The Change (Unbounded)

by Teyla Branton

  I put a hand on his arm. It felt warm and alive and I had the silly urge to rub my face against it. “Listen, there’s a siren. If we wait a minute they might leave to go take a look, but if you go out there with that machine gun and all that blood on you, everyone will see us and tell the police exactly where we are.”

  “Okay. We wait. But not too long. Sooner or later they’re going to realize my car doesn’t belong here.”

  We crouched in the bushes at the side of the house, with Max emitting a tiny whine every so often. I stroked his blood-matted fur to calm him. The numbness I felt was growing inside. “It’s all my fault,” I whispered. “All of this. How do I live with that?”

  He was silent a moment and then, “It isn’t your fault. It’s them. It’s always them.”

  “If that’s true, why do you blame yourself for what happened to your family?”

  He frowned. “That’s different.”

  “You didn’t know any more than I did.”

  “So maybe we both aren’t responsible.”

  “But we’re still the cause, so it doesn’t change anything, does it?”

  “Right.” His voice grated against my ears.

  I thought of the headless girl. I wanted to ask him if he knew who she was, or if I was going crazy. Instead, I said, “All I feel is nothing.” A very painful nothing. A void as deep and wide as the ocean.

  He put a hand on my arm. “That will pass. Then you’ll just be angry. I’ll teach you how to fight, to get back at them. Sometimes it’s enough.”

  Would I become like him? An angry, hunting, killing machine? It didn’t sound too bad at the moment. My past, my job, my life with Tom all seemed like a dream. “Okay.”

  The growing crowd gravitated to my neighbor’s backyard, and everyone stood peering over the fence. Someone called out that the police were going inside my parents’ house. Ritter tossed me the keys. “You drive. I’ll carry Max.”

  It was ridiculously simple, waiting until the last of them passed us and then walking briskly to the Land Cruiser. As we drove from the area, we could see more neighbors out in the streets and on porches. Already the news of my parents’ disappearance would be spreading over the once-quiet neighborhood. I wondered how long it would take before any of them felt safe again. I doubted I ever would.

  Fifteen minutes later we pulled up at the clinic where Ava was coming out the front door. I sprang from the Land Cruiser. “How are they?”

  “Dimitri’s working on your dad, and Jace is being prepped for surgery. No use going inside now. You’ll only raise more questions looking like that.”

  I glanced down to see splotches of darker red marring the dress. Not my blood but the Unbounded we’d carried. And Jace’s. My own dried blood also covered my left leg. I resembled something from a slasher film.

  Ava handed her keys to Ritter. “I parked the car in the back. Tossed a blanket over them so the orderly could help me take in Jace. Better transfer them to your vehicle. There were neighbors outside Erin’s house when I left. The police will be looking for the car.”

  “I need to check in with Cort first,” Ritter said. “I haven’t heard anything.”

  “Stella has. He’s on his way here. Look, there he is now, and Charles is with him.”

  Cort and another man emerged from the Lexus. Charles, obviously part of our mortal security detail, was a strong-looking man with pale skin, brown hair, and a serious expression. “What happened?” Ava asked Cort.

  “We got there just after the Emporium went in,” he said.

  I sucked in a breath as Ava asked, “Chris?”

  “He’s okay. The kids were at a cast party or something, so they weren’t even there. Nice bit of incompetence for us. First stroke of luck we’ve had all day. Laurence has gone to pick up the kids, and the others are bringing in an Unbounded we captured. We killed two mortals, but two Unbounded got away.”

  “Where’s Chris?” I asked anxiously.

  “With Laurence. We’ll have to hide him and the kids, give them new identities. The Emporium will be after them again if we don’t. Laurence is going to take care of it.”

  There was something he wasn’t saying. I could feel it as though he were screaming the words. “What about Lorrie?”

  Cort frowned and his eyes were sorrowful. “I’m sorry, but your sister-in-law was shot. She’s dead. As soon as we’re safely away, we’ll have to report it. She has family.”

  Lorrie dead?

