by Sierra Dean
“Wait, shouldn’t we at least try to—”
“To what?” Keaty gave me a sour look. “Talk them out of it? Take them down peacefully? Since when were you a cheerleader for passive resistance, hmm? No, I think we all know the only way this ends is with a trail of dead necromancers. Anyone willing to raise thousands of corpses to incapacitate a city isn’t going to yield to reason.”
“He’s right,” Holden agreed, handing the map book to me. “Besides, are you really going to choose now to decide you don’t want to get your hands dirty?”
I didn’t like the snide way he said it. Considering the last two people I’d killed had been instrumental in ruining my life, I hardly felt it was fair to compare the situations. Yet in another sense they were right. Spilling blood wasn’t something that bothered me in the past, so why did I care now? Was it because the necromancers were human?
Their humanity hadn’t stopped them from laying siege to a city.
“Fine.” I grabbed the book and got to my feet. “But I’m taking the south. If we need all the help we can get, there are a few people I have to find who aren’t on this list.”
Chapter Six
Holden, Nolan and Keaty formed one group, while Desmond, Genie and I rounded out the second. I’d barely gotten a chance to say hello to Nolan, a former protégé of mine, before we were all suiting up for another trip into the city. I had hoped my other trainee, Shane Hewitt, and his girlfriend, Siobhan, might have found their way to Keaty’s place, but no such luck. Nolan assured me during our brief exchange he’d spoken to Shane before the lines had gone down, and they’d both been safe in Brooklyn at that point.
I’d have preferred having them with me, especially since both Shane and Siobhan could handle themselves in a fight—one was an assassin for the vampire council, the other was a druid archer—but I settled for knowing they were protecting each other.
Keaty had an armory the likes of which a small nation’s military would be jealous of. I handed off my stolen M60 to their group since I had no use for it, and Nolan was big enough to handle it without getting knocked to the sidewalk. I still wasn’t thrilled about the idea of splitting up, even though Holden’s logic was reasonable.
The truth was, every time I let the vampire out of my sight, I was convinced it was the last time I’d ever see him. Not in the same way as when we’d been trapped underground by The Doctor, but now I feared I’d lose him from his own free will.
I played with the engagement ring on my finger, loving and hating the small weight it added to my hand. I knew, without a doubt, I’d done the right thing saying yes to Desmond’s proposal. I didn’t question my choice for a second. But knowing it might have cost me Holden, that was something I hadn’t come to terms with yet.
I wasn’t foolish enough to believe I could keep them both as my lovers forever. We were all getting hurt by our stupid arrangement, much the same way Lucas and Desmond had been ripped apart in their attempt to share me. Love, as it turned out, was not infinitely divisible.
But I had stupidly believed that no matter who I chose, I would get to keep the other man in my life still. Holden and I had always been close, and for a long time before the wolves entered my life he was one of my only friends. The idea of not having him around once this was over was too heartbreaking for me to consider.
During our short stay in Louisiana, he’d said he would love me forever, and the same was true for me. But I hadn’t thought he might have meant from afar.
I could already feel him distancing himself from me, and I wasn’t sure how to fix the rift I’d created, if it was possible at all. I wouldn’t call off my engagement to Desmond and pick Holden instead. I’d made my choice, and unlike my decision to marry Lucas—which had been made for largely political reasons—my marriage to Desmond was something I wanted. I wanted it so desperately my heart beat faster just thinking about it.
Until I thought of the look on Holden’s face when I’d told him.
There was no way I was getting through this without hurting people. But I hoped I could get through it without losing any of them forever.
Turning my attention back to the group of us in Keaty’s foyer, I saw the humans had outfitted themselves with bulletproof vests.
“Keaty, can you give one of those to Genie, please?” Though my sister was a werewolf, she was also young and unpracticed in combat. I didn’t like the idea of bringing her along at all, but her magic would come in handy, and at least I’d be there to protect her. An extra buffer would make me feel better though.
