“I won’t,” I croaked, swallowing it back. “Thanks, both.”
“Yeah, yeah,” he muttered. “Let’s see if you’re still saying that once we’re knee high in zombies.”
I shuddered. “I really hate zombies.”
11
Grady told me to wait for him before I faced off with the General. He wanted to give Libby the heads up, and I stayed out of their way, hunting down the tent that provided food.
I ate my sandwich, standing outside, and looking upon the zombies beyond the guarded perimeter. I contemplated with each bite, trying to get into Dreven’s head. He’d come over to Earthside—escaped from prison—and now this? Why not hide out for a while? Go underground? Do none of the prisoners have any damn patience?
None of it made sense. But going by Dreven’s history, he planned to cause more than a few ripples.
Grady found me after I’d had my fill, looking upon the mall in the distance. He didn’t look happy.
“Libby took it well then, eh?” I said, dusting my hand free of the crumbs.
Annoyed, he pointed in the direction of the tents. “Let’s just get this over with.”
He marched away, and I followed. “What? Did she punch you in the face?” I saw no bruising. No red cheeks. “The balls? Did she kick you in the balls?”
“No,” he growled.
“Did she try to make you get all horny?”
He came to a crashing halt. “No. Will you just drop it?”
“You already know the answer to that.”
“Don’t I just.” He put his hands on his waist and exhaled. “I hurt her, okay? The pain of rejection on her face. It stung. I don’t like hurting anyone that way.”
“But you only told the truth.”
“So?”
“So it’s better than stringing her along and hurting her even more down the road.”
He walked toward the General. “I’m sorry for it,” he muttered as I fell into step beside him.
“Libby will be fine. She can’t blame you for being honest, Grady.”
“Yeah,” he mumbled. “Still felt like a dick move.”
The General wore a stern expression when we approached. When I asked him to join us at the tent to include Simone in the discussion, he radioed someone to bring her to us.
When she arrived, I explained our plans for the walking dead in the CDC tent, and Hanley looked aghast.
“You wish to what?”
I cringed beneath his stare. “I wish to use those in isolation in a demonstration to your troops. They need to see what they’re up against.”
“They’re up against people under some form of delusion. I train my soldiers to take on the most dangerous.”
“Not this kind of dangerous. And I’ll tell you more if I have to. But my orders supersede yours.” I turned to Simone who waited patiently. “You will carry out my request.”
“Sir,” Grady stepped in. “We have intel we can’t share. The people we are going into fight are no longer human.”
He frowned. “What do you mean? No longer human?”
“They’re human,” Simone answered fast, “I’ve checked all I can to confirm that. But I found nothing. No active cells. No links to past strains, viruses. Or anything new brewing under the surface. There is no explanation I can find. The once deceased people—who I’ve checked over and over—shouldn’t even be able to stand up straight. Their hearts don’t even beat for goodness sake!” She bit her lip, not comfortable with her outburst. Hanley looked from her, to me, to Grady.
“So what is your explanation, Agent Vane?”
Here goes.
“Parasites,” I mumbled, not quite sold on Karl’s theory.
“Parasites?” he scoffed. Simone gasped.
“The people are dead. Gone. But the parasite is using the body as a host.” I rushed on. “It’s not contagious, it can’t jump host. Once we get rid of ways the body can move, it will die. We think.”
“You think?” Hanley spluttered. “And a parasite that controls dead bodies? Is this a joke?”
“No. It isn’t.”
Grady stepped in. “We can show you and your men what is waiting out there. A demonstration on those in isolation will show your people what they’re about to face. We’re operating within the lines here, but what we deal with doesn’t respect that.”
“Do Homeland Security know about this?” Hanley inquired.
“We have temporary jurisdiction over them.”
“The goddamn President?”
“Vasquez is dealing with that.”
“So the FBI are facing off with a potential global outbreak alone?”
“No, sir,” Grady replied. “We’re a special force operating under the radar as much as possible to keep the classified, classified. Terra and her team, me included, might not look or behave the part, but we can fight. If you send your soldiers in without us, then you’re signing their death warrant before they cross the barrier of the shield. Do you want to send in your men ill prepared?”
“What I want Agent Grady is to have my chain of command order me to go in there or hold the perimeter until we require further action. I do not feel comfortable taking these orders from,” he glanced at me, “from either of you.”
“Fine.” I shrugged. “Do what you need to do. But my boss gave us forty-eight hours to sort this mess, so until those hours are up I’m not leaving. But you also need to know that if you let the big boys know about all this, they’ll break out the big guns so the media doesn’t get wind and start a national panic. And guess what? If our intended target is the one in the mall orchestrating it all, he will welcome your missiles with glee to cause more carnage. Either trust us or don’t. Either help us or don’t. But we have a duty and an assignment to carry out until I hear otherwise.”
Hanley swallowed. Along with the need to throw me out on my ass, I’m sure. But after his mind had whirred away, he settled on his decision. It was then I realized why Dan brought someone like Hanley on board.
“Set up the demonstration. But have you thought of the repercussions once you’ve done so? What the next steps are?”
