Hunting The Broken: Age Of Madness - A Kurtherian Gambit Series (The Caitlin Chronicles Book 3)

by Daniel Willcocks

  “Oh, I’m sure you found a way,” he retorted.

  Alicia longed to rub her tired eyes but remembered her constraints. “You realize my people will come for me? You can’t stay hidden forever.”

  “Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that. We’ve done a pretty good job so far.” He turned as Leena returned to the room. “Ah, just in time.”

  Behind Leena trailed a small girl, no more than seven years old. Her curly blonde locks fell down to her shoulders, and she held a thumb in her mouth. Geralt quickly found a stained white lab coat on the far wall and wrapped it around himself.

  “And welcome, little girl,” he cooed, bending down to rest his hands on his knees. “Don’t be shy, come on in. Today’s a big day for you.”

  The girl looked from Geralt to Leena and then to Alicia. “I’m sorry, sir. My birthday’s not for a few weeks, yet.”

  He chuckled. “Not a problem. We’ll give you your birthday surprise early.” He placed a hand on her shoulder. “Do you know why you’re here today?” he said.

  The girl shook her head.

  “What’s your name, little girl?”

  “Serena…sir,” she replied, her voice sweet and bright.

  “Well, Serena, you’re going to help Mr. Geralt make history today, aren’t you? You’re going to do something for me, which up until now hasn’t gone so well. But you’re special, aren’t you? You’re better than the others.”

  Serena hesitated, then giggled. “Will I be able to see my family after? Have you seen Lewis?”

  Geralt glanced at Alicia. She felt anger boiling within as she stared into his cold eyes.

  “Oh, definitely,” he replied. “Now, all I need you to do is hop up on this table and close your eyes.”

  Serena paused, then after a moment’s thought, she nodded and let Leena scoop her on to the table. It was only at the sight of the instruments around her that she seemed to panic slightly.

  “I don’t like needles,” she said.

  “Me neither,” Geralt agreed, rolling up his sleeves and taking a seat next to her. “But sometimes we do things that we don’t like to help the people that we love.”

  “And who is she helping here?” Alicia piped up. She continued despite Geralt’s glare. “Serena, don’t listen to him. He’s a madman. Run. Run while you can!”

  With a deafening roar, Geralt leaped off the table, crossed the room, and smacked Alicia’s face. Stars blossomed in her vision as she manipulated her jaw to check it was still intact.

  “Keep your mouth shut,” he growled. “Before I shut it for you.”

  Alicia stared into Geralt’s eyes but remained silent.

  “That’s better.”

  Satisfied, he returned to the table, and he and Leena eased Serena onto her back. She started to wriggle, but with the two Weres on either side, they managed to secure her.

  “Now, this won’t hurt a bit,” Leena said as she took a needle and approached Serena.

  Alicia couldn’t bear to look. She screwed her eyes shut, waiting for the inevitable moment the screams would come.

  Only, when they did, they were not the screams of a small girl.

  “What? What’s going on?” Geralt’s voice rang with something resembling panic.

  Alicia opened her eyes and saw them pour into the room—a dozen children and several cubs. One of the cubs—a wolf—was currently hanging off Leena’s leg, its teeth locked tight as it growled alarmingly. The door was now wide open.

  Geralt stood and drew back in disbelief. “You stupid bitch, you didn’t lock the door?”

  “I did! I did!” Leena cried, shaking free from the wolf as the bear cub bit into the other leg. The children were led, it seemed, by several of the older kids. These now jumped onto the table and ripped Serena’s straps off.

  “Quick, get them,” a squeaky voice cried. “Serena, we’re here. We’re here!”

  Without hesitation, Serena leaped off the table and ran out of the room.

  “Why, you little shits,” Geralt shouted before he crouched and transformed into the powerful bear. He let out an almighty roar, causing the kids to freeze momentarily.

  One of the braver kids—a stout boy with a torn black tank top—ran forward and kicked his leg. He growled and shoved the boy backward, causing him to fall on his ass, his face painted with fear. He scrambled desperately to the door on hands and knees and vanished to safety.

