If only he could do something. Anything.
But he couldn’t. He lacked the skills, the resources. Hell—he couldn’t even promise her a warm place to sleep as she fought the mysterious illness. Though they’d lived on next to nothing for so long, he’d never felt so completely worthless as he did in this moment.
Once again, he prayed that this was all some terrible nightmare. That Esme would get better, and they’d be back on their journey to Canada—to a new life. Not even the Inferno would follow him there.
But their lives were never that simple.
Snow blurred their footprints. Soon, the tracks would be buried and turning around would no longer be an option. He’d be stuck in this frozen forest full of sleeping monsters, with Esme strapped to his back, in the throes of her fever-soaked dreams.
No. He mentally shook off the sticky fingers of failure. I won’t give up. Esme was the last of his family—the last person who mattered. Without her, he might as well run buck-naked through the nearest Infected horde and be done with it.
He turned away from his fading footprints and continued his slow trek through the forest.
His feet skidded on a sheet of ice. He fell forward, his insides roiling and his hands flying to brace. Esme’s skull smacked against his head and, for a moment, he swore he saw stars. Frankie appeared at his side, his doggy breath creating tiny clouds above him. A cold, wet nose pressed to Kai’s cheek.
Kai patted his silky head and stood, groaning. He blinked. Ahead, faint depressions in the snow disappeared behind a scrubby bush in front of him. He moved closer to get a better look. Boot prints. Small. Probably female. Of course, it could be an Infected—they seemed to be waking from hibernation a few months early this year.
He’d take the risk.
He tied Esme’s wrists around his neck and slipped the bow off his shoulder, nocking an arrow before following the tracks. The snowfall thickened; the fluffy, wet clumps filling the depressions. Branches and twigs scraped his face as he struggled through the drifts. The tracks led to a steep hill, which Frankie loped up with ease. Kai sucked in a deep breath and followed. The rise was glazed in a thick layer of ice, making his progress slow and uncertain. He traded his bow for an ice pick, using it to scrabble over the slippery surface.
“Hold on, Esme,” he huffed, drawing on the dregs of his strength. “Something good is ahead. I can feel it.”
A small clearing was carved out of the forest and in its center stood a tiny, cobbled-together cabin. Gray smoke billowed from its rounded roof, perfuming the air with the scent of seasoned wood. He squeezed his eyes shut, wondering if his desperate mind was playing tricks on him.
Nope. It was still there.
His relief was cut short when he realized the building lacked a proper barricade. Strange. For the last two hundred years, fences had been humanity’s best defense against the Infected. The richer you were, the taller and stronger the fence. He was in no position to be choosy, though, and anything was safer than a night spent out in the open.
Kai approached, whistling loudly in case the cabin’s owner already had a gun or arrow leveled at him. Frankie loped ahead, rucking up a trail of white behind him. He stopped halfway and growled. Kai’s gut twisted with dread.
He squeezed the ice pick tight. What had the dog seen?
The cabin’s front door squeaked open. A wedge of golden-yellow spilled out. A small woman appeared; her silhouette stretched long across the snow. Two elongated bodies materialized from the shadows, flanking her.
Dread hardened into panic.
The woman didn’t move—she was probably frozen in terror. Kai turned to run, his heart slamming into his ribs, but stopped. Her home was the only one he’d seen all evening. They’d freeze tonight if he didn’t find shelter.
He had no choice. He had to fight.
He set Esme down, slipped his ice pick through his belt, and shrugged off his bow. He nocked an arrow and crept closer hoping to get a better shot. Judging from the crusty sores sealed over their eyes and their overall balance, Kai guessed they were stage twos—a male and female. Though blind, their acute hearing, lightning speed, and ability to spit caustic venom more than made up for it.
This night kept getting better and better.
The male’s skin had dissolved from the nose down past his chin—a common side effect of the venom—and the sinuous muscles of his jaw gleamed in the dim light.
Kai drew his arrow, aiming at the larger male while Frankie growled beside him with false bravado.
