“Nobody calls me crazy—huh?”
His smile vanished as Leena wound her other arm around his throat and curled her legs around his waist. He reared his head back, half-expecting her to bite into his neck, but instead, felt her body relax and begin to shake.
“I’m sorry… I don’t know what’s come over me…I… I…” She sniffled and sobbed into his shoulder. Soon, he could feel the dampness of her tears on his neck.
Kain shuffled awkwardly on his feet until he faced the woman on the wall. He shrugged, and she mirrored the gesture and rolled her eyes.
“Erm…there, there?” He patted Leena’s back and waited for the sobs to stop. After a few moments, she relaxed, and he began to lower her.
“Mmmph!” the woman shouted and directed her frantic gaze at the floor.
He saw the knife and kicked it away quickly before Leena was free. When her feet landed, she slumped on her ass and looked more like a distraught child now than the threat she had been when she had attacked.
“I’ll be honest,” he said. “I’m not really all that great with things that leak from the face. Or children. So…do you mind telling me what the fuck is going on and why there’s a woman strapped to the wall? Hopefully then I can get some shuteye and pretend this whole thing never happened.”
He tugged at the shoulders of his damp shirt which now clung to his skin.
Leena looked up with glassy eyes but didn’t respond.
“Fine.” Kain rolled his eyes and strolled to the woman, and she recoiled at his approach. He lifted the corner of the tape and ripped it off in one quick motion, leaving a trail of red, blotchy skin behind.
“Argh! You fucker,” she huffed.
“That’s one way to say thank you, I suppose. Another way is to tell me who the fuck you are and why you’re down here.”
“I’m here because of her, and because of that asshole with the scars on his face. We never had the chance to exchange pleasantries, but I have a strong suspicion he was what some around here might call a pretty big deal.”
“Geralt, you mean?”
Leena burst into another fit of sobbing at the mention of the Alpha’s name. She rocked back and forth and clutched her knees. The volume of her moans became borderline offensive.
Kain brought his hands to his ears. The woman tried to do the same, but the restraints wouldn’t let her.
“Do me a favor,” she shouted. “Shut that bitch up so we can talk. You’re the closest thing to sane I think I’ve seen down in this shithole.”
He whirled triumphantly. “See? I’m not crazy. Ha!”
But Leena paid no attention. She beat her fists on the floor and sobbed like a three-year-old throwing a tantrum. Kain moved to a small table, and his eyebrows raised instinctively at the sight of the various gleaming tools and instruments. He selected a roll of tape and ripped a length off.
“I’m sorry for this, but it’s for your own good.” He knelt beside Leena who, to his surprise, nodded in defeat and allowed him to place the tape over her mouth.
He stood to replace the tape but thought better of it. “Okay, maybe your wrists, too.”
Leena looked at him reproachfully.
“Only until this is over. There’s a knife somewhere in this room and, no offense, I don’t trust you.”
She sighed and held her arms out. Kain bound them tightly with tape.
“Satisfied? Am I allowed to remember what gravity feels like? I’ve been up here for fucking days.” The woman attempted to shake greasy locks from her face.
He strode over to her and unbound her hands and feet. She wobbled delicately, her muscles having almost forgotten what they needed to do. Blood rushed to places it hadn’t needed to for a while and she quickly paled. He supported her until she strengthened.
“Wow, how long were you up there?” Kain asked.
The woman’s eyes widened. She shoved him aside with what little strength she had and sprinted toward the door.
With little effort, Leena stuck a foot out and the prisoner sprawled on the floor. She rolled with a low moan, and her nose seeped blood.
“Argh, you bitch.”
Kain watched incredulously. How the hell had he gone from standing as a member of the fearsome Revolutionaries, to this shitshow before him. One woman sat gagged and bound and sobbed over her lost Alpha. The other was a crumpled mess and stared at the ceiling with blood trickling down her face.
He knelt beside the prisoner and found the knife lodged behind the door. She glared at him as he pointed it at her throat. “I think it’s time you answered my questions.”
“You really don’t know me, do you?”
“No? Should I?”
She deflated, sat up slowly, and dabbed at her face with the sleeve of her shirt.
“I’m Alicia. I’m the woman who runs this damn city.”
Chapter Six
Silver Creek, Silver Creek Forest, Old Ontario
Jamie couldn’t recall seeing a better sight.
He had been to Silver Creek before while helping to build the new High Road between there and Ashdale Pond. Over the months, he had been up and down the road with his men to check on the progress and oversee the installation of the new alarm system.
But he had never really felt that warm glow of something in his stomach as the high wooden walls came into sight through the trees. He could only describe it as a sense of safety.
This was where he’d keep his Nana safe. After months—no, years—of discussing alternative lifestyles for the woman nearing three figures in age, it was finally about to happen.
“Isn’t she beautiful, Nana. Can you see it?”
Jamie bent low over the handles of the wheelbarrow and his lips tickled the hairs of Mabel’s ears. His words were barely a whisper, and the only response from her was a series of quiet snores. Even when the Mad had come and he had rung the alarm bell, she had not awoken. When the Silver Creek guards rushed in and drew their swords to sweep the Mad down with broad strokes, she had not awoken.