Grady didn’t hesitate. “After that, we train your people best we can in the short time frame. We keep one back to train against. We give them all the intel we can, a night’s sleep, then go in during the early morning.”
The General rubbed his chin, thought on it. “Let’s aim for nineteen hundred hours for the demonstration. If you’ve penetrated the barrier, we’ll aim to go in at zero eight hundred tomorrow.”
Grady checked with me, I nodded. He replied, “That’s workable.”
“I’ll spread the word,” Hanley said, “and relay my orders. Make sure it doesn’t turn into a circus.”
“No clowns here, sir.” Unable to resist, I added, “Only zombies.”
12
When I visited Mayra at the shield, Libby was with her instead of Zax.
Libby looked at me like I was a piece of dirt on the bottom of her shoe when I joined them. And she shushed me when I sat on the other side of Mayra.
Dark shadows marred my friends’ eyes. They were closed, but she looked pained.
I stayed quiet, and not long after, she slumped forward. Libby lifted Mayra’s head and put the bottled water to her lips. She drank thirstily, blinking as she came around.
“Thanks.” Mayra smiled at her in appreciation, then turned to me. “How’s it going?”
“I was about to ask you the same thing.”
“I finished assessing the shield. Dreven’s used a gateway spell. Knitted energy if you will. I sensed a code embedded into the magic that I’ll need to break.”
“But you can?”
She smiled. “My magic is more fluid since before. Going back over to Portiside helped. It’s learning a new perspective and now I’m seeing results.” Her smiled dropped. “It won’t be quick though.”
“How long?”
“A few hours to create a hole. But I’ve not started on that yet.
Zax brought me my things so I could work on a second shield. He said he’d go find you to tell you what’s going on.”
“I must have missed him when talking to Hanley. What’s this about a second one?”
“I’m trying to conjure a second shield. One that borders the mage’s. Once his shield drops, mine will engage. It will act like a net so it shuts down any magic that passes through it, draining the zombies so they have nothing controlling them.”
“That’s a great idea.”
“It won’t work if the mage sends more magic to revive them once they’ve crossed the line. But I doubt he will do that if there are other surprises waiting for us. If this were a game of chess, I believe those on the outskirts are his pawns. It will also be easier for him to conjure magic to leave within them rather than keep a direct line to him at all times. That means once they’re down, they’re no longer someone he’ll want to bother with. If I’m right, that is.”
“You’ll be right,” Libby said with ferocity. “It’s a good plan.”
“Thanks,” she said shyly. I raised my eyebrows at that. I’d never seen Mayra go shy. Not when she ran about naked overdosed on caffeine. Not when she blurted out random crap when on a magic high. And not when people gave her compliments. But she blushed then.
“How long for the second shield?” I asked her.
“I’m not sure. I’m having to counter in the fact we’re taking quite a few soldiers through the one I erect, so I can’t make it standard. I thought about coding it to each individual, but that would take too long. So, instead, I’m trying a workaround that’s all about manifestation, intention, what to include, what not to include—all while building fibers of the shield that will drain the level of magic the mage has.” Her eyes flickered shut, and she forced them open. “I’ll continue working on it.”
“You need a break.”
“I’ll be fine.”
I put a hand on her arm. “Rest, Mayra. We need to have a briefing, anyway. And Hanley has reluctantly agreed for us to do a demonstration of the zombies in isolation at seventeen hundred. Grady and Karl thought it a good idea to show the soldiers what they’ve got coming. And Karl came up with a story about parasites harboring the dead host that Hanley brought. Barely. But we’ll do the demo and then follow through with Grady’s idea of training the soldiers.” I shrugged. “Hopefully, it will help.”
“I’ll aid with that while Mayra’s resting,” Libby said.
“Libby, I’ll be fine,” Mayra reassured her.
“No. You won’t. You’re resting. You’re not only pushing yourself toward fatigue. But doing this is hurting you.”
“I’ll be okay.”
“You’ll rest,” she replied, leaving no room for argument. “We need you to take down Dreven, and you’ll be no good to us when you’re hanging like a wet rag.”
Mayra gave in. “Fine. But I’m joining the briefing. After that, I’ll rest while you do the demonstration, then I’ll get back on it.” Something passed between them both. Something I wasn’t privy to. And I didn’t quite know how to feel about that. But I also knew how distracted I’d become lately. I’d spent a lot of time with Kaleb since we’d returned from the shifter lands. Me and Mayra had hung out when we could. But between her practising her magic and me not trying to die almost every case, we hadn’t had time for many heart to hearts. During that time, Mayra and Libby had grown closer, Libby helping her with her magic when Zax helped us on the data side.
I was glad they had each other. But something more simmered between them. Something I couldn’t quite define.
“How about after all this the three of us go on a spa somewhere?” I suggested. “Kick back, get massages, drink mimosas. I think we deserve it.”
“Sure you can leave Grady or Kaleb’s side for long enough,” Libby sniped.
“Can you just drop it for five minutes?”
She laughed. “Yeah. But where’s the fun in that?” She picked at the grass close by. “Grady told me he wanted us to be just friends. You really hate me having any limelight, don’t you?”
