Dirty Blood

by Heather Hildenbrand

  It was completely dark by the time we walked the two blocks to the industrial district, Wes’s hand wrapped firmly around mine. We found the others and huddled on the sidewalk.

  “All right, then,” said Jack. “Everyone knows what they have to do. If something goes wrong …” He hesitated, and I could see everyone shifting their gaze toward me and then away again.

  “It won’t,” said Wes.

  “We get it, Tara’s the priority here,” said Cord impatiently. “Can we go kick some traitor ass now?”

  Jack nodded, and we split off into our pairings. Cord looked just as unhappy as I was, but we fell into step together. Wes and Miles walked with us as far as the nearest corner and then we parted ways. Wes watched me reluctantly, but he didn’t say anything and then they were out of sight.

  Cord led the way, taking us in through the alley that separated this warehouse from the next. When we reached the end, Cord stopped and peeked around the corner that would take us to the battered side door I’d seen earlier. I listened for other noises, either inside or out, but there was only silence.

  Cord reached into her pocket and held something out. “Here,” she snapped, shoving a key into my hand.

  “What’s this?”

  “An extra key for Derek’s car. If you find your mom and can get away, then go. Don’t wait for the rest of us—just get her back to Jack’s. Got it?”

  “I’m not leaving without you guys,” I argued.

  “Whatever. If you can get away, and we’re tied up, then you go. Jack’s orders.” Her tone made it clear she didn’t really care if I complied, but at least she’d done her part. I took the key and stuffed it into my pocket. “Let’s go,” she said.

  I reached down to my boot and lifted a plain wooden stake out before following her around the corner. I left the metal tipped stake that Miles had given me inside my other boot. I wasn’t sure what the deal was with metal, but I figured I’d use it as a last resort.

  We crept closer, staying in the shadows, searching for movement. No streetlights shone and neither did any light from inside the warehouse. The silence was eerie and deafening. Even our muffled footsteps seemed too loud. When we came to the edge of the building, Cord stopped. Only a few steps of open space separated us from our destination. We waited, watching and listening. Finally satisfied that the coast was clear, Cord pulled out her phone and typed a text to Jack and the others, letting them know to join us. She hit send and shoved the phone into the front of her jeans, then waved me forward.

  She led me to the side entrance, to the left of the large bay door. She gingerly put her hand to the knob. The door gave way easily, swinging open with a creak that seemed to echo through the entire neighborhood. We exchanged an uneasy look and then stepped inside. Again, I waited a few seconds to let my vision adjust, and dim images finally blurred into focus. With the shapes came a tingling sensation so strong, I jerked and bumped into Cord. She glanced back at me with a hard look, but I could see she understood what was happening. Every single hair on my body stood on end, and the tingling began pricking at me so hard, it hurt. In front of me, a few stray strands of Cord’s flowing blond hair broke away and flew out behind her, giving the illusion of static electricity. I knew the only reason for this kind of reaction was Weres—a lot of Weres.

  Cord gestured for me to turn so my back stayed against the wall and I could see all sides of the garage at once. The inside was huge, and empty from what I could tell. Across the room, metal stairs led to a catwalk that wrapped around the back and sides of the building, extending further into the blackness than I could see.

  Cord took a few steps to the side and gestured for me to follow. When we’d gone halfway around the room, a door banged shut somewhere on the second floor, and we froze. Silence followed and after several seconds of listening—and barely breathing—we started forward again.

  That was when the howls began. Muffled at first, they came from every direction, echoing so that I didn’t even know where to look as I whipped my head back and forth toward the noise. Then came the sound of doors being wrenched open and the howls morphed into snarls and menacing growls as dozens of wolves poured out of the open doors on the catwalk, heading for the stairs. Every single pair of glowing eyes was focused on Cord and me as they rushed for the first floor.

  Cord didn’t even hesitate; she ran to the center of the room and planted her feet, producing a metal tipped stake in one hand and curling the other into a fist. It took me slightly longer, as I couldn’t seem to look away from the sheer number of rushing wolves. Then, my muscles tightened and tensed as the Hunter side of me took over and readied itself for the coming fight. I repositioned the stake in my hand and stepped up next to Cord.

  The first few wolves reached the bottom of the stairs just as the door behind me crashed open against the wall. Jack and Derek rushed in. I didn’t even have time to turn and look for Wes before the first wolf was on me. It hit fast with all the momentum it carried from running, and jumped on me, knocking me to the floor. Its claws dug into my shoulders as it pressed its weight down fully, knocking the wind out of me. I managed to hang onto my stake, though, and jammed it into the wolf’s side just before it dove for my throat with its teeth. It jerked in pain as the wood penetrated through its flesh. I yanked my stake back out and shoved the wolf hard to my left, sending it rolling away.

