Kane looked at her.
“You risked too much to come get me,” he said. “Why?”
She stared up into his eyes, hers impossibly blue. She closed them as she moved in, pressed her lips gently to his. He put his arms around her; pulled her closer a he returned the kiss. Her tongue searched delicately for his as she pressed her body against him. He ran his hands down her back to her hips, the kiss growing more passionate, hungrier with every second. She fell back onto the bed, pulled him down with her, kissing him harder. He broke the kiss, moving down her neck, his hands moving down her body, exploring her sides, her breasts, her hips as he kissed her throat. Her scent grew more intoxicating, her breathing heavy. She moaned softly as she wrapped her legs around him firmly, her hands running through his hair. He moved back up, kissed her mouth again as she pulled at his shirt in frustration. He sat up, took it off, and threw it in the floor as she sat up underneath him and kissed his chest before pulling him back down. He kissed her neck again, felt her pulse under her tongue, his stomach full of want and desire.
And hunger.
He bit gently at the skin. She laughed a little, sighed as she bared her neck to him for more. He nibbled again. Hungry. So hungry.
Something moved inside him, stirred, a low growl gurgled in the thing’s throat. The Wendigo panted, stared at him from his mind’s eye.
Eat. Feed.
Kane bared his teeth to bite Tabitha again, his mouth watering, images of blood rushing into his mouth filling him with more desire.
His entire body tensed at once. He pushed himself up quickly, away from Tabitha as she cried out in alarm. He crashed into the vanity table, almost went down, his heart thundering against his chest.
Tabitha sat up quickly and went to him.
“Kane! What’s wrong?”
He held up a warning hand.
“Stay back!”
Tabitha stopped.
“What’s happening?” she said, her voice filled with alarm. “What is it, Kane?”
“Just stay away,” Kane said, every word hurting him. He tried to backpedal more, the wall stopping him, his boots scraping against the floor. The Wendigo growled in his mind, the glee in it sickening as the thing retreated.
Tabitha stood over him, tense, seeming as if she wanted to kneel and help him. He shook his head, made his way to his feet as she backed up. Her face was stricken with worry and hurt.
He looked at her, shook his head again.
“Kane, what happened?” She reached for him again. “Talk to me. Please.”
He couldn’t tell her about his curse. Couldn’t stand the thought that something might happen to her.
“I can’t,” he said, his breathing slowing. “I…I can’t do this, Tabitha. Not now.”
She stood her ground, her fists by her side as she stared at him. Her eyes went to white instantly.
“More secrets?” she asked, her voice airy. “More lies? Something else. Something inside. Murder. Blood.”
Kane’s temper rose.
“I’m sick, okay?”
Tabitha’s eyes went back to blue, her face drawn in shock as if he’d just slapped her. She stepped back as his body began to shake with rage.
You’re stupid, Shepherd. he thought. Go ahead and tell her. Tell her how you might rip her apart. How you’re dreaming about murdering her.
Tabitha stood silent, tears welling in her eyes. He felt his temper grow even more. It was all he needed, another crying fit. Mad Tabitha at her finest.
Where was this coming from? He’d never been so quick to temper, so angry. Over nothing. She was worried about him, and he was pissed at her for it.
The Wendigo shifted inside his mind, the thing smiling at him from a distance.
Wilhelmina had lied.
Go ahead, Shepherd. Tell her. You’re committed, now.
“I’m cursed,” Kane said, fighting back his rage. “Something called ‘The Wendigo.’ It’s bad, Tabitha. It’s taking me over.”
She wiped the tears away from her eyes.
“It’s my fault, right?” She put her hands to her face.
“What? No! Hell no! I don’t know who did it.”
Tabitha took her hands away from her face and balled them up by her sides, her eyes hard and determined.
“Then we find the cure,” she said. “Wilhelmina might know something.”
“Who says she didn’t curse me? She gave me something today and told me that it would keep the Wendigo away temporarily, but she lied. I felt it. Just now.”
She went to him. He stiffened, went to put his hand out again, but was too late. She wrapped her arms around him, rested her head on his shoulder. He put his arms around her instinctively, didn’t make to push her back. The Wendigo growled at her, licked its rotted teeth.
