Magic and Bones

by Laken Cane

  Bill shook his head and sighed, but said nothing. He knew it wouldn’t do any good. Raze pointed at him when the receptionist hurried away. “You run the place. Why aren’t you back there getting information?”

  “Because it’s been twenty minutes,” Bill said with exaggerated slowness.

  Rune leaned against the berserker’s warmth and looked for a calm place inside herself. She couldn’t find one.

  Someone must die.

  Grim had brought Nikolai back. He’d cheated Death. And Death would claim someone else. It didn’t matter that it’d been weeks since Nikolai’s return. It only mattered that so far, no one had died.

  And she just kept waiting for it to happen.

  Not Kader. You can’t have her. You cannot have her.

  Strad held her, and maybe he was a little surprised when she didn’t pull away. “She’ll be okay,” he told her.

  But he didn’t know.

  Roma rushed in, then spotted the berserker, and the lines of her face softened. Whatever happened, she was happy Strad would be with Rune when it did.

  They stood in silence for a couple more minutes. Then Bill cleared his throat and interrupted their thoughts, which was fine with Rune. She needed the distraction.

  “Rune,” Bill said, “do you remember Julian Briderbeck?”

  She nodded. “The man who took over the Next when Lee Crane was kicked out.”

  “He’d believed one of his people was hiding out in River County.”

  She nodded. “I remember. Eugene promised to detain the dude for Briderbeck.”

  “Yes. One of Briderbeck’s bounty hunters arrived tonight. She checked in with the Annex to let me know she was here.”

  “She needs help collaring her fugitive?” Raze asked.

  Bill shrugged. “I’m still waiting to see what she needs. She seemed like the type to work alone, though.”

  “Unfriendly?” Rune asked.

  “No, she was very friendly. Just…” He frowned. “I don’t know, exactly. She reminded me of somebody.” He shook it off and looked at Jack. “I gave her your number. Thought you could tag along with her. You know the city well.”

  Rune narrowed her eyes. “You didn’t give her my number because she’s anti-Other.”

  Bill nodded. “She’d have to be. She works for the Next.”

  “Fuck that,” Jack said. “Don’t ask me to do that shit, Bill. She thinks she’s too good to work with Rune and is superior to the Others, then she can kiss my ass.”

  “I don’t really want you to help her,” Bill said dryly. “I want you to keep an eye on her. I don’t trust anyone who works for the Next, no matter what promises Briderbeck makes. But if he wants to offer an olive branch, I’m willing to pretend to take it.”

  “Why is Briderbeck chasing this guy?” Denim asked. “What’d he do?”

  “His name is Silas Jones. Apparently he was Julian’s lieutenant and best friend. Betrayed him in some way, and killed three people. Julian wants him badly.”

  “And he sent a lone hunter to bring him back?” Roma asked. “She must be—”

  “Finally,” Raze interrupted. “Here’s the doctor.”

  Rune went to meet him, her crew at her back. “Tell me,” she demanded.

  “She’s going to be fine,” the doctor said, and then stood in silence for a few seconds as Rune—and the entire crew—absorbed that fact.

  Rune’s legs weakened and she had to fight not to sit down. She was always stronger during a crisis than after.

  “What’s wrong with her?” she asked. “She was in pain.”

  Unintentionally, he slid his gaze away.

  Fuck. She stiffened. “What?”

  If he delayed for another second, she was going to punch him in the face.

  He didn’t, and then she almost wished he had.

  “She was making another transition to the vampire,” he said. “The sun was affecting her. It’s a good thing you got her here when you did, because in another few minutes, she’d have begun to burn.” He straightened his shoulders. “She’s asleep, but she fought it for a while. I think as she matures she won’t have to sleep through the day the way most vampires—”

  “Stop calling her that,” she growled, clenching her fists.

  He only nodded. “As she matures, she may become immune to the sun. She became immune to silver after her initial sensitivity, isn’t that right?”

  “Yes,” Bill said. “She’s a very unique little girl.”