  I couldn’t take it in. Not Lorrie. Not the mother of my niece and nephew, the woman who was my brother’s entire world. Tears blurred my vision. My father might die, my brother was seriously wounded, and Lorrie was already dead.

  “It’s not your fault,” Ava said.

  But it was. Cort put an arm around me, and I leaned into him gratefully. For once my hormones didn’t send any signals. I was too numb. Maybe they’d never send signals again.

  Ritter stood watching me and I knew that of them all, only he really understood. Well, possibly Ava, but it was different with her. She’d come to terms with her losses.

  “We could use your help with the men we caught,” Ava said to Cort.

  Cort shook his head. “Stella’s going to need her laptop so she can figure out how to hide our involvement here. If we can plant electronic evidence of drug trafficking, the authorities might think some drug dealer took the family to force Chris to fly them someplace.”

  I closed my eyes tightly, wishing I could block out all sound. How could he talk so calmly when Lorrie was dead? When my father and Jace were fighting for their lives?

  “You take Erin to Stella’s then,” Ava said. “Let her clean up. Ritter and Charles will deal with the men.”

  I pushed away from Cort. “I’d rather stay with Jace if we can find a medical jacket or something I could wear over my dress. Even if the Emporium tracks me here, they don’t want to kill me.”

  “What do you mean?” Ritter’s eyes gleamed darkly.

  “The two Unbounded I shot. They could have easily shot me first, but they didn’t.”

  Ritter and Ava exchanged a glance with Cort, and I knew they were hiding something.

  Anger cut through the numbness in my heart. “What?” I said. “Just tell me! Why is that important?”

  “Go with Cort,” Ritter said. “As soon as Ava and I are finished, we’ll all sit down and talk.”

  “Fine.” I turned back to the Land Cruiser. “But I have to get Max.” I’d forgotten the dog once. I wouldn’t do it again.

  Ritter’s hand stopped me. “I’ll take care of him.”

  I hesitated, tears pricking my eyes despite my determination not to show weakness. “Thanks,” I whispered. He nodded and let me go.

  “How’s your leg?” Cort asked as he helped me into his car. “I’ve got some curequick if you need it.”

  “I’m okay.” My leg was aching horribly, but I didn’t want his drug.

  “You sure?”

  Lifting my dress, I examined the bandages and the wound. The bleeding was almost stopped now, though it burned with every tiny movement. “The bullet’s still in there.” I smoothed down my skirt, where a blood-soaked hole marred the red material. I put my finger through the hole, fighting tears. I wasn’t crying for the dress, but for all the losses it represented.

  “It’ll be okay, Erin. You’ll see.”

  It wouldn’t ever be okay. Not for Lorrie.

  I sat back as he drove through town. I tried closing my eyes, but every time I did, I saw blood and the determined faces of the Unbounded who’d attacked my family.

  Because of me.

  At least I was no longer seeing the headless girl.

  “We should go to my place before Stella’s,” Cort said. “With so much of our warehouse equipment packed, Stella’s going to need some of the stuff I left for the movers. If you don’t mind a detour, it’ll save me time.”

  “I don’t mind.” Anything we could do to help Stella figure out how we’d been compromised was a s
tep in the right direction.

  We drove for a long time, and I figured Cort was doubling back often in case anyone followed us. I dozed in my seat, thinking bleakly about everything that had happened. Feeling so helpless made me angry, resentful, and filled with despair. Ritter’s kiss was the only bright spot in the afternoon, but it was only a kiss after all. A kiss before going into battle. It didn’t really count.

  Thinking of the kiss reminded me of Tom. We’d shared a lot of kisses in the past months, and once he’d been everything I wanted. He’d said on the phone that he still loved me, but so much had changed between us.

  At last Cort stopped the car and triggered a garage door remote. I sat up and looked around. The garage was detached from the main house, so I couldn’t see what his home looked like, but from the little I’d noticed on our drive, the nearest neighbor was some distance away. I suspected we’d left Kansas City and were in an outlying town.

  The garage was vaulted and could easily fit ten cars. There were five there now, or six counting Cort’s Lexus. “All yours?” I asked.

