by Ramy Vance
“Like the Underground Railroad, except instead of trying to get into Canada, they’re trying to get out.”
Egya narrowed his eyes. “A joke.”
“You’re not the only one who can be funny,” I said, kind of hurt no one laughed at my joke.
“Yes, that kind of stuff. Except they’re not about getting out of one country and into another. They’re more about helping Others relocate to wherever they need so that they can live in peace. They’re also about …” He paused as he debated going on.
“About …” I said, gesturing for him to spit it out.
“About preparing for the Other-human war they believe is inevitable.”
“Oh great, so they’re a militia gathering troops.”
“No.” Egya stood for the first time. “They just see what’s coming and don’t want Others to be slaughtered because they were unprepared.”
“And what is coming, exactly?”
“Come on,” he said, pointing at the laptop. “You have to see it for yourself. A war is coming. The humans are preparing for it. Think about all the technology that is openly being developed to keep Others in check. The clocks that measure magic use, the nets and super-Tasers normal police use to catch flying Others and neutralize super-powered Others. And that’s just what we see. We also now know they’re developing soldiers specifically to combat Others. The humans aren’t stupid—”
“Don’t you mean we’re not stupid? Or does the fact that you can make your nose bigger now mean you’re no longer human?”
Egya let out a snort. “Girl, when you attack, you always go for the kill, don’t you? Well, guess what … as hurtful as you’ll try to be, I won’t let you drive a wedge between us. Never.”
He grabbed my hand, and every ounce of burning fire within me was doused by his unwavering loyalty and love for me.
“I’m … I’m sorry,” I said.
“I know you are, girl.” He leaned in and kissed my forehead. “Besides, I can also make my nose wider, too,” he chuckled.
From behind us, I heard Isa lean over and whisper to Mergen, “What’s going on?”
“A negotiation of love,” the avatar said.
“You shut up,” I said, pointing to the pale white creature. “And you … go on.” I nodded at Egya.
“They know something is coming, and they’re trying to ensure it’s not genocide.”
“And let me guess, they call themselves the resistance?” I chuckled at my joke.
Egya didn’t laugh.
“No, don’t tell me … they really do call themselves the resistance, don’t they?”
He nodded.
“Jesus Christ in a handbasket …” I said, pulling away my hand. “These guys need to work on their branding.”
“They’re Others, Kat. Simple nomenclature and cheesy slogans is their branding.”
“Humph, yeah I suppose. OK, this resistance … where are they located?”
“I don’t know.”
“And how will they help us?”
“I don’t know.”
“And when will you know?”
“I don’t know.”
“Good. Glad we got that sorted out.”
“Sarcasm is the lowest form of humor.”
“And knowing nothing is the surest way to die.”
Egya chuckled. “Fair enough. I will get in contact and turn some of my ignorance into knowledge.” He picked up his backpack. “In the meantime, what will you do?”
“You mean the three of us? Oh, we’re going to make plans. Lots and lots of plans.”
PLANS, TRUTHS AND GETTING READIES
We left Egya to go find the resistance and returned to my dorm room, where Deirdre sat on the ground sharpening her broadsword. “Milady,” she said, not looking up as she ran the whetstone along the blade’s edge, “I sense there will be a battle tonight.”
She said it was an eerie certainty, like she knew tonight she would draw blood. A battle was coming. But not tonight. Tonight we were planning. I sat on my bed and gestured for Mergen and Isa to sit on Deirdre’s bed. Isa plopped down, but Mergen just folded himself cross-legged on our dorm room floor. “Oh, yes, there’s a battle coming, but not tonight, my changeling friend. Not tonight.”
In answer, she continued to run the stone along the edge, a slow, menacing screech accompanying it. Clearly she didn’t believe me.
“Can I see the building schematics?” I said.
Isa tossed me the flash drive, and plugging it into my laptop, an architect’s blueprint popped up. “OK, so there seems to only be four entrances to the facilities—here, here, here and here.” I moved to sit next to Isa and pointed at my screen. “But only one entrance to the lab. The elevator here.”
Isa nodded. “Yes. But there is also an entrance here.” She pointed at two parallel lines of dashes running along the edge. “It’s a sewage gate big enough for a dwarf to walk through. The dwarven crew often use it.”
“Ewww—why?”
Isa giggled. “Dwarves are not bothered by mud and sludge, preferring to stay underground. The thought of entering a building from above ground is a bonus to them.”
“Fair enough. Still, they know it’s not mud?”
Isa shrugged.
“So are you thinking we enter through there?”
“Or leave.”
“And this dwarven crew. How well do you know them?”
“Well enough. They’re my friends. And they do not trust their employers either.”
I thought back to the affection the lead dwarf—Merl—showed to Isa. And when he’d helped her escape from the bathroom, Mergen had smacked his lips, which meant that Merl was completely sincere. He really would help with anything she needed.
“OK. So we have a disgusting way in and out should we need it. So assuming that we can get in, how do we actually get through all those doors? It’s not like they’ll be wide open. They’ll need passcodes, fingerprints, retina scans.”