  “Retreat!” a voice called.

  The children turned. As quickly as they had filed in, they were gone, their voices and screams trailing down the hall as Geralt loped towards the hallway and let out another roar. The sound of his rage echoed and traveled the length of the corridor, spurring them on as fast as their little legs could carry them.

  When they were gone, a moment of silence lingered, broken only by Alicia sniggering at the far side of the room.

  “Think that’s funny, do you?” Leena growled, padding the bleeding on her leg with a wrist wrapped in cotton to stem the flow.

  Tears rolled down Alicia’s cheeks. Her laughter grew as she fought for breath. “Oh, hell yes. The great Geralt, taken down by the kindergarten class.”

  His face was filled with rage as he struggled to take in what had just happened. He turned to Leena, shifting smoothly back into his human form.

  Leena shook with fear, stumbling for words. “I did. I did, sir, I swear. I locked the door.”

  Which was when a sudden realization dawned on Leena’s face.

  “Cynthia. That bitch. It must have been her.”

  Geralt looked skeptically at Leena, then around at the mess which had been created. “Clean this shit up,” he said simply. He moved to exit the room, pausing in the doorway.

  “Oh, and Leena?”

  “Yes?”

  “For the next ten minutes, Alicia is your plaything. Do what you like to her, but don’t kill her, okay? I want her to see when we hit success.”

  Alicia’s eyes widened as Geralt exited. Leena grinned like a wolf advancing on a hapless sheep.

  “Quick. Quick,” Cynthia urged as the kids flocked back through the tunnels and into the creche.

  She counted them all as they came back, her brow furrowing with concern as several children and the wolf cub limped behind the group. She ushered them inside, checked they were okay, then dashed back out the room, careful to leave the door slightly ajar.

  As she sprinted as softly as she could back to her own room, a smile was wide on her face. Though Serena had looked frightened on her return, Cynthia knew a little fear was a far sight better than what she would have faced had Cynthia not intervened.

  Diving into her bed, she drew her blanket up to her neck and closed her eyes. A few moments later she could hear a deep, rumbling growl as Geralt stalked the tunnels. He paused outside her room. Cynthia tensed. Eventually, he moved on.

  She released a deep breath, and the careful part of her mind scolded herself for her recklessness. Would her subordination raise suspicion in Geralt?

  Most definitely.

  Would she have been able to live with herself if she had not taken action?

  She doubted it.

  As she lay in bed, thoughts raced through her mind. She had been a part of the pack for years, now. But the time had come for a change. Like Kain, Cynthia had been against Geralt’s plan to repopulate the Weres. Unlike Kain, she had been too weak to take a stand.

  That is until Kain had returned and informed her of his friendship with the human girl and the vampire—people who stood for justice and fought for liberation.

  Now that sounded like a good deal to get involved with.

  She could only hope that Kain would draw out the information he needed, establish himself closer to those within the pack, and help start the revolt.

  And, with any luck, her recklessness wouldn’t ruin that plan.

  Geralt waited outside Cynthia’s room for some time, the growls climbing and escaping his throat like raw, wriggling things.

  He was pissed, more
pissed than he had been in a long time. To think that one of his own pack would do such a thing. How could they show such utter disrespect at a time when progress was but a finger-click away?

  Through his anger, he focused on the woman’s door but could see nothing but red. His nostrils flared. His heart thumped.

  Stupid bitch. Stupid goddamn fucking bitch.

  As he sat and mulled through his emotions, he began to wonder again about his conversation with Kain. Perhaps he had been too fearful. Perhaps there were some Weres down there who had begun to lose respect for the leader who was too afraid to enter the surface world. Perhaps it was time for a change—for a demonstration of his strength.

  Resolved in his decision, Geralt padded down the tunnels toward the hidden entrance to the Were lair.

  It was time to remind the world of the power of functioning Weres.

  And God help anyone who got in his way.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  The Broken City, Old Ontario

  Led by Mary-Anne, Caitlin and the others made their way through the city, stopping only briefly in the cover of an old reception area of what appeared to be a hotel so that Vex could do his business.

