by Heather Karn
"To Wilde's daughter, the city is falling and I must leave. I doubt you will make it here, but in case you do, be careful. I've stayed as long as I dare. If you find this note, call the below phone number which reaches the Second House, and ask for me. They'll be able to link us together. Be safe little one. Run, before the monsters find you. Gerald."
There wasn't much to the letter, but tears stung my eyes because of the vital information that he'd shared with me. My eyes met Raven's as I clung tighter to the paper in my hands.
"My father's name was Wilde," I whispered. That was more information than I'd ever had about the man who'd loved my birth mother and whose DNA made me a vamlure.
"And now we know where to find Gerald," he murmured back before his features and voice turned hard. "Okay, now for the fun part. Jackson, find us a different route out of this place."
"You're sure that's all he left?" I asked, my eyes searching the rest of the room, but found nothing.
"He wouldn't have had time to leave more," Raven confirmed. "The city fell quickly, and if he wasn't expecting it or held out until the end, this is the only thing he would've had time to leave."
"If he made it out of the city at all," Avery stated, following Jackson out of the apartment, the rest of us close behind. "Most people didn't."
That wasn't good news. If he didn't make it out alive, how was I ever going to find out the information he had about my father and the pendant? Did someone else know what Gerald knew, or had my father only trusted him with the information?
Refusing to think about it further, I focused on the moment, determined to make it out of this city alive. If we didn't make it, this would have all been for naught, even with the discovery of the letter. Luella boxed me in on one side while Raven took the other. Avery and Lee continued to follow Jackson while Shannon brought up the rear. It chaffed my nerves that I was being overly protected in the group, but then again, maybe this time it had little to do with the fact I couldn't fight. Maybe now it was because they needed to keep me alive more than ever. I'd have to fight my hardest to reach the truck and not put anyone in danger.
The sun was continuing to rise as we left the building through a side exit. Jacks led us further along a side street, his ears on alert at all times. More than ever, I could feel eyes on me, making the hair on the nape of my neck rise. Why were they watching us instead of attacking? It didn't make sense, not if ghouls were becoming so desperate for food that they'd kill one another for a meal.
No one spoke, but one by one, weapons were brought to the ready, like everyone had the same thoughts and sensations racing through them that I did. Even I gave up the knife and pulled my sword from its sheath as those beside me moved away to give us all space to fight. It was coming, breathing down our necks like a rabid wolf ready to strike as the world held its breath.
We were a block from the truck when my ears picked up the scratching of what sounded like claws on a hard surface. More scratching followed before clicking joined it, and not just from one direction. Swiveling my head from side to side, I swallowed a large lump in my throat, waiting to see what horror awaited us.
They didn't leave us waiting long.
One by one, bleached white skeletons appeared from within and around buildings. Their empty eye sockets zeroed in on us like they could actually see us. I'd never encountered living skeletons before, but one look and I was ready to run and hide. There was something about fighting a creature who was not supposed to be alive, yet was, that was far beyond creepy. The bones of their feet continued to click as they crawled over rubble with more ease than even I could've moved, and I was living.
"Exactly how are all those bones connected?" I whispered, expressing the horror within me.
"The same magic that raised them." Raven's dry voice didn't bode well for us as glass broke above us and more skeletons dropped from the sky, or rather what was left of the buildings surrounding us. "Remember, Koda, there's no use trying to use your venom. Even if they had skin, they're still dead. Take the head off."
I hadn't thought that far ahead, but instinct was already telling me to start biting my way through this crowd. If Raven hadn't mentioned venom wouldn't work, I probably would've tried, as crazy as that sounded. Instinct could be hard to fight, and with the panic rising in me wiping all logical and rational thoughts from my mind, I wouldn't have fought it, but accepted it.
"Game plan?" Avery asked from the other side of the group where he stood with Lee, both of their weapons at the ready. Lee held the halberd in a defensive stance, and Avery had traded in the crossbow now slung across his back for a pair of long knives. At this point, a machete would've been better, but Avery was a trained warrior, and it was a little late to think of what would've been better to fight an ever growing group of skeletons.
Raven snarled at a skeleton who stepped too close. "Get Koda to the truck. She's the one who has to live through this."
Uh, what?
"That's not fair, Raven," I argued as no less than three dozen skeletons continued to surround us. "I'm not going to let everyone else protect me because you think I can't fight."
"I'm not saying that," he growled, stepping closer to me with his sword raised. "We need to find out why you have that pendant, and Gerald knows more than just that, I guarantee it. You're the only hope to unlock those secrets."
He made a fair point, as much as I hated to admit it.
"Game plan: we make a run for the truck. Kill what you can along the way. More are coming. Shannon and Luella, try to delay them or take these ones out."
Luella chuckled beside me. "Already on it, boss."
While I'd argued with Raven, the naiad had produced another water bottle from her bag and had it opened. A stream of water was already rising from the bottle's depths. Once outside the bottle, the shimmering liquid separated into several small, thin discs that rotated in the air as they crystalized into ice with razor sharp edges. With no warning at all, the discs zipped through the air, and like spinning circular saws, they cut through the neck portion of several skeletal spinal cords, decapitating the creatures.