  “Absolutely.” The doctor glanced at his clipboard. “Absolutely, she is.”

  “Anything else?” Strad asked, and he didn’t sound at all like he believed it was.

  He was correct.

  The doctor glanced at Rune, then took an almost unnoticeable step back. “There is something I find a little concerning. The child…” He cleared his throat. “She was upset, of course, perfectly understandable, and she grabbed one of the nurses.”

  Rune could feel the blood drain from her face. “She killed a nurse?”

  “Not exactly.”

  “What did she do,” Strad asked, his voice calm, “exactly?”

  The doctor would only look at Bill. “She bit her. Drank her blood. And we couldn’t separate them without causing some damage to them both.”

  Rune closed her eyes. “The nurse?”

  “Immediately addicted. She nearly passed out, but she threw herself at the child, begging for more.”

  “She didn’t turn?” Bill asked.

  “No. But she’s…” He shook his head. “She’s not dealing well with the withdrawals.”

  “Already,” Rune said. “It’s like my bite.”

  He nodded. “I believe now that Kader’s…er…appetite has awakened, she’ll require blood like a normal vampire.” He shot a look at Rune. “Sorry.”

  “She’s just growing up,” Raze said. “Nothing unusual about the sensitivity to the sun or the feeding. She’s not an infant anymore. She’ll change, and she’ll need things.”

  “Take me to her,” Rune said.

  “She’s finally sleeping,” the doctor said. “I think you should—”

  Rune held up a hand. “Don’t.”

  Bill took her arm. “Lead the way, Eli,” he told the doctor.

  The doctor didn’t say another word, not even when the entire crew followed along at his back.

  They were going to check on their sweet little Shiv Crew baby monster, and there wasn’t a thing he could do to stop them.

  Chapter Two

  Rune wasn’t sure how to tell the kid she might never see the sun again. She wasn’t sure how to change Kader’s life from day to night, or how to make sure she didn’t turn everyone she met into an addict.

  “No boom, Kader.”

  “No bite, Kader.”

  “No kill, Kader.”

  Before they left the Annex, Strad carrying Kader on his shoulders, Rune called Bill. “I want to talk to the nurse Kader bit. How is she doing?”

  His hesitation said it all. “Physically, she’s fine. Come to my office. I’ll have her brought up.”

  When they walked into the room, a young woman sat on the sofa, waiting. She stood when they entered, her gaze going straight to Kader.

  She had a bandage on her neck and her face was pale, but her eyes were as bright and wide as her smile. “Hello.”

  “This is Autumn Barlow,” Bill said.

  Rune gave the girl a nod. “I apologize for—”

  “Please,” Autumn interrupted, reaching out to touch Kader. “There’s no need to apologize.”

  Obviously they were going to have to make restitution for Kader’s attack, but Rune had no idea how. Autumn was addicted for life. You couldn’t pay someone enough to make up for that shit.

  “What do you want?” Strad asked, straight to the point. Rude, but still.

  Kader leaned forward, trying to reach the woman, but Strad pulled her back. “Be still,” he ordered.

  Kader curled his hair around her tiny fist and
peered at him, her little face solemn. “Daddy mad?”

  His eyes widened and he forgot, for a moment, to close his mouth. It was the first time Rune had ever seen him so at a loss.

  It was also the first time Kader had called him Daddy.

  And he melted immediately into a big pile of muscly goo.

  “No, sweetheart,” he said, finally. “Daddy…” He swallowed. “Daddy will never be mad at you.”

  Rune grinned.

  Autumn put a hand to her chest and sighed. “She is the sweetest child I’ve ever known.” Then she straightened her shoulders and looked at Rune. “What happened was an accident. It’s not her fault, and I don’t blame her—or you guys—at all. But I’m glad you called this meeting, because I am addicted, and I will need your help.”

  Rune nodded. “Whatever I can do.”

  “I don’t have to live with you,” Autumn said. “But I’d like to. Kader will need to be fed daily—likely every few hours, at least at first.” She shrugged. “I’m just being sensible.”