  In less than a second, it had righted itself and fell into a crouch, teeth bared, ready to come at me again. Another one was in front of me, also crouched and ready to spring. I took an automatic step back, trying to keep them both in my sights.

  They rushed at the same time and all I could do was step out of the way at the last second. When I did, the wolves barely avoided running into each other, which probably would’ve been funny if another two wolves hadn’t cropped up on my left, circling around behind me. I took another step and turned, in an attempt to keep all of them in sight. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw two figures rush through the door: one human and one wolf. Miles and Wes? It was too dark to tell. They threw themselves into the fight without pause.

  By now, Larry and Moe had recovered from the near Three Stooges collision and had realized they were a part of a four-wolf attack now instead of two. The foursome stalked toward me, confident and determined. Larry or Moe—I wasn’t sure which—came at me first, trying to pin me under his paws like he had the first time. His massive paws caught me around the shoulders, and I felt the sting of claws rake across my upper arms, but I managed to stay on my feet and push him back. Simultaneously, one of the others lunged toward my rib cage, and I didn’t have any hands free to stop him, so all three of us went tumbling.

  I could hear the sounds of teeth gnashing and braced myself for the white-hot pain of fangs sinking into my flesh. Somehow, maybe because they couldn’t get out of each other’s way, I managed to keep their teeth out of me. I twisted and turned against their weight, trying to slide out from under their dog pile.

  Somewhere in the darkened room, I heard a distinct click, and dim lighting flickered on overhead. I didn’t even let my muscles pause as my sight adjusted. I slammed a fist into the closest wolf’s face, right between the eyes, and his whole body went slack for a second, a small whimper escaping his throat. I pushed him out of the way and slammed my stake into the belly of the other wolf who was trying to hold me down by sitting on me. He jerked in surprise and scrambled away, so I yanked the stake free and watched him retreat.

  I took the opportunity to look up and see how the others were doing. Cord was still in the center of the room, a blur of blond hair, as she whipped her body around in impossible positions while somehow managing to stay on her feet and stake a Werewolf at every turn of her torso. Behind her, Derek the wolf covered any gaps and sank his teeth into any wolf that got too close to her but had somehow been spared the pointy end of her stake. Still, the number of charging Weres was daunting. For every one they downed, two more appeared in its place.

  “This is insane
! They were waiting for us!” yelled Derek.

  Jack yelled something back that I couldn’t hear and then rammed his head against an oncoming Were.

  A blur of fur flew out in front of me then, taking my attention away the battle scene. Wes lunged and planted himself firmly in front of me as a particularly nasty-looking wolf cut a path straight for where I sat on the floor. Wes caught him with his teeth and hurtled him aside, a growl emanating from deep within his throat as he jumped toward my newest attacker and they rolled away in a blur of fur. That was enough for me to refocus, and I hastily jumped up and readied myself for another wave of wolves as they ran at me, full force. The solitary thought in my head: this is bad. Really bad.

  I caught a leg of the first wolf as it reached me, yanking and hearing the satisfying crack of bone. The wolf went down in a shrieking howl. Two more were right behind it, but I didn’t move fast enough. The first lowered its head and slammed into me. I felt my feet leave the ground for a split second and then my back thudded against the concrete wall a few feet behind. I grunted, and my stake clattered to the floor and rolled away. My vision blurred and I blinked, disoriented; my breath came in painful gasps, but there was no time to recover fully as the wolf was holding me up with its claw and snapping its teeth at my face. I grabbed it by the scruff of coarse hair ringing its neck in a desperate attempt to hold it off, pulling as hard as I could. I was able to hold it steady, barely keeping it out of reach of my throat, but it wasn’t enough to pull him off.

  Panic slammed into me and just like that very first night with Liliana, I realized my death was inevitable, only seconds away. I struggled to keep my hold on the wolf and pulled with everything I had. It didn’t budge. I squeezed my eyes shut and waited for its teeth to tear my skin. Stale breath puffed through its nostrils into my face. Then, all at once, the weight of the wolf disappeared, and so did the stench.

  My eyes popped open wide and I looked up into the face of a boy I’d never seen before. He stared down at me for a brief moment, and then spun around, lunging at an approaching wolf, and artfully staking it right through the heart. He kept going, wading through the furry bodies without looking back. His hair hung down over his forehead and his skin was deeply tanned. Even in the chaos, I knew I’d never seen him before.

  I thought about going after him to find out who he was, but then my attention was diverted by a petite redhead near the door, pulling a wolf off and stomping on it with her heel before staking it and moving on with a satisfied smirk. Walking through the door were three more strangers, all with metal-tipped stakes, all dangerous looking and undaunted by the scene before them. They jumped into the fight without the slightest hesitation or surprise. Had other members of The Cause arrived? Hunters I’d never met before? I thought Fee said everyone else was out on assignment …

  Miles shoved his way in front of me, blocking my view of the newcomers as he fought off a Were that was already bleeding profusely from his ears and nose.