Skeletal mouths opened in silent screams before the horde converged on us in attack after attack. Like a dam had broken, the creatures broke free of their circular formation around us, zeroing in on their closest target. Since I was still in the center, their focus was on those surrounding me. Some broke through the circle, but before they even reached me, Raven had their heads rolling across the pavement.
The stench of burning bones wafted on the breeze, and I almost puked right there. If anything, this job was going to eventually desensitize me until I had a lead stomach. Peering over my shoulder, I found at least a dozen skeletons on fire in front of Shannon, and as others smacked into their burning friends, they too set fire. The flames burned bright, devouring the bones of our adversaries in minutes.
A warm hand grabbed my hand and I squeaked. Raven rolled his eyes and pulled me after him as the others kept the circle tight, but moving.
"We need to move faster," Raven warned. "Like I said, more are coming, and they aren't going to wait for us to finish with their brothers before they join in the attack."
We'd made it half a block, leaving still another half block to go, when those skeletons caught up to us. My heart raced at the sheer size of their numbers. They fell from the sky in droves, one even landing on Lee's back, almost taking my brother to the ground. However, he was the fighter, and in a second flat, he'd tossed the fleshless body over his shoulder and cut its head off with the halberd.
Now that more opponents had joined the fight, I saw action. My sword arced through the air as I fought back the urge to sink my teeth into bone. More than one skeletal body crumpled to the ground thanks to my weapon, and when Luella was overwhelmed, I stepped in to ease the numbers surrounding her.
"Let's go!" Raven cried after he and Avery had cleared a path toward the truck. Again, Raven grabbed me, hauling me after him.
"You get in the driver's seat.
We'll make sure she's safe. Just get that thing started." Avery's direction made sense, and Raven must've thought so since he released my arm and left me in the team's care to dive toward the driver's door.
By the time I jumped inside, with Shannon close behind, even more skeletons were streaming from the surrounding buildings. Where were they all coming from?
Jacks dove onto our laps as Shannon slammed the door closed, giving us in the front seats a shield against the creatures. Those in the back were a bit sloppier, and a skeleton managed to climb halfway into the truck before Lee grabbed its arm and hoisted it over his shoulder and threw it at those clamoring behind him to get inside.
"Go!" Avery barked when one door was closed and Luella was lunging inside the other. Avery grabbed her hand, pulling her in the rest of the way as she kicked off a skeleton. The door slammed behind her, but even with us inside and the skeletons outside, that didn't mean this was over. There were still dozens upon dozens of them blocking the road ahead as Raven slammed the gas pedal further to the floor.
Chapter 5
The truck lurched forward, plowing through the hordes of skeletons and other creatures pouring from the buildings. Now, more than ever, I had a great appreciation for what Lance, his team, and the others who guarded this city went through on a daily basis. Even more, I could understand why Raven and Avery refused to come to the city in the dead of night. There was no way I'd want to come face to face with these monsters in the pitch black of night when they were terrifying enough in the daylight.
"That remind you of anything?" Avery gasped, slapping the back of Raven's seat as Raven aimed the truck toward the center of the first bridge. "How are those things even still alive?"
"I don't know," Raven growled, driving much faster across the narrow strip of wood and concrete than I preferred. "I mean, they can't starve to death since they're already dead, but when the necromancer died or traveled too far away, they should've lost all the magic keeping them alive. You don't suppose the necromancer is still there, do you?"
"Hold it, hold it, hold it," Luella called from the back seat. "Back it up for the rest of us. You know our friends back there?"
Avery chuckled, an odd sound after almost losing our lives. "Not personally, but as a group, yes we know them. They tried to kill us the first time we came to this city almost ten years ago."
"A necromancer raised them?" I asked, trying to piece together their previous statements.
"It had to be." Avery leaned back and groaned. "There are a few other supernaturals who can raise the dead, but I'd hate to think of any one of them being involved."
"Well, something's wrong," Raven told his best friend. "Those things shouldn't be alive, or in that great a number. We'll have to let Lance know to be careful."
"It's always a bad sign when the dead can think," Lee muttered under his breath, and though no one spoke, we all agreed. Certainly I wasn't the only one replaying every move of that battle.
Not soon enough, the guard station appeared, and Raven pulled the truck up to the gate, but it didn't open. Lance and a few of his men entered our side of the fence via a smaller gate near the guard house. Two stood back while the other three, including Lance, stepped up to the truck, Raven having rolled the windows down.
"I hate to tell you, but you all need to get out while we search the vehicle for any stragglers, and to make sure you're still you." Lance's cheeky grin was rewarded with scowls and grumbles as we all climbed from the truck, several of our eyes peering in the direction of the city. I didn't care, if I saw any undead heading our way, I was climbing the fence and vaulting over the top. They could either kill me or search me on the other side. Shannon's pinched eyebrows and firm grip in Jackson's fur said she felt quite the same way about the situation.
"Make it quick," Raven growled. "We have company following us."
Lance shrugged. "They usually don't come this close to the fence. Those Threats do have a sense of self preservation. During the day, anyway."
"And what about the undead?"