He turned and looked at the old woman’s whiskered face and smiled affectionately.
She may be an oddball, but she’s my oddball.
The guards were still with them now. They made a strange procession as they arrived at the gates—a man with an old woman in a wheelbarrow and three guards like a low-budget version of royalty from afar.
“Why are the gates closed?” Jamie asked one of their company as another called to the men on the parapets. “I believed the new policy is open door, and we’re hours until curfew.”
“Captain’s orders,” was the only response.
As the doors squealed open, Mabel jerked in her uncomfortable cradle. “Huh?” she snorted and pawed at her eyes. “Wha… Where are we, dear? Am I still dreaming?”
Jamie grinned and pushed her inside. No, Nana. This isn’t a dream. He remembered the smiling faces of Caitlin and her people and the cheerful townsfolk who all chipped in to help build the road and fend the Mad off. There had been such positivity in the air. Such camaraderie and hope for the future.
Yet, after only a few steps inside Silver Creek, Jamie could feel that something was wrong.
The Sewers, The Broken City, Old Ontario
Cynthia couldn’t believe what she was seeing. After being dragged through the sewers by Kain at breakneck speed, this was the last thing she expected.
“And you’re really—”
“Alicia, yes,” the woman replied. She sat cross-legged on the table with her head resting on her hands and an exasperated look on her face. “I told your lover boy here hours ago, so can we wrap this up already? I’m hungry and want to see my sister.”
“Alicia?” Cynthia said again.
“Yes.”
“The Alicia?”
“Yes!”
Cynthia turned to Kain and spoke as if they were the only ones in the room. Leena sat with her back to the wall. She picked mindlessly at her teeth with something small and sharp and her eyes had glazed over.
“What the fuck is she doing here?” Cynthia slapped his arm and he recoiled.
“Apparently, our friend Geralt ordered Bryce to make an impression on the surface-dwellers, and he happened to stumble across the lynchpin of the entire upstairs community.”
The Were woman scoffed. “Out of everyone above, they happened to stumble across the leader of the free world? How is that even possible?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t asked.”
“Why isn’t that the first question you asked?”
Kain stared into Cynthia’s eyes which burned with desperate curiosity. Though her words were heated, he knew that her kindness hadn’t diminished. This was simply an impossible situation for them both.
“If I may interject?” Alicia asked and raised a finger.
They turned to face her.
“It’s a funny story, really. Every full moon, I take the time to wander outside the city library and get some fresh air. I try to put it all into perspective, y’know?”
A moment of silence followed.
“You? The city’s leader but you go out by yourself every full moon. Alone?”
“Maybe you should try being at the center of all the attention,” Alicia responded sharply. “I spend every waking hour surrounded by people who depend on me. Who look up to me with adoration, respect, and reverence. I’m expected to solve problems, find solutions, and keep everyone safe. Do you think I ever get a moment of peace to myself? A chance to take a breath, go for a walk, and get my head on straight? No. So I don’t think it’s unreasonable for me to go for a midnight stroll once a month—”
“What about the Mad? What about…well…” Kain turned to Cynthia and Leena. “The Weres?”
“Well, obviously, now I know it wasn’t a good idea.”
“And you didn’t think that before?” Cynthia scoffed.
“Look, lady. I’ve run this damn city for a while now. I’ve never had a problem before, so excuse me for getting a little comfortable in my routine.”
The two women glared at each other. The tension was palpable, and he could practically hear their minds whirring as they considered what to say next.
Eventually, it was Leena who broke the silence. “You know she can’t leave, right?” She’d calmed down and Kain had the knife in safekeeping, so he’d allowed Cynthia to release her.
Alicia’s eyes grew wide. “You bet your ass I can leave.”
“Sorry, doll, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” the Leena responded.
“Why not?” Alicia asked.
“Yeah, why not?” Kain added. “We’re meant to be the good guys, right? Those who set an example of what’s right and wrong? We’re not Geralt. We don’t need Alicia. If we release her, we can take a step to repair bridges. It’ll be a sign that things have changed. Maybe then, the humans will pull the sticks out their asses and calm down enough to discuss a truce.”
“And you think Bryce will allow you to do that?” Cynthia scoffed. “If he finds out we set her free, do you think he’ll ever trust you again? Do you honestly think he’ll thank you and bow to the humans?”
“Well… I—”
“Exactly. This is politics, Kain. We need to think before we act.”
He scratched his chin while Alicia’s mouth opened and closed. Cynthia made sense, though, but he did have one question.
“Does Bryce even know she’s here?”
“Hmm?” Leena looked up suddenly. Her eyes were bright and shimmering, and she once again looked more like a little girl than the grown woman she had become.
She pushed herself steadily to her feet and cracked her neck.
“Bryce knows that she came to the tunnels, but he’s never visited her or this room. He left the torture to me and Geralt.” She seemed about to swoon for a moment but recovered. “What a gentleman.”
Kain looked at her in disbelief. Had she been this psychotic before he had fled into the forests of Silver Creek? It was hard to remember the time before meeting Caitlin and the Revolutionaries. It all seemed like a foggy memory of the past.