Stay back, you son of a bitch. Kane thought.
The creature backed away from his mind, shrouded itself in shadow.
“I’m in this with you, Kane,” Tabitha said. “You can’t push me away. I won’t let you. I love you.”
Kane nodded, the words lumped in his throat. He wanted to tell her. But it would mean losing her. He’d lost Sarah, been forced to kill her. He’d lost his parents. Everyone he’d ever loved.
Something caught his eye. Something on the nightstand. Something familiar.
He’d seen that milk bottle before.
Someone pounded on the door, startling them both. Kane moved away from Tabitha and answered. Wilson’s eyes widened at Kane standing there, shirtless and disheveled.
“Kid, now isn’t a good time.”
Wilson jerked, stood tall and saluted before going at ease.
“Sorry to interrupt, sir,” he said. “Uh…I mean, not that I was…I mean…”
“Christ, Wilson, what is it?”
“The north outpost, sir,” Wilson said quickly. “It’s gone. We lost it.”
* * *
Kane and Tabitha were dressed and down in the study within twenty minutes. Derricks was already there, along with Anderson and Wilson. Anderson looked bitter and angry, Derricks looking dour as he stared out the window as usual. Wilson stood at attention, saluted Kane as he entered the room.
“Stop that,” Kane said to him.
“Sir,” Wilson said, lowering his hand.
“We’ve been attacked,” Anderson said before Kane could cross the room to her desk.
“I heard,” Kane replied. “When? Where?”
“The North outpost,” said Wilson. “It’s actually in the same direction you’d go to get to Harbor Plantation. About three clicks North from here.”
“Zombies?”
Wilson nodded.
“According to the survivor who showed up, they overwhelmed the men there and took the outpost, then just kept moving. They’re probably about a few miles out.”
“The survivor who got to us died from his injuries,” said Anderson. “He showed up covered in blood from his injuries. Cuts and stab wounds, Mr. Shepherd. Our own people attacking us.” She shook her head, rubbed her eyes as she muttered. “God, this is insane.”
“Insanity doesn’t describe it,” Derricks said from the window. He turned and looked at Kane. “The man who got here said no one would attack the zombies. Said they tried to reason with them. There were too many. The outpost was a slaughterhouse before anyone realized what was going on.”
“They let him go,” Anderson said, looking up at Kane. She looked like she hadn’t slept in a week. “They wanted him to tell us what happened.”
“Christ,” Kane said, running his hand over his hair.
Anderson looked at Tabitha.
“Kane says you have the gift of foresight.”
Tabitha beamed.
“I do!” Her smiled faltered a little. “I mean, well, kind of. I can’t turn it on and off. I mean, I can, but I get better visions if it just hits me. But it’s a passive ability, so it won’t wear me out.”
“Can you see the zombies coming?”
Kane stepped up, m
oved slightly in front of Tabitha.
“We talked about this,” he said, glaring at Anderson.
“Mr. Shepherd, I am losing men,” Anderson shot back, standing and pressing her fists against her desk as she leaned forward. “I don’t have time to worry about her feelings.”
“She does not work for you.” Kane gestured to Tabitha and himself. “We do not work for you.”
Anderson slammed her fist into the desk as Wilson stepped back, his eyes wide as he looked between them, waiting for one to lunge at the other.
“While you are here in my house, fighting with my army, you will follow my orders,” Anderson shouted, her tone firm. “What’s it going to take to get that through your thick skull, Shepherd?”
Kane stepped forward, his fists clenched and muscles tense as he locked eyes with her.
“You’re going to lose a lot more people trying to use our abilities in battle,” Kane said. He waved at the maps on the wall. They were written on, covered in nails with strings attached. “Trying to formulate a plan to attack. That’s what’s costing you people. Tabitha and I lost our amulets. They’re gone. Our power is unpredictable on a good day. She’s better at it than I am, and she’s still having problems with casting. The last time almost killed her.”
“That’s why I’m here.”
