she led the way to the door at the base of the tower.
"You ready?" Angie asked her.
Tavi, biting her lip, nodded. "We’re coming out, Shane," she yelled through the door.
Together, they hauled away the debris barrica
ding the door. When they were done, Angie gripped the door's handle and met Tavi's eyes. "Make him think you fell for his shit, but don’t step in front of the mine."
"I got it." Tavi's face was pale. "But can you really..."
"We're about to find out."
She hauled the door open quickly before she could change her mind. Shane stood waiting sixty meters away, still within the danger radius of the mine blast but beyond its kill zone, where the brunt of the ball bearings would hit.
He's not worried, she knew. Even if we detonated the mine and some of the ball bearings hit him, he knows his shade will protect him. The smug, self-satisfied look on his face galled her. Some ball bearings, sure, asshole, but how about all of them?
"Go," she whispered to Tavi.
"I'm coming out," Tavi yelled and stepped past Angie, the clacker held low near her thigh so that Shane might miss it. Angie stepped out behind her.
Shane's smile grew, and Angie could practically feel his satisfaction. The pack of chupacabras, still far away, milled about, their eyes locked on the two women. She wasn't going to have much time. Then Tavi froze—just behind the Claymore. Shane's eyes narrowed, but Angie cast Shutter, praying she still had the mana.
She had just enough.
Most mages, even the most powerful combat mages, could use Shutter to move a few feet in either direction, a huge advantage in a swordfight. But Angie was a source mage, who drew her power from living entities, not the much weaker ambient mana in the atmosphere. Shane couldn't possibly anticipate what she was about to do.
In a heartbeat, she flashed to a stop behind him, slightly disoriented but already spinning about. It was by far the furthest she had ever moved with Shutter, and her vision blurred, but she gritted her teeth and shoved Shane’s back as hard as she could. Shane, taken by surprise, stumbled forward, off balance and running to stop himself from falling…
Right into the Claymore's kill radius.
Angie dropped, covering her head with her hands as Tavi detonated the Claymore. The resulting explosion hit Shane full on, shielding Angie. As expected, his shade protected him, and hundreds of ball bearings ricocheted away in an explosion of sparks. The blast was so strong it spun Shane about.
Angie, amazed to be alive, climbed unsteadily to her feet, her ears ringing, and stumbled past the disoriented man. He grasped at her sleeve, but she broke away, sprinting for the stairs, where Tavi was urging her on, her eyes wide with fear. Behind her, she heard the angry howls of the chupacabra pack. They were coming.
"Kill her!" Shane yelled, his voice breaking in rage. "Kill the bitch."
Angie took the metal steps in a single bound, jumping over the now-useless Claymore. She bolted into the tower, Tavi on her heels. Angie turned to see Shane pointing his bracer-clad arm at them, his handsome bearded face twisted with rage. A trail of blood dripped down the side of his head from his curly black hair. The blast hadn't weakened his shade, it had drained it entirely. Behind him, closing impossibly fast, was the chupacabra pack, led by the one-eyed brute they had seen first.
A single gunshot rang out from above as Erin fired her last magnum bullet. Shane's left arm exploded at the elbow. His forearm, still encased in the bronze bracer, fell to the ground behind him. The wounded man, in shock, didn't scream. Instead, he stared in confusion at his severed arm, still pumping blood in spurts. Then the entire pack of chupacabras swerved straight for Shane. The one-eyed chupacabra reached him first, slamming into him and bearing him to the ground.
Now Shane did scream as the monster buried its jaws in his groin. A moment later, the rest of the pack was on him, an angry tangle of teeth and claws as each chupacabra tried to bite off its own morsel of flesh. Shane's pitiful screams were cut short when Tavi slammed the door shut with a clang.
Angie was about to haul the debris in front of the door once more when the first of a series of gunshots cascaded through the air outside. She and Tavi shared a confused look with one another, but Erin hooted in joy. More gunshots rang out, followed by a series of explosions and the pain-filled howls of the beasts. Angie yanked the door open to see the flash of gunshots from three men advancing through the rubble. The pack, still milling about in confusion near the blood-soaked ground where Shane had been standing, shrieked as a grenade detonated among them, scattering a half dozen.
It was the Seagraves, either too late or just in time, she couldn't decide.
But they had come.
Erin began shooting into the pack from above with one of the assault rifles. More beasts fell as the pack came under effective fire from two directions. Another pair of grenades detonated among them as Casey used his pilfered grenade launcher to make each round count.
The one-eyed pack leader, his barbed spine bristling, looked from the tower to the advancing men. Then it snatched up Shane's severed arm, still wearing the bracer, in its jaws and bolted away. The remaining chupacabras, fewer than twenty now, followed, running faster than galloping horses. The gunfire continued, and two more chupacabras fell, but the others, following the leader, leaped over a section of chain-link fence and disappeared down the steep eastern cliff face.