“I don’t need a vest,” she protested.
“It’s cute that you think I’m asking whether you want it or not.” I took the vest from Keaty and handed it to her. “You’re wearing it. I’m not even going to threaten you with an or else. Just put it on.”
She took the heavy, navy-blue vest and put it on, tightening it so it fit more snuggly. All the same it was clearly designed for a full-grown man, and it dwarfed her small frame. Her magic wouldn’t be hindered, though, and that was where Genie’s strength was.
I didn’t bother suggesting Holden or Desmond wear a vest, nor did I take one for myself. I needed freedom of movement, and honestly one of the last things I was worried about was getting shot.
Perhaps I should have worried about it more, considering I’d taken two silver bullets only three days earlier, but the fact of the matter was, I still didn’t think of guns as a credible risk to my health. My dismissive attitude might come back to bite me one day, but I would burn that bridge when I got there.
Once everyone was protected and armed, we agreed to meet back at the brownstone two hours later for a progress report and with any additional manpower we’d acquired. When we parted ways on the sidewalk, I tried not to think I might be seeing any of them for the last time.
The smoke had thickened since we were last outside, and a hazy blackness settled over the streets, making it hard to see more than a few feet in any direction. We hadn’t even gone a block when I lost sight of our other party. Each team had taken a walkie-talkie since we’d now lost cell signal entirely. The walkies had a decent range on them, but I wasn’t sure we’d be able to remain in contact as we moved farther and farther from each other.
I’d given Desmond the map book, leaving him in charge of our directions.
“Where to?” I asked.
“We’re about a half mile from a vamp named Imogen, according to the book.”
I stood next to him, peering over his arm. I flipped a few pages, then tapped the book. “Here.” There were no circles in the immediate vicinity of where I was pointing, yet Desmond knew me well enough to understand.
“Does she even know you’re back, Secret? She might not be there.”
“She’ll be there. You think she’d be anywhere but work at a time like this? And Tyler told me that’s where they were, so unless something has changed, that’s where we’re going.”
“Well, we can at least make a few stops on the way. There are three names on this list between here and the station.”
I handed my cell to Genie. “I know it’s a long shot, but find Mercedes Castilla’s number in there and keep trying to reach her. If you get a connection, tell her I’m on my way, okay?”
Genie nodded and took the phone, giving it the serious focus of someone who needed a job to keep herself distracted. Who could blame her? She’d tagged along on this trip hoping for a fun-filled vacation in New York. Instead I’d brought her to the brink of hell and was asking her to climb right in. Some big sister I was.
I swore to myself if Tyler had a way to extract her, I was sending her to safety the second it was an option. I should have made her take the car and leave, but the idea of her going off on her own scared me more than having her here with me.
I let Genie wander a few steps ahead on her own, then took Desmond by the arm and forced him to look at me. “Des, if anything happens to me…” My words drifted off, the idea lurking at the end of my sentence too heavy to say out
loud.
“Hey, don’t get ahead of yourself. We’re going to be fine.” He placed his hands on my shoulders and gave me one of the smiles that had made me fall in love with him. Even in the midst of all this madness he managed to appear calm. He kissed my forehead. “Nothing is going to happen to you.”
“If, though. If something happens, you promise me you’ll take care of her, okay?”
“I promise,” he said, without hesitation. “But what did I just say?” He raised his eyebrow, and the expression on his face was so cheeky I couldn’t take it seriously, which I think was the point.
“Nothing is going to happen,” I said back, offering my best approximation of a smile.
He pressed my fingertips to his mouth and kissed them, then flipped my hand over and placed a kiss on the ring he’d given me. “That’s right. Because I’m going to marry you, and don’t you forget it.”
“Not to put a damper on your cute little make-out session, but we probably ought to keep moving.” Genie had returned and looked both annoyed and amused in equal measure. It was better than the terror she’d shown earlier, so if she wanted to play the part of grossed-out baby sister, I’d gladly take it.