Brain or heart or they’ll restart. His mother had taught him the children’s rhyme.
He’d have to nock another one fast to have any chance of taking down the female too.
“Is that a dog, or a fox?” The woman’s voice warbled out from the doorway.
Kai nearly dropped his bow. What was she thinking, blowing his cover? She must be insane. His plan was ruined now, it would take all the luck in the world to keep them from being devoured.
He held his breath, waiting for the Infected to pounce on the crazy woman. He’d make a run for it then.
She repeated her question.
Kai’s jaw dropped. Since when did stage twos not attack? They were animals driven by hunger and impulse.
He would’ve been less shocked if the woman suddenly sprouted wings and flew off into the sunset.
Apparently giving up on any intelligent conversation, she shooed him off and disappeared inside the cabin. The sliver of light shrank as she closed the door and the Infected slunk back into the shadows.
Or had they ever been there? Maybe he was hallucinating. Perhaps hypothermia had set in and he was naked in some snowbank, delirious. That made more sense than this.
He returned the arrow to his quiver, looped the bow over his shoulder, and bent to pick up Esme. She was so hot it hurt to touch her. He swung her onto his back. She shivered, her arm a burning noose around his neck.
She was getting worse.
The cabin was their only hope of survival. Even if Infected were there, he’d have to risk it. “Wait!” he shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth. “He’s a dog! A dog!”
He grabbed his ice pick and held it tight as he charged towards the house. “Shelter!” he roared the universal invocation at the top of his lungs. “Shelter!”
The Infected burst out of the shadows, sprinting straight for him, closing the distance in a heartbeat. Their naked, black-veined bodies blocked his path.
Kai swung the ice pick, plunging its sharp point into the female’s chest, missing her heart by a few inches. She shrieked, groping blindly until she seized hold of the shaft and ripped out. Black blood sprayed onto the snow. The wound began to close with a wet, smacking sound. She bared her teeth.
Great. Now she was pissed.
Kai dove for the discarded ice pick as the cabin door creaked open. Light flooded the scene. The only sign of the female’s injury was the black shadow of blood around her, spoiling the pristine snow.
Kai backpedaled, ready to fight again.
I should already be dead. Why aren’t they attacking? Were they...waiting for something?
The male hissed, lunging forward. Smoking liquid arced through the air. Kai shoved Frankie out of the way, a few droplets splattering his boot. The leather smoked and sizzled. Panic buzzed through Kai as he quickly kicked it off. The shoe caved before him, folding in on itself.
Kai’s heart thundered. He was a rabbit. Cornered. Now he really hoped he was hallucinating. Freezing to death seemed vastly preferable to being torn to shreds by two blind ghouls.
Esme’s cheek rolled onto his shoulder; her hair plastered to his neck. The female leapt forward, landing close enough that Kai could see the tiny fractures in the scabs over her eye sockets. Her long, serpent’s tongue flicked out, tasting the air near his ear.
If he hadn’t forced Esme to drink all their water, he would’ve peed himself in sheer, primal panic.
A sharp whistle cut through the silence. The female clo
sest to him jerked back as if zapped by one of the Governor’s cattle prods.
Kai swallowed. Now was his chance. He lifted the ice pick, ready to strike.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you!” The woman tromped towards him. “If you hurt them, they will fight back. I cannot suppress their instincts.”
And if I don’t will they just...stand there? The idea seemed so foreign that Kai assumed he was dreaming. The Infected had two easy meals right in front of them—of course they’d attack. Unless something was stopping them. Controlling them. But that was the stuff of fairy tales.
The woman halted within an arm’s reach of him. She barely came to his elbows, and her body was padded by a bearskin coat that gave her the silhouette of a squat, pudgy snowman. Her face was smooth and oval, with thin lips and a long, hooked nose. Near his mother’s age, had she still been alive. Her gaze was razor-sharp, shooting from Kai to Esme and back. Her eyes were a harsh, piercing blue.