  “Who are they?” I asked, almost yelling to be heard above the growling background that hummed like white noise.

  “Who?” he asked, without looking up. He swung out with a fist and connected with the side of the wolf’s head. The wolf shook it off but came at him more slowly this time.

  I pointed. “Over by the door. They just got here.”

  In a movement almost too quick to see, Miles’s stake shot out and sank deep into the wounded wolf’s rib cage. He yanked it free, and the wolf fell without a sound. Miles turned to glance at the Hunters streaming through the door. He stared for a minute and then shook his head. “I don’t know them.”

  Any reply I would’ve made was cut off as a fresh group of Weres approached. Miles melted back into the chaos of the fight, drawing them away. I knew I should’ve gone after them, but at that moment, a familiar silhouette darkened the doorway, and I froze. The figure scanned the room and stopped when she spotted me. Her petite shoulders visibly relaxed. She strode into the mayhem, cutting a path directly for me.

  “Grandma?” I whispered.

  Behind her, several more Hunters streamed through the doorway and jumped right into the fighting, stakes raised high. I watched Grandma weave her way through and around the fighting, and it dawned on me that it was really her; she was really here, right now, in the middle of all this. I broke into a run, trying to get to her, to protect her. Before I could, a wolf appeared in front of her, blocking her path, and crouched to attack.

  “No!” I yelled, knowing I wouldn’t reach her in time.

  The wolf sprang at her and Grandma didn’t budge an inch. Her hand shot out and locked around the wolf’s throat, pulling it up short, inches from her face. It made a gagging sound and twisted, trying to free itself. Grandma didn’t give it time. Her other hand shot out, and a stake sunk into the wolf’s chest. It sagged, like a deflated balloon, and then dropped to the ground in front of her. I was close enough to see her expression now. There wasn’t a trace of fear in it. Annoyance, maybe. Fear, no. She smiled at me, as I hurried over.

  “Grandma, what are you—I mean, how did you do that?” I asked, breathlessly.

  “Same way you can, dear. Now, listen. As much as I’d love to sit and catch up, there really isn’t time right now.” When I just stared, she said, “Fee told you I was coming, right?”

  “Yes, but what are you doing here?” I asked, waving an arm.

  “I’m here to help get your mother out, and I brought some friends with me.”

  “These Hunters are with you?”

  “Yes. They should be enough to hold Leo’s Weres back. Let’s you and I go find your mother.”

  “Okay.” I took a step and then stopped to look at her again. “Some of the Weres are on our side. Do your people know that?”

  “Of course, dear. Now, come on, let’s get moving. I have a few words for Leo.”

  I wanted to ask what they were, and how she knew about him. I wanted to ask a thousand things, but right now wasn’t the time. Instead, I led the way, weaving through gnashing teeth and swinging stakes, heading for the stairs at the other end of the warehouse. The second floor was lined with a row of heavy metal doors. My bet was that Leo had to be hiding in one of those rooms up there, and wherever he was, my mother wouldn’t be far.

  We made it to the stairs and I hurried up, only having to kick aside three wolves in the process. The last one didn’t go down as easy as the others, and I realized we were going to have to fight it off. Then, Jack appeared and charged, shoving it out of our way and changing the focus of its attention.

  “Go!” he shouted, swiping at the other wolf with extended claws. I had no doubt Jack would be okay. He was easily three times the size of the other wolf and the other wolf seemed to realize this as we hurried out of sight.

  At the top, I hesitated, glancing left and then right. “Which way do you think?”

  “What about there?” Grandma pointed down a narrow hallway that curved out of sight. The tiniest hint of light shone from around its corner, making the metal walkway gleam with promise.

  “Let’s go,” I said.

  We hurried forward and then pulled up short to look around the corner. The walkway ended a few feet away at a single closed door. Light peeked out from the bottom, casting a shadow on some movement inside.

  “Stay behind me,” Grandma whispered. “Ready?”

  I nodded, and we crept forward. We reached the door, and Grandma paused with her hand on the knob, listening. No sounds came from inside, and my heart pounded in my chest loud enough I was afraid they’d hear it downstairs. Grandma nodded at me, a fierce determination in her eyes, and then pushed the door wide.

  I blinked once against the glare of the fluorescent lighting. In the center of the room was my mother, her hands high over her head, held by a thick rope, a gag stuffed in her mouth. Her eyes went wide at the sight of us, and she began vigorously shaking her head. Grandma rushed over to her, and I stepped fully into the room. Something moved on my right, but I wasn’t
fast enough. A hand—human and fisted—shot out and connected with my right temple, and I felt my knees buckle. My vision blurred and all I could hear was a ringing sound shrill in my ears. I slid to the floor as everything went dark.