I had my first real pang of missing Holden when we moved from Keaty’s block to the edge of Central Park where the darkness encompassed things entirely. I used to run in the park at night, and I’d never thought twice about how dark it could be, but that was with lampposts guiding my way. Now there was nothing.
How could a city this big be so dark? In spite of experiencing it right now, I still couldn’t quite believe how intimidating the blackness was. It was different, somehow, than even the most recent blackout the city had experienced a few years earlier. This didn’t feel like it had an end. There wasn’t a switch to flick, or something electricians could manipulate with generators.
There was malicious magic at play here, and worry gnawed at my guts. This didn’t feel right, for obvious reasons, but what was worse was the sense of doom looming over me. I hoped this would be a simple matter—relatively speaking—of finding some necromancers and dispatching them from the earthly plane. No big deal, right?
So why was my mind telling me things were going to get a lot worse before they got better?
Probably because that was the way things most often went for me.
I watched Desmond trail behind Genie and held my breath for a moment. I’d been so concerned with what might happen to my sister if I died, I hadn’t taken time to consider what I would do if something happened to them. Much of my adult life had involved throwing myself from one dangerous situation to another, usually with no respect for my own wellbeing. Protecting the people I loved tended to rank higher than my own personal safety.
But what would I do if something happened to Genie? I’d brought her here because I thought it would be safe, and now I didn’t know if I could protect her. This wasn’t the kind of situation I could have planned a contingency for.
And Desmond.
What would I do if something happened to Desmond?
My heart seized at the very notion of it, and my mind got hazy, like imagining losing Des was incomprehensible. Which it was. Would I lie down and die, letting a broken heart pull me under?
No. If I hadn’t died yet, a broken heart wouldn’t be what killed me.
But my life would lose all meaning. It would become a shadow existence without him, I was sure of that.
“Be careful, baby.” I said it mostly to myself, but he paused in the middle of the path and looked back over his shoulder to me. His expression was serious, but softened when I offered him another smile.
I’d hoped by traveling through the park we could avoid the messes littering the streets and bypass most of the risen. Trouble was, I hadn’t accounted for how difficult it would be to navigate the natural maze of the park without light to guide our way. And we couldn’t rely on flashlights in case someone was waiting in the foliage.
At some point since we’d moved into the park, both Des and Genie had drawn their weapons in preparation for anything that might hop out at us. I was grateful for their vigilance, but at the same time I was scared they might get trigger happy if a squirrel popped out, and give our location away with a poorly timed gunshot.
I pulled my sword from its sheath and moved to the front of our small group, positioning Genie between Desmond and me. The blade glinted orange from the hazy glow in the sky, and it was a shift in the reflection that drew my attention up.
One minute I was on my feet and the next I was flat on my back with two hundred pounds of writhing man on top of me. Though I hadn’t seen the guy who hit me, the smell of him announced his maleness, as did the bristle of his beard against my throat. But his scent also told me he was alive and not one of the risen, so I didn’t quite know what to make of my predicament. I just knew I couldn’t slaughter the dude outright.
“He’s alive,” I shouted, hoping to keep the others from responding rashly.
“Not for long,” Desmond growled, seizing my attacker by his shoulders and yanking him off me.
I wasted no time getting back to my feet and lifting my sword, placing the tip of the blade against the man’s exposed throat while Desmond held him still.
Given the unimpressed sneer the guy leveled me with in spite of my threat, I doubted he was a simple mugger.
“Don’t you know it’s not safe to play outside after dark?” he asked, smirking as if he weren’t in any danger whatsoever.
“Who are you?” I brought the blade higher, resting it against his Adam’s apple.
“Name’s Jock. Want to tell your buddy to let up a bit? My arm is starting to cramp.”
“You attacked my fiancée, so no, I don’t think I’ll be letting up any time soon.” Desmond must have tightened his grip because Jock winced.