  “Can’t it wait?” Belle complained.

  “Look, when you’ve got to go, you’ve got to go. Now, can you stop watching? I can’t go when I’m nervous.”

  Caitlin bent down and whispered in Jaxon’s ears. As Vex started to piss, Jaxon launched at him, his paws landing on his back and knocking him forward. His face smacked the wall as a small stream of urine soaked his feet.

  “Hey!” he protested.

  The others fell about laughing. Despite Caitlin’s initial upset at Vex and Belle having somehow followed them through the forest and to the city, she couldn’t feel more relieved to have more of her Revolutionaries by her side. The more she discovered about The Broken City and the hidden war which waged between the surface dwellers and the sewer Weres, the more she felt a confrontation brewing. And for that, she wanted as many people on her side as she could gather.

  When Mary-Anne finished laughing, she filled her in on what she had been up to in her absence from the group. Caitlin was pleased to hear that her suspicions had been confirmed. The vampire had watched over them from afar the entire time they had been in the city.

  “I wasn’t quite sure how these city-dwellers would react to meeting a vampire. I mean, they’ve clearly grown acquainted with Weres. But…a vampire? That’s a whole different level.”

  Laurie blushed at that. “Erm…Ma?”

  “Yes?”

  “I may have…sorta…accidentally told them you were a vampire when they held guns to our head. Not too long after you’d run off…”

  Mary-Anne’s face fell. “So I needn’t have hidden the entire time? That would’ve been handy to know…erm…a few days ago! You know I’ve been sleeping on rubble in windowless rooms, right?”

  Caitlin giggled at that.

  “Still, without your hard work, we wouldn’t have a lead on the Were’s entrance, now would we?” she said.

  Belle coughed. “Erm…hello? We helped.”

  “Well, Scout did,” Vex said, turning back to the group and adjusting his trousers.

  “Who’s Scout?”

  “Oh!” Belle exclaimed excitedly. “We haven’t told you, yet. We’ve adopted a pet.”

  “A pet?” Caitlin said. “What the fuck do we need another pet for? You know that Jaxon is all the pet we need?” She bent down and tousled the dog’s fur.

  “Well, sort of a pet. Scout might have been stolen by a large naked man running through the city. That’s sort of the reason we found the entrance to the Were lair.” Belle chuckled. “Hey! That rhymes! Were lair…”

  Caitlin turned to Mary-Anne for confirmation.

  Mary-Anne nodded. “They’re telling the truth. They found a wolf cub which was stolen by the naked giant. We followed.”

  “If the giant was naked, was he a Were?” Caitlin asked, remembering that when Kain transformed, the clothing fell from his body.

  They nodded.

  “Does that maybe mean the wolf was a Were, too?” she asked.

  They nodded again.

  “Aw, cute!” Laurie exclaimed. The others turned to her with mild amusement on their faces. “What? Wittle puppy Weres? I didn’t even know that was a thing.”

  “I know, right?” Belle squealed.

  Joe rolled his eyes and tutted.

  Caitlin stuck a finger in her ear. “Jeesh. When you’re done being all girly-girl, can we maybe focus on the important things now? We need to have our wits about us. If what Mary-Anne has said is true, and you guys visited the Were lair”—Belle giggled—

  “then there’s every chance that they’ll be on to us. No offense, Ma, but Weres can smell the scent of vamps, right? You must have left a stink in the tunnels behind you.”

  “In a manner of speaking,” Mary-Anne replied, suddenly realizing she might not have been as careful as she had intended.

  “So, here’s the plan. We move as one. We stick together. If we see anything out of the ordinary, we flag it. The last thing we want to do is be taken by surprise.”

  Mary-Anne’s face wrinkled. She held a finger up as if to ask a question in class. “There is one minor extra thing I haven’t told you, yet.”

  “What’s that?” Caitlin asked.

  “The naked man may…sort of, be a Werebear.”

  “Sort of?”

  “Yeah…”

  Mary-Anne told them about her encounter with the bear. She related how he had managed to take her by surprise, and how their scrap had unfolded the other night before the bear had taken off and transformed without a hitch.