  Rune crossed her arms, studying the woman. She wasn’t surprised. She and Strad had already discussed the possibility. What other choices did they have? They couldn’t leave Autumn to suffer for the rest of her life—Strad especially knew well the horror of withdrawals. And now that Kader had started feeding, she was going to need a steady supply of the one thing that would make her thrive.

  Blood.

  “You want to be Kader’s donor,” Bill said, as though to clarify.

  Autumn nodded, her eagerness at the possibility as large as her fear of their rejection. “Kader’s my world now,” she said, simply, quietly. “There is no other way.”

  “Why aren’t you angry?” Rune asked her. “If someone bit me and ruined the rest of my life, I’d be a little fucking pissed off.”

  Autumn turned once more to Kader, and there was nothing in her eyes but devotion. “I felt something when she bit me,” she murmured. “I can’t explain it. I can’t even understand it, really. I just know that I want nothing more than to help her. She’s like a…It’s like she’s a…” She shook her head, unable to find the words.

  Or maybe she was just afraid to speak them aloud.

  “What of your family?” Strad asked.

  “I’m not married. It’s just me and my parents and they don’t need to know the details. I handle my own affairs.” She smiled. “I have to be part of her life. Now that I know,” she added, her words almost too low to hear.

  But Rune heard.

  What the fuck had Kader done? It wasn’t just the addiction. She’d made a grown woman into a follower. A devotee.

  Rune looked at Bill, and he gave her a nod. “I’ll have her file brought to you so you can study it, if you’d like. There is nothing in her history that suggests she’d be a threat to Kader.” He hesitated. “Rune, Kader will need a teacher and trainer now more than ever. I can give you everything you need for her.”

  “We are everything she needs,” Strad told him.

  “She has to learn,” Bill said. “We need to prepare her. People are going to come for her. She’s a weapon.”

  “She’s an infant.” The berserker tightened his grip on the kid, already angry.

  Bill shook his head. “I think you know that’s not entirely true.”

  “You need to find an antidote for the addiction,” Rune said.

  “We’ve been working on it since you addicted Strad.”

  Strad was no longer addicted, but it wasn’t like they could shove all the addicts into the portal and hope that if the unkind path didn’t kill them, they’d be relieved of their cravings.

  “We’ll talk about it later,” Rune said. “I want to get her home. We need to sun-proof the house before dawn.”

  Kader would likely sleep through most of the day, at least at first, but the doctor seemed to believe that was temporary. The kid was different. Nothing she did was predictable or could be based on what other babies or vampires did.

  Because Kader wasn’t just either of those things.

  Unfortunately for her.

  “Come with us,” Rune told Autumn, finally. “I’ll see if Roma will let you bunk with her.”

  Autumn clasped her hands over her chest. “You’re saying I can stay with Kader?”

  “Yeah.” Rune blew out a hard breath. “At least for now. I don’t see any other way.”

  Autumn burst into loud, messy sobs.

  “Well, fuck,” Strad muttered.

  “Aww,” Kader said. She struggled until finally Strad lowered her to the floor. She rushed to Autumn and wrapped her arms around the woman’s legs. “Aww.”

  “For fuck’s sake,” Rune said, looking heavenward.

  Strad crossed his arms and frowned.

  “She didn’t get her empathy from either of you,” Bill said, lifting an eyebrow.

  Rune didn’t take offense. It was true. “Especially women,” she agreed. “Kader does not like to see a female in pain. She…”

  She’s just like Z.

  “What is it?” Strad asked.

  “Nothing.”

  He stared at her for a moment longer but didn’t push it.

  “That is what will keep her from striking down anyone who makes her angry,” Bill said. “She cares about people. Even now, when she’s at this selfish stage in her life.”

  “Come on, kiddo,” Rune told Kader. “Let’s get you home.”

  When they arrived home, the driveway was full of the crew’s cars. Even though Ellie wasn’t there to cook for them, they’d gather in the kitchen and drink coffee and hope that maybe a hot meal would fly out of the stove and into their empty plates. They’d been doing a lot of takeout.