“Hey,” Jock grunted. “I didn’t know she was your old lady.”
I nodded towards Genie, who was hanging back a few feet, the gun in her hands trembling. “Finger off the trigger, hon.” She responded immediately, and even in the darkness I could see her cheeks flush from embarrassment. “You getting a magic vibe off this guy?”
I could tell a vampire’s power with ease, but judging someone’s magic ability wasn’t in my wheelhouse. I needed a witch for that, and thankfully I’d brought one with me.
“I don’t think so,” she replied. “He’s got some residual stink on him, but I don’t think the power is his.” A faint red glow shimmered around her fingertips, and I worried about the mix of magic and guns, but I had to assume she would be careful. I didn’t want to draw any further attention to her inexperience.
Since I had no immediate intention of cutting off Jock’s head—which was a solution I’d been resorting to with others a little too often over the last week—I lowered my sword. Desmond gave me a questioning look, plainly asking if he should let the guy go. I gave a slight shake of my head. I might not want to kill the dude, but I also wasn’t ready to send him on his merry way.
Killing him might not be on my agenda for the night, but that didn’t mean I wouldn’t rough him up for answers.
As Jock’s smile edged towards cocky, I lifted one foot. With speed he clearly wasn’t expecting, I kicked out, making contact with his knee. The precise angle I hit him at wouldn’t break any bones, but he would be hurting too much to notice the difference.
Jock shrieked and went limp in Desmond’s arms.
“Bitch.”
I clucked my tongue. “Simmer down. It’s dislocated, not broken.”
“Are you a fucking doctor?” Tears streamed down his cheeks, and it was my turn for an inappropriate grin.
I ignored the word doctor without flinching. “No. But I am really, really good at hurting people. Besides, you wanted Des to ease up, didn’t you? Now he can let you go.” I gave Desmond a nod, and he released Jock.
Too bad Desmond had been the only thing keeping my attacker upright. Jock stumbled and flopped onto the path, painful grunts muffled into
the limestone. Funny how fuck still sounds the same even with a mouthful of gravel.
Desmond grabbed him by the back of his collar and propped him into a sitting position, alleviating the pressure on his knee. Dirt had smeared the tear streaks on Jock’s face, so instead of looking relatively pulled together, now he appeared to have been rolled straight out of the Vietnam War.
“Tell me what you’re doing out here.” I kept my sword down, but I didn’t think the weapon was necessary anymore as far as threats went.
Jock spit at me.
Both Desmond and Genie seemed ready to flay him alive, but I lifted one hand to stop them. He hadn’t even gotten me. The red glow around Genie’s hand had become much brighter and now covered all the way up to her wrist, but at some point she had engaged the safety on her weapon. At least she was playing it smart, like I’d hoped. I had to admit, I was curious to know what she could do with her glowy fingers, but perhaps using Jock as a guinea pig wasn’t the nicest way to find out.
“I think I asked you politely. This is me doing things the easy way. If you’d prefer we do them the hard way, we certainly can.”
“God, are you still fucking talking?” Jock groaned.
“All right, you want to do it the hard way then. Desmond, put him on his back.”
Desmond did as I asked without question, though from the way he was watching me I suspected he had one or two he might like to ask. The most predominant of which was probably, What are you going to do to him?
To be honest, I didn’t know. But I suspected Jock had information I wanted, and I would do anything within reason to get that information from him.
Once he was on his back, I stood over him, my blade pressed to his sternum. “Want to know something fun I’ve learned about the human body?”
Jock struggled against Desmond’s hold, but the werewolf was too strong for him. “I ain’t telling you a goddamn thing.”
“What I’ve learned is this,” I went on as if he hadn’t spoken. “The human body is almost perfectly symmetrical. Everything is balanced between the right and the left. So we have basically two of all our parts.” I touched my sword to his left arm, then his right. “Two arms. Two legs. Two hands. Two ears. The list goes on and on.”