“Are you...” she began, her voice hoarse. Rusty. She looked around as if searching for the right word. “Clean?”
Kai stared at her, dubious. Why would it matter if he was born with the virus dormant inside him or not?
“Can you get over...” she continued, reaching high with her hand. “Walls? Erling?”
Ah. There it was...she wanted something from inside a colony—but why that tiny town? It was a week’s journey on foot, maybe more if the weather turned sour. He’d been planning to stop there next before Esme took a turn for the worse.
The woman blinked. Kai wondered what answer would grant him safe passage to the cabin. He decided, given the drooling Infected flanking her, to tell the truth. “Yes. I’d pass the blood test.”
“Ah.... and yet you are here,” she said, gesturing toward the dense forest. “Deadlands. Why?”
Kai swallowed. “I had no choice. My father was accused of being a traitor in New Hope.”
“Was he?”
“No.” That was a bitter truth. His father had been executed and the rest of his family had starved, suffered, and died in the Deadlands because of the government’s paranoia. Kai ended up joining the Inferno, the very group his father had been accused of supporting. Fueled by his need for shelter and desire for revenge, they’d lived among them. Served their anti-New Hope government cause. But that was a time in his life best left forgotten.
The woman’s acute interest in him had dimmed. She stared into the space over his left shoulder, her consciousness retreating to a deeper, darker place. “I want something. In Erling. You get for me?”
“Why can’t you?” Kai said carefully, eyeing the Infected. “You seem powerful enough.”
The woman’s lips twitched in what may have been a smile. “Perhaps, yes. But there are others even stronger. They would find me. Kill me. They’ll find her too, in Erling. She is not safe there.”
So, it wasn’t something the strange woman wanted, it was someone. “I’m not in the habit of kidnapping.”
The Infected flanking her bared their teeth, elongated and sharpened from the virus. Long strings of saliva dripped from the corners of their mouths. They could smell him. Taste him. He’d be dead in less than a second if not for the woman’s strange influence.
“Sick?” The woman motioned to Esme with her chin. “I could...help her...” She tilted her hand left and right as if the next word was particularly elusive. “Maybe.”
Kai arched his brow. “You can control the Infected—and you’re a doctor?”
“No, no doctor, I’m...” she frowned, searching for the word again, “Old. Studied humans long time. You go to Erling. You bring Sanna here. I take care of girl,” she pointed a finger at Esme. “Sister, yes?”
Kai nodded.
“Family important. Most important. She needs medicine. I make. I give.”
Kai glanced at the stage twos. “She’ll be safe? With them?”
“Of course.” She dismissed the Infected with a wave of her hand. “Very safe. Most safe.”
Doubt lingered. “Why don’t you help Esme first and when she’s better I’ll go get—”
“No time.” The woman shook her head. “No time. They are awake. They are nervous. Something is coming...or maybe, already here. We must find her first. Please, I will heal sister. Keep her safe.”
Kai eyed the woman, considering her offer. He was supposed to be leaving his past behind him. But if Esme had a chance to recover, maybe they could actually make it to Canada. Start over. He offered his hand. “Kai Merrick.”
She studied it, uncertain, then clasped his hand. Her skin felt dry and cool, like paper. “Iris.”
He forced a winning smile. “Help my sister and I’ll bring you the moon if you want.”
She squinted, trying to decipher his words. A creaky chuckle burbled from her lips. She threw back her head as laughter overtook her, lasting long enough to be awkward. When she looked at him again, her blue eyes glittered like alien gems in the dark.
“Oh, Kai Merrick! You keep your moon. All I want is Sanna Larson.”
CHAPTER TWO
Sanna Larson stood on the rocky bank near her home, looking out over the vast blue of Lake Superior. A ball of frustration tightened in her chest. She was a warrior. The best in Erling, the small farming colony she called home. At eighteen, she’d wrestled men twice her size and won.
So why was she here, wasting time, when she should be helping her people prepare for the spring thaw and all the horrors it would bring? She should be reinforcing the walls, cataloging the weapons, and breaking in their newest recruits. There was a never-ending list of tasks back home, all key to their survival.