Kane turned around at the sound of Nick’s voice. He saw the black man enter the room, this time dressed in pants and suspenders with no shirt on. His chest was covered in ornate tattoos of bones and symbols, and his arms had Henna on them, the tendrils moving from his wrist up his shoulders to connect with the demon mouths on either side.
Had Kane not been seething with rage, he would’ve been impressed.
Tabitha gave a shout as Kane shot past her, grabbed Nick by the neck and slammed him into the wall. Nick grabbed at Kane’s arms, but Kane was stronger. He ignored Anderson’s shouts and Tabitha’s pleas for Kane to stop as he brought Nick back and slammed him again, this time into a bookshelf that gave, dumping books and knick-knacks into the floor. Nick managed to shove Kane away, but Kane caught him in the jaw with a right hook. Nick spun and hit the floor as Kane stood over him.
“This is who we have to thank for this shit,” he said, his breathing rapid. “I saw your milk bottle in Tabitha’s room. What the hell have you done?”
Nick looked up at him, his lip bleeding where Kane had popped him. Kane grit his teeth, ignored the shouts from the others as he kicked Nick in the face and put his boot on the Voodoo Priest’s chest.
“Answer me!”
“I healed her.” Nick’s voice calm as if Kane hadn’t just beaten him to the floor. “I tried to do the same for you the day we met. Cleanse your body and spirit. I’m guessing Wilhelmina stopped you from drinking it.”
“Yeah, I believe you,” Kane said, not holding back his sarcasm as he stepped off Nick. He reared back to kick the man in the ribs. “Because we’re such good friends, right?”
“Draugalega Frosti!”
A blast of ice hit the wall next to Kane, blasted the portrait of Robert E. Lee into froze pieces. Kane looked at Tabitha. She stood there in a fighting pose, her hands out with cold orbs floating in each palm. Her face was tear-streaked, her lip trembling in anger as she looked at Kane.
Or was it fear?
“Step away from him.”
“Tab–”
“Now!”
Kane stepped back. Nick got to his feet, grunting in pain a little as he went. Kane kept his eyes on Tabitha. She turned her gaze to Nick, shifted so she could fire a blast at him if she needed to. A Magician’s equivalent of pointing a gun at someone.
“I’m here to help,” Nick said, putting his hands up. “And from what I can see, you all need whatever help you can get. The Harbor Plantation slaves will be here by nightfall, and nothing you do on your own will prepare you.”
Chapter Seventeen
Tabitha extinguished the frost spell and stood straight, looking at Kane. Anderson came around from behind her desk and looked Nick up and down, sizing him up. He was larger than her, but Kane figured she could probably hold her own in a fight.
“Start talking,” she said to Nick. “I’ll give you two minutes. Then I’ll have you arrested and tossed into a cell.”
Nick nodded. He opened the pouch on his belt, then looked at them.
“I need to do something first.”
Kane looked to Anderson, then at Tabitha. She nodded to him.
“Okay,” he said, turning back to Nick. “Go ahead.”
Nick pulled a fistful of red dirt from the pouch, went to the doorway, and ran a line of it on the floor at the base of the door. He continued on, moving around the edge of the room as he went.
“What the hell are you doing?” Anderson said. “Why are you spreading dirt around my study?”
“Nannette’s gonna have a fit when she sees that,” said Wilson. “She just swept.”
“This is brick dust,” Nick said as he made his way past Derricks and around behind the desk. Derricks stood unfazed, still staring out the window. “Those who would do us harm cannot cross it.”
“There’s only one set of doors,” said Anderson.
Kane looked at her, stealing a glance at Derricks again as he spoke. Something wasn’t right.
“Richard doesn’t care about doors. He can use the shadows and get in any way he wants.”
“What?”
“They call them Shadow Wraiths,” said Tabitha. “I’ve never seen one until we came down here.”
“We’d never seen a Blood Priest before Sarah, either,” said Kane. “Obviously you know that Magicians aren’t the only magic users. But they’re all that’s up North these days. At least we thought that until we met the Mors Rebrum.”