The other vamlure stood straight from searching inside the truck bed, his eyes wide. "Undead? There aren't any undead in the city. They were destroyed first, before I even came on duty here."
"Well, I hate to tell you my friend," Raven quipped, an anxious tone to his voice, "we just ran into a horde of the undead, so speed is your best bet right now. I want to be on the other side of that fence sooner than later."
Nodding, Lance turned to one of the men waiting on the edge of the group. "Radio around to the other stations that undead have been seen in the city. I'm not sure how they were missed, but we need a team assembled to destroy them."
The soldier ran off to do as he'd been ordered while the rest of us got back to work, or rather, waited for Lance's team to finish their inspection. When the truck was cleared for crossing, Lance ordered the gate be opened and the rest of us climbed back into our usual seats, this time in much less of a rush. Before getting comfortable, we stowed away our large weapons where we'd had them so they were out of the way. It wasn't like they'd be useful in such close quarters, but they were easy enough to get to when needed, or my sword was since it still sat at Avery's feet.
Raven didn't even stop on the other side of the gate, but continued driving, waving out the window to Lance, who waved back before having the gate closed behind us. Once back on the nearest large highway that wasn't deserted, I breathed out a sigh and relaxed for the first time since waking up in the hotel room. I wasn't the only one. Shannon sagged against the window while Jacks licked the back of her hand that settled in her lap. Lee groaned, and from what I could see in the rear-view mirror, dropped his head back. Avery and Luella managed to hold it together, but even Raven set a hand on mine and gave it a light squeeze.
"We did it," he murmured.
"Yeah, but this is beginning to feel like a treasure hunt. One clue leads to another clue, which leads to yet another clue. Are we ever going to find this guy?"
Raven smirked at me as he took the first exit down the road. "We'll find him, and since we don't have much time before we need to return, let's grab some food and a hotel room and regroup."
"Not to be rude, but can't we put a few more miles between us and St. Louis?" Avery griped as we headed toward the first fast food restaurant we could find.
"Sorry, Lieutenant, but we're on a time schedule, and I'd rather not go out of my way and have to back track."
Avery leaned forward in his seat. "What do you mean?"
"I don't know where Second House is located."
Well, crap. It looked like we'd have to ask Gerald when we talked to him. After ordering, and feeling a bit smug when I announced to Raven that there were two badger shifters, one witch, and three rabbit shifters working inside, we were on our way to the nearest, crappiest hotel. Since we didn't plan to stay the night, I didn't mind the grungy room Raven led us into. I wouldn't be resting my head on the stained pillows. Sitting on the crusty comforter was bad enough, but tolerable.
"Luella," Raven spoke, like she knew what he meant by that one word, which she must have because she started digging around in her small bag where all the water seemed to be stored.
"Here you go," she announced, handing over a small plastic bag with a cheap burn phone inside. "Nice and dry, just like I promised."
"Thanks." Raven took it from her while I pulled the new letter from my pocket and opened it up to reveal the phone number. "Can we keep this on speaker so we all hear the conversation?"
I shrugged. "Sure. You can even be the one to talk. I don't want to screw it up and I don’t know what to say."
He shook his head. "You need to be the one to do it, but I'll help you out as needed."
"Okay, fine."
Raven handed the phone over to me, and with shaky hands, I unfolded the letter and dialed the number Gerald had listed. It rang a few times and right as my heart was plummeting, a light, tenor voice answered.
"Second House reception. This is Mark. Can you give
me your full name?"
"Umm, Koda Niklane."
I watched Raven's facial expression and didn't too much care for how he rubbed his hand across his face. "She won't be in your database," he told the man on the other end. "She doesn't have a House yet."
"And who might you be?" the man asked, not skipping a beat.
"Raven Cartana of the First House." He winced, but didn't expound any further.
Typing ensued in the background until Mark came back on the line. "Umm, I'm not seeing you recorded under the First House listings."
"Yeah, that doesn't surprise me," Raven muttered. "We need to speak with Gerald Vancovi. Would you be able to put us in touch with him?"
"Not without proper identification."
"Even if it's an emergency?" I asked, the pitch of my voice rising and cracking.
"I'm sorry, miss, but unless you're a listed member of one of the Houses, I can't transfer your call or give out any private information. It's policy."
"It's stupid," I grumbled before eyeing Raven. He shrugged, appearing as defeated as I felt inside. "Okay, well, thanks for your help."
"You're welcome. Have a good day." The call ended and I continued to stare at Raven.
"What?" he asked, his eyebrows rising up his forehead.
"I thought you were a member of First House."
"I am. Technically."
"I'm sensing a but."
"But my father disowned me when I refused to leave the Elite and join the vamlure underground once again after I left." Raven rubbed his face again, a far off look in his eyes. "It was a long time ago, but I didn't think he'd actually remove me from the records."
"He threatened to kill you on sight the next time he saw you," Avery cut in, his voice dry. "What makes you think he wouldn't wipe away your existence?"
"Hope." Sitting straight on the bed beside me, Raven watched the far wall. "Lance is of no help either. He's also from the First House, and if I was removed, he certainly was as well. Plus, he's on duty and I don't want to bother him or involve anyone else in this situation."