Her answer came to a stop beside her.
“So this is it, huh?” Nico’s gaze met her own, and a boyish smile broke across his face.
The breath vanished from her lungs and a nervous, fluttery feeling invaded her stomach. He was more handsome than any of the boys she’d grown up with and now worked alongside. And even though she’d rather be anywhere than here, she wasn’t immune to his charming smile.
God, she’d been staring.
“Yep,” she looked down at the crashing, gunmetal waves below. Hopefully the winter chill masked the warm blush she felt spreading across her cheekbones.
“It’s nice.” Nico gave the cliff a brief glance. “We’d better turn around before the storm sets in.”
The sting of his dismissal hit deeper than she cared to admit. She gave Lake Superior one last look before following him deeper into the woods.
Of course the view wouldn’t impress him. He’d spent his entire life roaming the region as the rich son of a traveling merchant. He’d seen more of the world than she’d ever dreamed of—the skeletal ruins of skyscrapers, the rusted chains of cars that crisscrossed the region, fused together by time. The glittering capital city of New Hope.
She’d only left Erling’s territory once—a short, miserable trip that had left most of her friends dead, or worse.
“So you’re close to the border?” Nico asked, pulling her from her thoughts. He must be talking about Canada.
“Yep.”
“Have you ever thought of sneaking across?”
“You mean do I have a death wish? No. They shoot on sight.”
Nico shrugged. “There must be smugglers who make it through. People wanting to bring back goods to make a few bucks.”
“As if anyone in Erling has that kind of money,” Sanna scoffed. Unlike you. It was the main reason her mother had been so thrilled when Nico not only appeared out of nowhere but also took an interest in Sanna despite her plain looks and rough manners. “We barely even made our tithe to the Capital this year.”
“Really?” Nico shrugged. “I guess I thought you guys were holding back.”
Sanna stilled. “What?”
“It’s okay,” Nico said quickly. “It’s not a big deal. A lot of colonies do it. It’s the only way to survive, really. The tithe has been too damn high for years.”
A coldness sank into her b
ones. “Who told you we were holding back?”
“No one.” Nico rubbed his neck. “Just stupid gossip, you know?”
“No. It’s lies,” Sanna said, feeling hollow. “Whoever’s spreading them is just hoping for a chance at our land. The new government is sending out enforcers for less and less these days. If they even think we’re cheating them...” she imagined her family shoved into cages and carted away. “I swear we’ve been loyal. The yields have just been poor.”
“I shouldn’t have mentioned it,” Nico said, his face reddening. He looked genuinely embarrassed. “I’m sure it’s nothing.”
“Maybe for you. You can pack up and go wherever. The rest of us aren’t so lucky. We have nowhere else.”
“I know.”
She stalked past him and it dawned on her that she’d dressed him down like a new soldier when they were supposed to be on a date. But that hardly mattered anymore. She had to let her father and the Lieutenant know rumors were flying about Erling and that maybe their closest allies weren’t friends at all.
Nico’s boots crunched the snow behind her, filling the silence that stretched between them.
You’d be stupid to waste this chance. Haven, her best friend, had told her that when he’d arrived three weeks ago and showed interest in her. He’s rich and his family has influence in the capital. Not to mention he’s actually cute.
Haven was right. It was sheer luck that a blizzard had trapped Nico and his wagon-full of goods for that first week. When he decided to stay a bit longer, the whole town was ecstatic...until he showed interest in Sanna instead of their own daughters.
Now, she felt lost. Inept. She was a soldier. Out gunned. Out maneuvered. She knew nothing of flirting. The coy glances and secretive smiles that Haven had taught her were a foreign language.
Then again, how could she laugh and pretend everything was easy and wonderful when winter had been harsh and starvation loomed like a giant, wasting shadow over her village? And now the governor might think he had reason to deploy his army to Erling, take what little they had, and exile them all to the Deadlands.
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