“The Confederacy is teaming with magic,” Nick said as he finished spreading the dust. He cinched the pouch back up and stood up straight, facing them. “There’s power here. Real power. All of it fueled by the flora and fauna of the woods. Wilhelmina, me, others of us, we’re all living proof of that.”
Kane heard Nick speaking, but his attention was on Derricks. The crewman stood stock still, staring out the window, his eyes unmoving, his breathing slow. He was motionless, not even a sway. Nick had barged in, Kane had fought him, and Derricks hadn’t even flinched. Nothing.
Tabitha moved to Kane, touched his arm.
“Kane?”
“Get everyone back,” Kane said, watching Derricks.
Tabitha moved away.
“You heard him, back up,” she said, waving her hands, shooing Anderson and the others toward the far wall. Kane took a step forward, watching Derricks, waiting for the man to make a move.
“Derricks,” Kane said. “You okay?”
Derricks didn’t respond. Didn’t move. Didn’t blink. Kane moved closer. Closer. He wasn’t close enough to touch him, but it would only take another step or two. Kane tried again.
“Derricks. Say something.”
Derricks spun and rushed Kane, his eyes wide, a large knife in his hand. They went to the floor, Kane trying to push Derricks back as the crewman grappled with him, tried to swing the blade. It missed Kane’s face by a centimeter. Kane bucked, and Derricks went over to the side, lashing out with the blade as Kane rolled out of the way and got to his feet. Derricks was up instantly, rushing Kane, his teeth gnashing as he brought the large bowie knife around again. The blade caught Kane’s arm, his shirt sleeve soaked instantly, the stinging radiating up and down the arm. Derricks reared back for another swing.
The spell was on Kane’s lips before he could think about what he was casting.
“Aethereum Ignus!”
Kane felt the warmth in his hands instantly. He swung, hurled the fireball at Derricks. It caught him in the chest, blew him backward. Derricks hit the desktop hard, clearing the papers, maps, and other items along the way as he slid off and fell to the floor. He stood, his shirt on fire in the spot where Kane had blasted him, the skin charred and black. Kane saw no sign of p
ain on Derricks’ face, no hint of discomfort.
Only determination. And murder.
Derricks leapt at him again, the knife out and swinging. Kane blocked the swing, batting Derricks’ hand away at the wrist, and gut-punched him. Derricks bent over with a grunt, mowed into Kane. Kane hit the floor hard on his back, swung out blindly as Derricks straddled him and tried to stab him. Kane’s fist connected, and Derricks fell away.
Nick’s voice was loud behind him.
“Kane, move!”
Kane stepped aside as Nick came forward and slung a Mason jar of water at Derricks, emptying the contents all over him. Derricks gave a shout, dropped the knife, and put the heels of his hands to his head.
Nick looked at Kane.
“Put him down!”
Kane stepped in, turned at the hip, and put Derricks on the floor with a hook to the cheekbone. Derricks lay still, his eyes closed.
Breathing normally.
Kane was out of breath. He looked at Nick, nodded to Derricks as he put his hands on his knees and sat back on the desk.
“He’s gonna take a little nap now.”
Tabitha went to Kane, helped him sit up as she looked over his arm.
“Gods, Kane, he cut you deep!” Her voice was shaking, her eyes watering as she helped him straighten his arm out. She held her hand out over the wound and muttered in a low voice: “Draugalega Heilun.” Ghostly Healing.
The cold made Kane wince, the ice painful and soothing at the same time. He looked down, saw the blue glow under Tabitha’s hand as his skin began to frost, the wound closing.
“Don’t push yourself too much,” he said. “We need you awake.”
“What happened to Derricks?” Anderson said as she and Wilson moved over to where Derricks lay. Nick squatted down, checked the unconscious man’s pulse, then looked up at her. “Why did he attack Kane?”
“Because he was commanded to,” Nick said simply. “Likely so he could come for you next.”
“He was a zombie?” Wilson said. “How?”
Nick stood, walked over to the window where Derricks had been. Kane watched as the Priest peered at the window, then wiped his finger across the seam at the top. He stepped back, turned, and held up the finger, the white powder bright against his dark skin.
Gaslit Armageddon (Clockworks of War Book 2) Page 18