  “That was you?” Caitlin remembered the roars and howls which had attracted her and the citizens of The Broken City after their fray with the Mad at the fences.

  “Guilty.” Mary-Anne grinned.

  “And he had no issue transforming?” Tom asked, shaking some dirt out of his shoe while leaning on an uncomfortable Joe for support.

  “Do yous minds?” Joe said.

  Tom shrugged.

  “Doesn’t look like it,” Mary-Anne replied. “And if that’s what we’re to expect from these Weres, then we definitely need to have our guard up.”

  “Okay, game faces on,” Caitlin said, determination written on her features. “It’s time to storm the gates and infiltrate the tunnels.”

  Tom chuckled.

  “What’s so funny,” Laurie asked.

  “Sounds like the time I lost my virginity.”

  Kain would easily have gotten lost without the great bear to guide him.

  The city was a labyrinth, though every street looked the same to him. No matter whether he turned left, right, or moved straight forward, it was always the same—rusted cars, toppled buildings, and rubble.

  And rubble.

  And rubble.

  “Could’ve tidied the place up a bit while I was gone,” Kain commented as he jogged to keep up with Bryce’s pace.

  His companion looked at him and rolled his eyes.

  “Oh, that’s right. Keep forgetting you can’t talk when you’ve switched. Bet you can’t bear being silent!” He clutched his stomach and wheezed with laughter.

  Bryce snorted and continued his forward progress.

  Kain wondered how he could get the great bear to talk. If there was one thing he wanted to accomplish from his mission, it was to find out some information—and maybe, if had any luck, get Bryce on his side—and there were only two ways to do that: with talking, or by gaining his trust.

  That’s the key, Sudeikis. Get them on your side. Infiltrate the hive and earn the trust of the bees. The rest will follow.

  It would be a rough ride, but Kain was confident he could do it. If Caitlin could liberate her town, what was to stop him from freeing his pack and uniting the people of the city?

  Well…Geralt, of course.

  When they rounded the next corner, Bryce paused momentaril
y and sniffed the air. His ears rose, and he stood on his hind legs. The size and height of him froze Kain momentarily. He had forgotten just how large Bryce’s bear form could be.

  “What is it, pup?” Kain teased. “What do you smell?”

  The bear’s eyes flared as he took a few tentative steps and peered around the corner of the building. Kain’s smile slipped, and he leaned around Bryce’s back for a peek.

  Oh, shit, Kain thought as he spotted several figures he recognized. They, too, paused, and Kain could see the glow of Mary-Anne’s eyes.

  Well…this isn’t good, Kain thought, searching his brain for what could be the best possible outcome of this situation.

  Which was pointless, really. Especially when Kain heard the growls from behind him. He turned and saw two more Weres at their rear. As a wolf and a panther, Mikkel and Wes approached with their teeth bared.

  “Hold your position,” Caitlin said, her arm raised.

  “I’m sure that’s my line,” Tom muttered.

  “Shh,” Mary-Anne hissed, her senses alert. “They’re here.”

  “Who?”

  “The Queen Bitch and the Dark Messiah,” Mary-Anne spat. “Who the hell do you think?” She sniffed the air. “Weres.”

  “Where?” Vex asked, looking around with a grin.

  “Weres.”

  “What?” Vex smirked.

  Belle elbowed him in the side. “Never gets old, does it?”

  They drew their weapons and proceeded. The group stuck together, navigating the uneven terrain until Caitlin told them to halt as she stepped ahead.

  “We know you’re there, shit-sacks. Make yourself seen, confront us, and maybe we can find a way to work all this out without anyone getting hurt.”

  There was a moment in which nothing happened.

  Tom leaned over to Laurie. “Is there anyone actually there—”

  He stopped short as three animals emerged from around the corner. The panther’s fur shone silver in the moonlight. A wolf with mottled fur bared its teeth, and the largest bear they had ever seen in their life brought up the rear. Even on all fours, its size far exceeded the other two, and when it stood up on its hind legs, the damned thing was almost twice the height of any of them.