“In that case…” he said and turned to Cynthia with a smile.
“No, Kain. Come on, let’s think about this.”
“Less thinking, more doing. We’re the good guys. This is happening.”
Alicia’s head raised from her hands. “Wait. What are you saying?”
“I’m saying, baby girl, we’ll try to bust you free.”
She clapped her hands excitedly. The sound echoed around the room and down the tunnels outside. His eyes widened in alarm as he stepped closer and captured her wrists.
“Okay, rule number one. You need to learn to be quiet.”
Cynthia scoffed. “Speak for yourself.”
“Sure, but I have a favor to ask you, too.” Kain winked, and she sighed around her smile.
The Broken City, Old Ontario
“He’s pretty dreamy, huh?”
“Hmm?” Caitlin murmured and pulled herself from her thoughts.
Izzy chuckled and nodded ahead to where Triston led the group. Caitlin hadn’t realized it, but as they all walked back to the library, she’d stared at the back of his head in silence for the last five minutes.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she whispered so quietly that she barely heard it herself.
“Oh, I think you do,” her companion said. “If anyone’s got a superpower, Triston has his good looks. I get it. I’ve watched women swoon over him for as long as I’ve known him. The good looks, the male bravado—he’s a perfect package.”
“Why are you telling me this?” Caitlin asked and met Izzy’s gaze for a brief moment before her own lowered to the floor.
“Because I’ve never seen a chink in your armor before. I know I haven’t known you long, but this is new for you, yeah?”
They passed a series of broken and crumbling ruins of what must once have been apartment buildings. As they moved, rats scurried into the hiding places between the fallen bricks. Jaxon leapt about and chased them. His tail wagged furiously. Joe recounted the tale of his encounter with the ‘Lunas’ to Vex, Tom, and the others behind the two women.
Caitlin sighed. “I don’t know. I’ve never had that happen to me before. There’s something there that makes my heart flutter—do you know what I mean? Something that fogged my mind and made it harder to focus.”
“You know that’s okay, right? Everyone has feelings. Everyone submits to them sometimes.” Izzy glanced around quickly to make sure no one was listening. “You should know that from our little escapade the other night.”
Caitlin’s face creased in deep thought. She was silent for a moment as she tried to recapture the two events. She had felt trapped in the enclosed space with Izzy and electricity had fired there. When she watched Triston move in battle, she’d sensed his power, prowess, and skill. In Silver Creek, she had never felt anything close to the response he had triggered, and she had to admit, she wasn’t sure she liked it at all.
She closed her eyes and tried to remember what it was all for. Her thoughts reminded her of the people she had liberated at New Leaf and those she had protected from the Firestarters in Ashdale Pond. She recalled the feeling of triumph as she looked around the happy faces of the people who thought the world had grown small and dangerous, unaware that life could be something more. They were all people like her who wanted nothing more than to be able to walk out of their front doors without fear of the Mad or some manic dictator’s regime.
That was why she was there.
Well, that, and to make sure her Were friend stayed alive and kept himself out of trouble.
Caitlin took a deep breath and cleared her mind.
“No. It’s not okay,” she said. “What happened the other night was nothing more than weakness. As was today. It’s a weakness I can’t afford. Not until the world is safe once more and the Madness is gone. I’m sorry. It was a mistake.”
She moved ahead and clicked for Jaxon to join her. The dog pulled his
nose out of the rubble and trotted to match her stride. His ears lowered as though he sensed the tension in their conversation.
Caitlin glanced back long enough to see Izzy wipe a small tear from the corner of her eye.
Remember what it’s all for, Kitty-Cat. Remember what it’s all for.
Chapter Seven
Silver Creek, Silver Creek Forest, Old Ontario
The streets were so quiet that Jamie could hear every rusted squeak of the wheelbarrow’s wheels. He walked slowly, uncertain of a direction. With a frown, he tried to recall the last time he had visited Silver Creek and the direction he had been whisked off in by Dylan and his men.
“It doesn’t look like the party’s started yet,” Mabel croaked and groaned as she sat a little straighter.
He silently agreed.
There was hardly anyone in sight. Before, he had seen dozens, if not hundreds, of citizens roaming around the town—heading to markets, taverns, visiting friends, or going about their daily chores. Now, he saw a handful of guards who patrolled the streets with their swords in sheaths.
Occasionally, as they continued in the direction in which Jamie remembered Mother Wendy’s tavern to be, he glimpsed heads poke nosily out of windows with concerned expressions on their faces. The few times he passed someone who wasn’t in uniform, they refused to stop and chat. Instead, they kept their head down and quickened their pace under the watchful eye of the guards.
When they reached the street with Mother Wendy’s at its end, a guard stepped forward and halted them both.
“You’re a stranger to this town?” he grunted through a thick, wiry beard.
“It would seem so. It’s been months since my last visit,” Jamie replied.
“It’s my first,” Mabel added, much to Jamie’s discomfort.
“Under whose authority do you roam these streets? These are dangerous times, y’know? Only one nominated member of each household should be out at any one time. That includes Ashdale citizens, too.” The guard glared at Mabel.
“Why? What kind of lunacy is that?”
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