  Except for Levi. He tried to be stoic, but his pain was in his eyes. Ellie was breaking his heart, and he had no idea what to do about it, other than throw himself into work.

  He didn’t eat a lot. He just got quieter.

  First Lex, now Ellis.

  It pissed Rune off. Ellie had left them all. If he’d needed time away, that was one thing. But cutting off all contact?

  That shit was wrong.

  And she was terrified something had happened to him.

  They sat for a moment in the darkness of the car, and she listened to the clicking of the cooling engine and Kader humming to herself in the back seat, and when the bad feeling came, she realized she’d been waiting for it.

  “My gut,” she told Strad. “Something isn’t right.”

  To her credit, Autumn never said a word, simply moved closer to Kader.

  “Something’s here?” the berserker asked. “Now?”

  Rune shook her head. “No. Not yet.”

  But it was on its way, and all they could do was sit back and wait to see how badly it was going to hurt them when it got there.

  Chapter Three

  They climbed out of the car. The berserker and Rune probed the shadows, looking for anything that didn’t belong there as Autumn released Kader from her car seat.

  “I’d heard the Moor was a rough place,” the nurse said, clutching the child to her chest. “It doesn’t look too bad.”

  “It was before Rune moved in,” Strad told her, his voice a low murmur in the darkness. “Then they all decided they’d rather take their chances elsewhere.”

  “You guys cleaned up the area,” Autumn said. “Very nice.”

  Jack opened the door and stepped out onto the porch. “See something?”

  Rune swept the street with her watchful stare, then lifted her nose to the wind. “Not sure,” she answered.

  Roma stepped out behind him. Wherever Jack was, Roma was sure to be close behind. “What’s going on?” she asked him.

  “Don’t know,” he answered.

  But the crew spilled from the house and into the street, blades out, all of them waiting for something. Even the air changed, becoming cooler as a brief wind blew an empty can down the street. It was the only sound.

  “Take Kader inside,” Rune told Autumn, and the girl
didn’t hesitate.

  Will Blackthorn stood with the berserker, his eyes glittering through the eyeholes of his mask. “I feel it, too.”

  “What is it?” she whispered.

  Strad and Will looked at each other. “The portal,” they said, together.

  They would know.

  “Something’s coming through?” Roma asked, clutching her slingshot.

  “Yes,” Will murmured. “Something troublesome.”

  “Has anyone seen Nikolai?” Rune asked, staring into the darkness as though whatever the hell was coming would suddenly appear.

  “Not for a while,” Levi answered. He didn’t look at her when he said it.

  Levi had been standoffish since Ellis had left. Maybe he believed it was her fault.

  Maybe it was.

  And then, as Autumn hurried the protesting child into the house, something finally did come.

  Not a monster from the portal, though. Not then.

  The gargoyles arrived.

  All three of them—Gavin, Bellamy, and Gage, the brother they’d believed beyond help. Once Eugene Parish had been carted away from the Annex in handcuffs, Gage had been given some very intensive care by the Annex hospital. He wasn’t ever going to be normal, but he was functioning.

  Somewhat.

  He stayed in his shifted form most of the time, Bill Rice had told Rune, because being shifted was the thing that would help him the most.

  The gargoyles landed on the street, their massive bodies causing the pavement to crack. They didn’t bother with greetings. They didn’t waste time.

  They simply told the crew what the hell was coming.

  “The Corpse Army,” Gavin thundered. “They’ve found us.”

  He controlled his voice—still, it nearly shattered Rune’s sensitive eardrums. It hurt her crew, as well, and when he next spoke, Gavin was careful to soften his voice.

  A gargoyle had plenty of weapons—the edges of his wings were razor-sharp blades, his mighty fists were like colossal boulders, his spit was a lethal acid. And his voice could scramble a person’s brain.

  They were powerful, relentless, and nearly unstoppable—now that their kill switches had been removed and their brother freed.

  Good thing they were working with the Annex. The gargoyles were bad friends, but they were worse enemies.