“I had nothing to do with what he said to you.”
“Is that so?” She leaned forward to look at me. “Isn’t it funny how after Kaleb showed interest in me, your head turned in his direction? I hit on Grady, and after one conversation with you he’s all, ‘I want to keep this professional. I’ve just got out of a serious relationship. I only want to be friends.’”
“Grady is professional through and through,” I retorted. “He has just got out of a serious relationship. And I can’t help it if he only wants to be your friend. I had nothing to do with his decision.”
“He said you swapped me out with Zax.”
Ugh. Damn Grady and his stupid logical brain.
“He asked me to do so.”
“Sure he did,” she snorted. “I’ve never had problems with men until you came along. And now, here you are, getting pissed when someone doesn’t give you attention. It’s getting old.”
“Libby,” Mayra warned.
“What? I’m only telling the truth. She’s doing it with you, too. Why come out here otherwise?”
“I came out here to check on her,” I snapped.
“You came out here to check on her because I’m with her. You just can’t stand anyone who gets something you can’t. Bernard fawns all over you. Kaleb is so far up your ass he’s losing the grip on his wolf. And now Grady is dancing to your every tune.” She got to her feet and dusted off her pants. “You have no idea how worshipped or powerful I am. If ever you and me get to go one on one, I’ll show you.”
Off she stormed, leaving me sitting there stunned.
Mayra took my hand in hers. “Don’t listen to the words she says. Think about why she says them. Libby gets confused when it comes to you. She likes you, respects you, and if things were different, you’d probably become great friends. But you’re making her realize that all the attention she’s garnered over the years was empty attention. She feels she only got it because of either her looks or her gift.”
“She’s pissed with me for being me?” I said, confused someone like Libby would be jealous of anyone.
“She’s pissed because you can get what she craves so easily.”
“Get what? Her ass kicked regularly? A gift that makes her feel like a freak?”
“Men who love her because of who she is. Not what she looks like.”
I frowned. And Mayra chuckled. “You don’t see it, hon,” she continued. “I know that. But Bernard adores you. Always has, always will. Even though you’re not together anymore, you formed a bond, a friendship. And then there’s Kaleb. We all know he’s been besotted with you from the beginning. Even if you couldn’t see it. And Libby came into the group not knowing that. She liked him. A lot. He led her on, I think. But I know he didn’t mean to. It hurt her though. And she’ll never admit it. Unfortunately, she feels more comfortable taking it out on you.”
“Great,” I muttered.
“Then there’s, Grady.”
“There’s nothing between me and Grady.”
“I know that,” she replied. “We all know that. But Grady talks to you differently as he does everyone else. He opens up to you more. You’ve known each other longer and bonded during The Bard case. But Libby doesn’t understand human interaction like we do. She’s a demon, remember?”
“Then what can I do, Mayra?” I sighed. “What can I do for her to see I’m not the enemy here? Although, I’m thinking about putting salt in her coffee right about now.”
She laughed and released my hand. “I’m not asking you to do anything. Only understand. If anyone can understand what it likes to feel different, it’s you.”
“Wow. That’s low.” I nudged her.
She nudged me back. “Yeah. But you can take it.”
Looking out upon the madness our lives had become, I said, “Our lives will never be the same after all this. Will they?”
“Nope.” She leaned back, resting on her hands. �
��But that’s what life is all about. Movement, growth, and change. Nothing ever stays the same. And nothing ever should. Living in the present is the best way to deal with all that.”
“Says the woman who reads Tarot cards for a living.”
She looked over, her lips curled. It pleased me to see the color back in her cheeks. “Reading the future is different to living in it. And I’ll prove that to you by doing another reading when we get back home.” She grinned. “Last one came true. Remember?”
“The one about having a target on my back and Rudolf River attacking me directly after? Yeah. I know.”
“And the part about conflict, manipulation, corruption. That’s what we think is happening with the Consilium. I also remember something about two strands linked to two men. One strand to a working partner, another to a lover. That could be Grady and Kaleb.”
“It could also mean Cole who was both?” I suggested.
“I don’t think so. The lover felt long term. So did the working partner. And the cards mentioned a group of people rallying around you. The IET.”
“How do you remember all this?”
“I remember what is important,” she replied. “And I remember the cards showing me an opinionated man linked to a government office. One of the strands. And Grady is FBI.”
“It could mean several things.”
“It’s what resonates that’s important. And my theories resonate. So, there you go.”
“So it’s your theory or nothing?”
She chuckled. “Only if I read the cards with my ego. But I don’t, so I trust my readings. However, free will always has a part to play, remember? Our choices matter. Like right now.”
“We have a choice?”
“Sure we do. We can stay and fight or run away. It might not be a great choice, but it’s still a choice.”
Seeing the zombies beyond the shield, the thought of them let loose on unsuspecting people, kids, babies, the infirm, made me feel sick inside. Dreven was a sociopath with a plan. He wouldn’t care who got in his way.
“Then I guess we’ve already made our choice.”
Death Be Rising (The Terra Vane Series Book 7) Page 7