  He grinned. “Yes. Want to take a peek?”

  What was it with men and their cars? You’d think after five hundred years his enthusiasm for vehicles would get old. “Not now. Let’s just hurry. I need to know how my dad and Jace are doing.”

  “Give me a hand. It’ll only take a minute. And I’ll get you something to drink.”

  At least my grief was contained by numbness. At the moment, I wasn’t feeling anything besides mental exhaustion and pain in my thigh.

  We moved slowly from the garage and down a short cement path to the house. The moment I hobbled into the kitchen, I knew something wasn’t right. I lifted my gun, which for some absurd reason I still carried in my hand.

  “Someone’s here,” I whispered. I wished I didn’t sound so panicked.

  They stepped out of doorways and came inside from the door behind us. Two Unbounded and four mortals. Each was armed, but if Cort acted fast, we might have a slim chance.

  Cort set his rifle on the table.

  “Cort!” I hissed. “What are you doing?”

  “It’s no use, Erin. Put down your weapon.”

  Ritter wouldn’t have given up so easily.

  “Do as he says,” said another man, coming in from the hallway. “I really would hate to have to shoot you.” His eyes went to the hole in my dress as he added dryly. “Again.”

  I knew him. The chin-length brown hair, the good-looking face—which now had its color back—the darkening bruise on his temple made by Ritter’s gun. The right leg of his jeans were cut off at the knee, exposing a bandage.

  Bright green eyes met mine. “Hello, Erin. I’m Keene McIntyre. Glad to officially make your acquaintance.”

  “I saved your life!” I spat.

  “How did you know I wasn’t Unbounded?”

  “None of your business.”

  He came slowly toward me, his eyes traveling the length of my body. “Oh, it is very much my business. Emporium business.”

  I should have let Ritter kill him.

  Well, I’d just do it myself. I brought my gun up and squeezed the trigger, but shock made me slow and Keene grabbed the gun before it went off, causing the bullet to slam into the cupboard behind him.

  “Are you finished?” Keene asked, giving me a flat, amused stare.

  “Erin needs medical attention,” Cort cut in. “The bullet’s still in her leg.”

  “I’ll get my bag.” A tall Unbounded with ebony skin started for the door. I memorized his large nose and close-cropped black hair in case I found out he was the one who’d killed Lorrie.

  Two of the mortals left with him. That left one Unbounded and two mortals. We could take them. I hoped Cort was ready. Surely after five hundred years he knew enough about combat to get a weapon away from one of them.

  I made a dive for Cort’s rifle on the table. Keene was faster, slamming his body into mine, which sent shudders of agony through my wounded leg. I didn’t see what Cort had done during my attempt, but I had the impression he’d remained motionless.

  Pain caused blackness to gnaw at the edges of my vision.

  I let it take me.

  I WAS TRAPPED IN THE burning car, with Justine’s face melting in front of me. “Help me, Erin,” she cried. I knew I had only to reach out my hand to free her, but my hand wouldn’t move. My breath came faster. A scream caught in my throat.

  The car vanished and I became aware that I was lying on a bed. No one was around me, but I could hear angry voices. I focused on them in the same way I focused on pulling nutrients from the air. Absorbing them. Anything was better than the nightmare about Justine.

  “I don’t care what argument or excuses you use. This wasn’t the plan.” It was Cort’s voice, fury oozing from the words.

  “This, as you call it, might just make up for the disaster earlier this evening.” Keene’s voice was equally angry. “We lost five Unbounded to the Renegades.”

  “You should never have moved on her family. You think she’s going to want to join the Emporium now?”

  “If you hadn’t dragged your feet about turning over information, we wouldn’t have had to take that step. Besides, you think Tihalt or Stefan care about them? They’ve spent centuries searching for Ava’s line. The whole family’s death certificates were signed the minute we discovered Erin had Changed.”

  I opened one eye the merest sliver. They were face to face outside the half-closed door, talking fast and loud. I felt stunned. Cort knew this man. Knew him well enough to yell at him without fear of retribution.

  “I had everything under control,” Cort said tightly. “You didn’t need to waste our men.”