Rowan, Casey, and Jay moved forward, their resolve deadly serious as they put aimed shots into the heads of every chupacabra, whether it was still moving or not. In seconds, the last rifle shot echoed across the ruins, replaced by an eerie silence and the stench of cordite and blood.
Erin bolted from the tower, past Angie and Tavi, and ran into the closest of her brothers, Casey. She threw her arms around the huge bearded man, and he stiffened in surprise and then dropped his now-empty grenade launcher and hugged her back.
"I hope you’re happy," he said in a voice tender with emotion. "My cool new gun is all out of boom-boom bullets."
"Didn’t need you," Erin answered.
Casey looked at the carnage and shrugged. "Maybe not, but we came anyhow."
"Of course you did." Erin drew back. "I have this for you."
"Have what?" Angie glanced over just in time to see the circle Erin made with her thumb and forefinger near her thigh. Casey’s eyes widened, and Erin punched him hard in the biceps.
"Ow!" He rubbed his arm, pulling away from Erin.
"That’s two for flinching." Erin punched him harder.
Jay and Rowan laughed as the big man drew away from Erin, rubbing his biceps, a hurt-puppy look on his face. Angie couldn’t help but smile—until she noticed Tavi staring down at the grisly remains of Shane, her shoulders trembling.
She hurried over and pulled Tavi away, turning her forcefully so she couldn’t see, and then hugged her. Tavi collapsed against her, huge heaving breaths surging through her.
"Oh god," Tavi said, her voice breaking. "Presidente Carter, the assassination attempt. I told Shane she was coming to Canyon City. It’s my fault."
Angie held her, stroking her back, shushing her. The assassination attempts were Shane’s fault, not hers.
Rowan stepped in front of Angie, his expression miserable. Jay stood just behind him. "Do it," Jay said.
"I ..." Rowan hesitated, unable to look either Angie or Tavi in the eye. "I was wrong," he finally said. "It wasn't too late to help. You made the right call, the call I should have made. We should have come with you."
"It's okay. I understand," Angie said. "You were only looking after your family."
He stared at Tavi, who was still shuddering in Angie's arms, and then looked Angie in the eye. The trace of a smile turned up the corners of his mustache. "I think maybe … maybe we need to broaden our definitions of family ... if you'll have us."
A moment later, all the Seagraves were hugging Angie and Tavi, a tight knot of arms. Despite herself, Angie's emotions surged out of control.
Family.
Chapter 33
The ground was too stony to bury the Norteno dead, so they helped Tavi collect her friends in one location and then covered them with an old tarp that Jay had found half-buried in the rubble. They weighed the tarp down with pieces of
concrete. It wasn’t much, Angie knew, but it would keep the worst of the scavengers from the corpses until they could be properly buried. At sunset, Tavi offered a short prayer for the dead.
Shane had been a traitor, that was obvious, but had he been working for Mother Smoke Heart or someone else? Did it matter?
They spent the night upwind of the dead, especially the carcasses of the horses, which remained where they had fallen, too large to cover. They sat around a fire, eating a dinner of hardtack and oat bars. While they ate, they discussed their options.
The Seagraves insisted the chupacabras were gone, and Angie believed them, but she did cast glances at the darkness around them. They had four mounts since Cobble had stayed with them, but whatever they decided, someone was going to have to walk, and Angie insisted they give one of the horses to Tavi so she could return home. The others didn’t love that idea, but no one argued with her, not even Casey. Rowan wanted to push north in the morning, make for the pass, and find a new home.
"You can go," Tavi said as she poked the embers with a stick, casting sparks into the air, "but I’m not leaving before I complete my mission."
"Tavi"—Angie put as much warmth into her voice as she could—"maybe Queen Elenaril was wrong. Look around you. This place was abandoned before the Awakening. There’s no secret base here. I think you should go home."
"I agree," Erin said.
Tavi shook her head vehemently. "No. We never had a chance to search before the chupacabras attacked. And I’ve never known Elenaril to be wrong about anything."
"Always a first time," Casey said. "Plus, this place gives me the creeps. Like I’m being watched."
Angie's gaze swept the dark ruins. "If ever a place was haunted, it’s here."
"No such thing as ghosts," Rowan said. He frowned at Casey. "And you’re old enough to know better. This place hasn’t seen use in more than fifty years." He shook his head. "Anything of value would have been picked clean by scavengers long ago. Maybe Elenaril just doesn’t know. Maybe she sent you on a wild goose chase."
The Awakened World Boxed Set Page 50