She showed me her hand and I watched as the maze that was her fingerprint shifted. “That is Russo’s fingerprint.”
“Are you sure?”
She nodded. “When we take on the form of another, we do so in all aspects.”
I’d just upgraded Isa from dangerous to unstoppable. Thank the GoneGods she was on my side—whatever side that was.
“OK. But what about passcodes? I don’t suppose your abilities extend to knowing things about them?”
Isa shook her head. “It won’t matter. All we need is a keycard and a fingerprint. There is no code. Not unless the system shuts down and we need to override it.”
“And do we have the passcode?”
“No, it is on Russo’s person at all times. We would need to steal it from her.”
“How?”
Another shrug. “I know where she lives. That’s probably the only place she’ll have it unguarded.”
I narrowed my eyes with appreciation. “And you know this, how?”
“Because I have studied humans for five hundred years. Serena needs to be in control of everything, but she also needs to feel safe. Her home is where she feels safe. And that is also where she will most likely let her guard down.”
I nodded. As a vampire, I used to stalk my prey by anticipating where they’d run to and how they’d try to hide. It was part of my method. Seems shapeshifters had a similar methodology. “Good enough. So we steal the card, break in and get Justin out. Still leaves us with one more problem.”
Isa sucked in a deep breath. “How do we stop them altogether?”
“I would say something dramatic like we should blow the facilities up, but in order to do that we’d need explosives. And unless you have a dynamite dealer, we’re kind of screwed on that.”
Isa grabbed my laptop as a rush of excitement filled her.
“Hey,” I said, but before I could get into full indignation mode, she called up McGill’s Science Lab portal and logged in.
Once inside, she did a couple searches before say
ing, “We cannot make dynamite, but we can combine RDX, polyisobutylene and process oil.”
“And?”
“C4. That is the chemical composition for C4. Well, not C4 exactly, as it will be liquid.”
“Will it still go boom?”
“Oh yes. Very big boom.”
“How long will it take to make this stuff?”
“Not long. Everything we need is in the science lab. An hour. Maybe two … then we can—”
But before she could finish speaking, the lights went out.
In the darkness, I heard Deirdre stand up and say, “See, milady. Battle.”
SAY HELLO TO MY LITTLE FRIENDS
When I signed up for the McGill dorms, there was this little box that asked if I’d accept having an Other roommate. Turns out that I was literally the only human to tick that box. And what was my reward for being open-minded and progressive? They put Deirdre and me down in the dungeons of Gardner Residence.
And by dungeons, I mean basement.
As soon as the lights cut, the world went black with only a tiny sliver of moonlight illuminating our subterranean room. When I was a vamp, my eyes would have immediately adjusted and I would have been able to see as clearly as if I was standing outside in the middle of a field on a sunny day.
But as a human, I couldn’t see a thing. I swear to the GoneGods, how did humans survive, let alone thrive to become the dominant species with all these limitations?
“I can’t see anything,” I whispered.
I felt a hand grab my wrist. “Here, take my hand. I’ll guide you.”
Fae. Their eyes were adjusted for all manner of light, whether intensely bright or completely absent.
“No Deirdre, we’re under attack. I’m going to need you free and nimble to, umm, dispatch the enemy.”
“Milady?” I heard her say from the hallway. “What are you—?”
There was a shuffle as Deirdre said, “What manner of dark magic is this? Unhand milady.”
“What?” And then it hit me: Isabella could shapeshift. And she was an Other specialist. Combine those two things and I understood exactly what was happening.
She had shifted into Deirdre’s form … in other words, an Other who could see in the dark. Which meant she had just burnt months off her life to take on Deirdre’s form.
GoneGodDamn, that was fast. And an expensive sacrifice of her life.
I guess if there was ever a time to make such a sacrifice, now was that time. The lights were gone, and I was pretty sure I knew why.
“Deirdre. As in, real Deirdre,” I corrected. “Isa is an ally, and she’s just trying to help.”
Deirdre growled, and I could sense that she took another step forward before audibly sighing and saying, “It is strange to look into a mirror that does not move like you do. Take care of her well, shifter, for if not, I swear to the GoneGods that once I am done with these foes, I will come for you.”
“I swear by everything I hold holy and true, I will do whatever is in my power to protect her,” Deirdre—or rather, Isabella—said. It was all so confusing. She spoke with the exact same Irish lilt as the real changeling.
“Fine. Good we got all those oaths and promises out of the way. Mergen … can you see in the dark?”
The Avatar of Truth smacked his lips. “I can see the truth … and the truth of your purpose lights my way.”
“So, yes?”
I don’t know what expression Mergen wore when he answered. I could only imagine it was one of defeat and frustration at me not accepting his truth-of-your-purpose explanation, because he responded with a deflated, “Yes,” and nothing more.
“Good. So here’s the mission objective …” Mission objective. Look at me speaking all militarily. Justin wasn’t the only one who could do that. “We have to assume that this is the World Army coming after us. Either that or some random baddie—which, to be honest, I’m not willing to accept. I can only deal with one evil at a time. So, we need to get out of here. But we can’t just leave. First of all, they’re probably watching the exits. And secondly, there are a lot of innocents here.”