  “That wasn’t my choice. Our father is tired of waiting, brother dear.”

  I sucked in air, struggling to understand. What was it Keene had said? Our father. Brother? Did that mean they were actually related by blood or only by association? One thing was clear: Cort was Emporium and in league with the man who’d attacked my family.

  I’m going to kill you, Cort, I thought. He was a traitor of the worst kind. The Renegades had befriended him. I had befriended him. And he had betrayed us all.

  “Look, I’ll be running this organization when you’re rotting in the grave,” Cort retorted. “The only reason you’re even allowed to be a part of this is that your mother happened to have a pretty face.”

  “Tihalt loved her.”

  “Oh?” Cort sneered. “That must be why he let her die when we so easily could have cured her cancer.”

  Keene was quiet a moment. “He couldn’t stand seeing her grow old.”

  “As he won’t be able to stand seeing his favorite son grow old.” The words hung between them.

  “I did what I had to do.” Keene spoke bitterly. “For what it’s worth, I wasn’t trying to kill anyone. The plan was to hold the family and use them for leverage. Unfortunately, the Unbounded under my command had another agenda. In fact, we were hashing out that little difference in opinion when the Renegades showed up.” He motioned to his leg. “See what Wilhelm did? I should thank the Renegades for ridding me of men who don’t follow orders.”

  Cort’s body relaxed. “They were following someone’s orders.”

  “I think we both know whose.”

  “I need to get back to the Renegades, feed them a story about Erin giving me the slip. There are still Stella’s relatives to pin down. I know they’re in Portland somewhere, but she’s careful about their location, even around us. More importantly, there’s that exchange with John Halden coming up tomorrow. You know how vital that is.”

  “Good old Halden. Now that’s a man the Emporium wants dead.” Keene’s voice sounded almost boyish. “So are you actually going to report the information once you find out?”

  “That’s my job.”

  “Oh, so you remember the job. It’s just that you’ve been an awful long time gaining their trust, big brother. A little too long, if you get my drift. One might
think you’ve actually defected to the other side.”

  “Don’t joke around,” Cort growled. “They’ve kept information about the exchange on a need to know basis only, but I’ll find out everything in plenty of time.” His voice sounded odd, and I had the impression he was hiding something. If only I was closer maybe I could pick up a hint as to what.

  “Just make sure you get our dear old dad and his cronies what they want.”

  The more they talked, the more I was sure they were actually related. If that was true, Cort’s entire background was a lie.

  “What if she won’t have anything to do with the Emporium?” Cort asked after a brief lull in the conversation.

  “Stefan will convince her. He has a way with women.” A pause, and then, “Over here, Edgel.”

  The door swung wide and before I shut my eyes, I caught a glimpse of the large-nosed Unbounded who’d volunteered to get his medical supplies before Keene tackled me in the kitchen.

  “She’s still out cold,” Cort said. “But you’d better give her something for the pain, or she’s going to wake up in a hurry after you start cutting into her leg.”

  I was fully awake now and debating whether I should pretend to be out, or if I should take one of my knives and slash Cort’s throat. No, that wouldn’t kill him. I’d have to do something worse. I felt sick thinking about it. A week ago I would have never considered slitting anyone’s throat, much less cutting them into three pieces. I hated him even more for that.

  I opened my eyes a slit as they lifted up my dress high enough to see the wound on my thigh. Unfortunately, that also lifted the other side so they could see the sheath of knives on my other leg.

  “Hello.” Keene unbuckled the leather as the other two men watched with more than a little interest. You’d think they’d never seen a woman’s bare leg before. Or maybe it was the knives they were admiring.

  I pretended to come to as Edgel injected my leg with a numbing solution. “What are you doing?” I asked groggily.

  Cort knelt beside me, taking my hand. “They’re getting the bullet out. The man’s not a doctor, but he seems to know what he’s doing.” He leaned closer and whispered in my ear. “Don’t worry. I’ll get us out of this. May take some time, so go along with them. Trust me.” It was all I could do not to jerk my hand away. Better to play along for now.