“So what do we do?”
“First, I need one of you can-see-in-the-dark beings to grab my mask and dirk. Then Deirdre and I say goodbye to our home. We’re never coming back here again.”
A hand reached for mine and I could feel the dirk and my father’s mask slip into mine. “Now what?” Deirdre asked.
“Now, we hurt them bad. Hurt them,” I repeated in the direction I believed Deirdre was standing, “not kill them. They’re human, after all. We make them pay a price for coming after us. Then we run. Isabella, can we break into the labs today and mix the C4?”
“It’s not exactly C4. It’s—”
“Can we make things that go boom tonight?”
“If I can get to my lab, yes.”
“Good. So tonight’s to-do list is: kick some human army ass, make bombs, rescue Justin and blow things up. Let’s get to it.”
↔
THE THING ABOUT TO-DO LISTS: some items simply refuse to get crossed off. We left my room, Isabella guiding me through the darkness with her borrowed changeling eyes.
How much time did she burn to shift? For one so willing to run away, she had no issue using magic and shortening her life. I could have dismissed this as her simply wanting to escape. But if that were true, she would have shifted into some random student’s image and disappeared in the chaos.
And as much as I knew we were becoming besties—not—I don’t think saving me was high on her priority list. Which left only one motivation that made sense.
She wanted to save Justin and needed me to do it.
GoneGodDamn, she loved the boy.
Time to let him go, I thought.
“Let who go?” Isabella whispered.
“Nothing. I was just thinking that … You know what, it can wait. Let’s survive the evening and I’ll think my thoughts out loud on purpose. What do you see?”
I heard the shuffling of the three Others as we grouped together in the basement hallway.
“Nothing,” Isabella said. “The hall is empty. One kid—”
“Harold,” Deirdre offered.
“—stuck his head out of his room, looked around and when he couldn’t see anything, went back inside. Other than that, nothing.”
“What the hell are they doing?”
“Maybe it’s just a power cut?”
I shook my head, not that anyone could see it. “No, we’re on the same power grid as the Royal Vic. There are backup generators that kick in should we lose power. A few minutes, maybe. But this long? No way. It’s them.”
Isabella turned to me. “You speak with such confidence.”
She said it not in a critical, questioning way, but rather with admiration. Like she’d never known anyone to ‘just know’ things. Made sense. She was a creature that relied on guile and subterfuge to survive. You only got that way when you questioned everything, trying to come up with plans that covered the greatest number of possibilities.
“Let’s go,” I said.
We took a few steps forward before we heard a buzzing that sounded like four mini-fans. “What the fresh hell?” I said.
“Milady,” Deirdre said, “a children’s toy just flew in the hallway.”
“Children’s toy? No, that’s a drone. Shit—kill it.”
“The toy?”
“Yes, the toy,” I said frantically.
Deirdre didn’t hesitate, darting forward and felling the drone with one clanking stroke of her broadsword. I heard two plastic clumps hit the ground.
“OK, so they know where we are. There’s only two exits, the stairs and fire exit.”
“The elevator,” Isabella said.
“I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be trapped in a box where we can be shot like fish in a barrel. Or box. Whatever.”
“The power is out.”
“So?”
“So that means that the elevator’s do
ors are unlocked. It’s a safety protocol so people don’t get trapped inside. We can climb the shaft without fear of being crushed by someone waiting on the ground floor.”
Subterfuge and guile. I like it.
“OK, let’s go.”
↔
WE MADE our way to the elevator shaft. Well, they made their way to the elevator shaft. I played the role of helpless human—it was humiliating, and oddly comforting. Was that what the people I’d ferried to safety felt? A mixture of gratitude and utter frustration? If that was so, then I really needed to work on my ‘inclusive’ game when helping.
“Over here,” one of the Deirdres said, and I heard powerful arms force apart the locked elevator doors with barely a grunt of effort. GoneGodDamn she was strong. Safety protocols locked those doors during a power outage to stop people from doing exactly what we wanted to do.
I guess safety protocols didn’t take into account changeling strength.
Mergen muttered something to himself.
“Come again?” I said.
I felt the Avatar of Truth’s hot breath on the back of my neck as he repeated what he had said, “This is the end.”
Given that he was a being who could literally sense the truth and had prophetic qualities to his essence, I kind of wished I hadn’t asked.
Then again, he wasn’t saying anything I didn’t already know. As soon as those lights cut, I knew my home here was done. It was one thing being stalked by deadly enemies and nefarious Others. Being hunted by the government … that was something else entirely.
Something I’d have to figure out later. After I survived the elevator shaft.
If I survived the elevator shaft.
“Milady, this way.” Deirdre—the real Deirdre—guided me to the opening. “I can carry you, if—”
“No, I’ll be fine. I managed to shimmy down the decaying blouse of a dead goddess,” I muttered as I felt around for something to grab onto for my ascent.
“What?” Isa said.
“Nothing—just what I was up to over Christmas break. You know, eggnog, turkeys and dead gods. You?”